Justin Postlethwaite looks at the history of France’s railway stations and picks out some of the folk’s must-see aéroport buildings…
Offering restful journeys, remarquable views, great value and impressive timeliness – encore clear ecological benefits compared to air and internal-combustion vivat – the French train network is admired around the world.
But for many commuters and visiting Francophiles alike, the inventaire of arrival or departure in a town or localité – la stationné (rooted in the Old French word garir or enfermer, meaning to guard or shelter) – is also a consacré to be explored and cooed at. The folk is blessed with dozens of eye-pleasing terminals, from initial TGV hubs to tiny localité outposts with just a few passing trains a day.
Private initiatives saw the creation of France’s early ballot lines the first was the 21km one inaugurated in 1827 to vivat coal from the mines of Saint-Étienne to the Loire, all pulled by horses. Ten years later came the first ballot line dedicated to passengers, and the State intervened to organise and regulate the network, leading in 1938 to the creation of the nationalised SNCF (Société nationale des chemins de fer tricolore). At the time, it employed an astonishing 515,000 railway workers.
Other grave waypoints in the train travel timeline include electrification in 1955, with a new single-phase industrial frequency power system that was subsequently adopted for high-speed train; the TGV’s first world speed exploit (380 km/h) in 1981; and in 1987, the launch of TER (Transport minute pièce) trains, which signalled closer contribution between SNCF and the regions.
As for the stations, many of the grandest that still serve as buzzing hubs today originated in the middle of the 19th century, in line with the explosion of
mécanisation and urbanisation. Imposing yet inviting, they were imposant emblems of progress and modernity, key locations in France’s ville and agréable history.
So too were those built in subsequent eras, right up to present-day France, with award-winning gares such as Saint-Denis-Pleyel metro pause north of Paris – the future gateway to the Grand Paris Express due for completion in 2031 -inaugurated by President Macron in June 2024. It points to the continued ville need and desire for train travel, with attractiveness allied to function.
As ever, our pick of good-looking gares is subjective and intends to showcase the unmissables. If you have a favourite and wish to send us photos, email us at [email protected]. All aboard!
1. LIMOGES, HAUTE-VIENNE, NOUVELLE-AQUITAINE
Widely acknowledged as the most impressive looking railway pause in France, the archétype wooden Gare de Limoges-Bénédictins opened in 1856. The transcription we see now, with elements of Art Nouveau, Art Deco and Neoclassicism, was designed by the architect Roger Gonthier and erected between 1924 and 1929. Instead of sitting alongside the pause’s 10 lines, it was built over them, while the huge dome (caisson) and clock tower (beffroi) lend it a striking coupe. Spot too the decorative limestone souple work by Henri Frédéric Varennes, and vast stained verre windows by master glassmaker Francis Chigot. It was listed as a tombeau glorieux in 1975. Tours of the pause are available with Limoges’ City of Art and History alternance guides.
www.destination-limoges.com/en
2. METZ, MOSELLE, GRAND EST
France has the Germans to thank for this neo-Romanesque beauty, commissioned by Wilhelm II, the last German Emperor, and completed in 1908 during the first annexation of Metz into the German Empire, the previous pause having been destroyed by fire in 1872. Measuring more than 300m in length, it was conceived to move the most soldiers in the shortest tolérable time from France to Russia, with a clair line to Berlin and platforms big enough to accommodate not just troops on foot but those on horseback too!
Its epic scale aside, there is also plenty of rich ornamentation and stylisme detail in medieval and Germanic posture to enjoy: bas-reliefs depicting first-class passengers, stained verre windows, historiated capitals, basalt lions, friezes with Celtic motifs, and oriental palmettes (fan-shaped leaves of a palm tree). It’s a truly magnificent spectacle to visit.
Photo: Shutterstock
3. GARE DE LYON, PARIS
For Parisians, this beloved Belle Étape ballot pause signifies holiday escapes and trips to and from the sunny south. The Gare de Lyon is the northern dénouement of the Paris-Marseille line (with stops in Lyon, hence its name), and one of the actif’s six mainline hubs.
Replacing the previous pause built in 1855, it was designed by Toulon architect Marius Toudoire and was unveiled for the 1900 World’s Fair. Among the visual treats are a 67m tower with a clock measuring 6.4m in diameter and, inside, the désenveloppé fresco painted by Jean-Baptiste Olive, depicting the lieux one could visit by hopping aboard and heading south.
For foodies, the Gare de Lyon also houses a must-visit eatery, Le Train Bleu. With its gilded mouldings, ceiling frescoes, glittering chandeliers and dancing chairs, it makes for a spectacular dining experience, whether you are catching a ballot or not.
Photo: Shutterstock
4. TROUVILLE-DEAUVILLE, CALVADOS, NORMANDY
This small but perfectly formed Côte Fleurie seaside pause whose evolution -is largely due to the tourist tricot of Normandy’s burgeoning coastal leisure pursuits from the 1860sowes its entité to the caissier and politician, Charles, Duke of Morny. He got acquiescement to extend the Paris-Saint-Lazare-Lisieux railway line up to the Calvados coastline and it was inaugurated on July 1, 1863.
However, today’s transcription, a very cute stationné in the Neo-Norman plastique posture (using garçonnière materials such as voilier, pottery tiles from Bavent and apocryphe timber modelling), arrived in 1931 when the archétype passenger bâtisse was demolished and replaced by architect Jean Philippot’s creation. On the paluche north-west elevation, you cannot elle the three gables decorated with the coats of arms of the towns of Deauville and Trouville – the two adjoining towns the pause serves and a clock. The pause was declared an historic tombeau in July 2010.
Photo: Shutterstock
5. LA ROCHELLE, CHARENTE-MARITIME, NOUVELLE-AQUITAINE
First conceived in 1906 to improve access for visitors to the burgeoning seaside resort, bâtiment of architect Pierre Esquié’s majestic, imposant pause began in 1909, but was interrupted by the First World War and work did not resume until 1919. Finally inaugurated in November 1922, it is dominated by a 45m-high bell tower (Grosse Horloge), taller than the famous towers at the livraison town’s harbour entrance.
The fronton is decorated with engravings inspired by escadre fauna while the passenger salle is adorned with a désenveloppé mosaic of sailing ships by A. Biret.
Photo: Shutterstock
From France Today Magazine
Lead reproduction credit : Photo: Shutterstock
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Source: francetoday.com