The station recently unveiled a cultural fresco entitled “Le Mythe Saint-Germain: un lexique amoureux” (The legend of Saint-Germain: an A to Z of love). The installation gives pride of place to the personalities, famous and not so famous, who have contributed to making the neighborhood what it is today: Boris Vian, Jacques Prévert, Marguerite Duras, Amélie Nothomb, but also Roland Topor and Sonia Delaunay.
This portrait gallery invites travelers to take a literary stroll through the eras from the birth of the station to the present day. Using stories and anecdotes, it gives us a glimpse of this unique neighborhood, which in the collective imagination embodies a literary, chic, free and creative Paris. The intention is to update this gallery over the years, with around ten new portraits added on each occasion.
For an audio presentation of this cultural installation and each portrait featured on the fresco, click here
Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a cultural hotspot
Located in the heart of a neighborhood marked by unprecedented cultural ferment in the 20th century, Saint-Germain-des-Prés station enjoys special status on the Paris metro network.
RATP has always attached great importance to culture and art at this station. For instance, passengers can admire Les Messagers, a bronze sculpture by Gualtiero Busato, or a mosaic by André Ropion paying homage to Gutenberg. Since the metro’s centenary in 2000, the station’s platforms have regularly hosted temporary exhibitions highlighting literary creation.
Juliette Gréco square
The City of Paris inaugurated a square named after legendary French singer Juliette Gréco on 23 September 2021. It forms part of Saint-Germain-des-Prés square, in the heart of the neighborhood whose spirit the artist long embodied.
RATP also pays tribute to Juliette Gréco in the cultural installation at Saint-Germain-des-Prés station. The artist was delighted to receive this honor before she died in 2020: in the video below, discover the interview with Juliette Gréco’s granddaughter, Julie-Amour Rossini, who describes the singer’s reaction.
Interview with Julie-Amour Rossini, Juliette Gréco’s granddaughter
[#LeMytheSaintGermain #RATP] Le nouvel aménagement de la station Saint-Germain-des-Prés par la #RATP, pour @idfmobilites, met en lumière l’histoire culturelle du quartier et de ses illustres habitants : Boris Vian, Jacques Prévert ou Simone de Beauvoir. ? https://t.co/NbeIwuP32t pic.twitter.com/odUD7iXSeA
— Ligne 4 (@Ligne4_RATP) September 23, 2021