Every day, thousands of residents of the Île-de-France region pass by without even realizing it. Yet if you look up at just the right moment from a train on lines 8 or 9, you can make out abandoned platforms, a former station name, and walls frozen in time. Saint-Martin is one of the famous “ghost stations” of the Paris Metro—stops that still exist but where no passengers have gotten off for decades.
The largest of the Paris Metro’s ghost stations
Opened in 1931, the station ultimately served passengers for only eight years. Like many other Parisian stations, it closed on September 2, 1939, at the time of general mobilization, as the RATP was forced to scale back its network due to a shortage of staff. While most stations reopened after the war, Saint-Martin remained permanently closed. The reason is actually quite simple: Strasbourg–Saint-Denis, located just a hundred meters away, was already handling most of the traffic, rendering this station nearly obsolete.
With its two lines, four platforms, and vast corridors, the station is now considered the largest of its kind in the Paris Metro. Its 1930s architecture is still largely visible, with white ceramic tiles, old ceramic frames and advertising posters , and even some period fixtures that have stood the test of time.
From the street, a few clues still hint at its existence. Two old entrances remain on Boulevard Saint-Martin, even though their gates are locked. Yet hidden beneath the feet of passersby lies an almost intact station, frozen in time for nearly nine decades and now one of the most fascinating places in underground Paris.
At a time when unusual tours and hidden spots are increasingly attracting the curious, Saint-Martin continues to fuel the imagination. You can’t visit it freely, but anyone can try to catch a glimpse of it between two stops.
