Gare des Guillemins

The station, designed by Santiago Calatrava, reaches a height of 40 metres and, with its two awnings, a width of 150 m. Opened in 2009, it took over ten years to build due to the need to keep it operational during the construction work. With its enormous glass roof that lets the light in, it is often called a ‘cathedral of the modern age’. Its white colour and forms denote the style of Santiago Calatrava, the great Spanish architect of worldwide fame. Although modern, the station bears in the ancient name of Guillemins, referring back to a religious order, the ‘Guillemites’. The order was founded St William and established itself in the Middle Ages.