Paris Metro Line 14 Must-Sees

The youngest line of the Paris metro, Metro Line 14 opened in 1998 and was the first to be fully automated. It’s also offers the fastest option for getting across Paris, as it has the fewest stops for the distance covered. Originally opened between Madeleine in the city center and Bibliothèque Francois Mitterrand in the 13th Arrondissement in the eastern corner of the Left Bank, this subway line been extended ever since its opening. It now runs between the Mairie de Saint-Ouen just to the north of Paris down to Olympiades in the south of the city.

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At the time of writing, the Line 14 has 13 stops. Along with being one of the quickest ways to traverse Paris, it’s also generally the quickest connection to the Gare de Lyon.  For this line, let’s start in the north. Line 14 connects the fairly unremarkable suburbs of Saint-Ouen and Clichy with the Paris city center.

While the flea market of the Puces de Saint-Ouen may be in the same suburb as the end of this line, it lies right at the opposite end of town, so you’re better off taking Metro Line 4 and getting off at Porte de Clignancourt.

Pont Cardinet is a great station to exit at for exploring the neighborhood of Les Batignolles. Here, you’ll find the lovely park Square des Batignolles, which is filled with baby ducks and blooming trees in late spring and early summer.

At this stop you’ll also find the Eglise Sainte-Marie des Batignolles, which opens onto the little Place du Dr. Félix Lobeligeois lined with excellent restaurants and cafés perfect for lunch or an apéritif.

Walk along Rue de Moines for some individual boutiques to the covered market on your left just after Rue Lemercier. Or you can walk from the station along Rue Cardinet to the modern Parc Clichy-Batignolles-Martin Luther King, which is among the best places to see cherry blossoms in Paris in spring.

Next stop Saint-Lazare for trains to various suburbs and the northern cities of Caen, Rouen, and Le Havre, and Cherbourg, among others. From here you can also easily walk to the two large department stores, Printemps, and Galeries Lafayette along Boulevard Haussmann.

Then, it’s just a short hop to Madeleine, the original stating point of this line. Madeleine allows you to get to the grand Boulevard de la Madeline which leads into Boulevard des Capucines, taking you straight to the Palais Garnier and past the gorgeous — and somewhat hidden — Place Edouard VII.

On the other side of Madeleine, you find the Rue du Fauboug Saint-Honoré, for all the famous luxury fashion labels. Line 14 stops at Châtelet, the busiest transit hub in Paris where you can connect to metro lines 1, 4, 7, and 11, as well as the RER lines A, B, D (RER B takes you to Charles de Gaulle Roissy Airport).

Stop Gare de Lyon, schedules trains to the south of France, to cities such as, you might have guessed, Lyon, Aix-en-Provence, Nîmes, and Marseilles; while Bercy is the stop for international coaches. Cour St Emilion is the stop for the Bercy Village, a former wine storage area, now reimagined with plenty of little shops and restaurants.

The line then crosses the Seine to Bibliothèque Francois Mitterrand, also known as BNF. This station gets you into the heart of the modern 13th Arrondissement, with great modern architecture. From here you’re close to the cool food court La Felicita and the various house boats and live-music venue boats along the quays of the Seine.

The last stop of Line 14 is at Olympiades, perfect for exploring the Paris’s Chinatown around Place d’Italie and its many authentic Asian restaurants and supermarkets. You can also walk along Rue de Tolbiac toward the charming quartier of Butte-aux-Cailles.