You've probably walked past them a hundred times on your way somewhere else. Green cast-iron stems rising from the pavement like plants. Two orange lamps hanging like flower buds. A sign in curling letters: Métropolitain.
They were designed around 1900 by the architect Hector Guimard, one of the leading figures of Art Nouveau in France, for the new Paris metro. More than a century later, they're still among the most beautiful pieces of public design in the city.
Art Nouveau in a nutshell
Art Nouveau flourished in Europe around 1890–1910. It turned away from strict historical styles and looked to nature instead: stems, vines, flowers, insects, flowing curves. It wanted beauty in everyday objects, from jewelry to furniture to subway stations.
Guimard's entrances were mass-produced from cast-iron parts, which meant that art could appear on ordinary street corners for ordinary people on their way to work.
A slow walk to see them
1. Porte Dauphine (16th). One of the two rare surviving entrances with a full glass canopy, often compared to dragonfly wings. Walk around it slowly and look up through the glass. 2. Abbesses (18th). The other surviving glass canopy, moved here from the Hôtel de Ville station in the 1970s. From here, wander up into Montmartre. 3. Any simple entrance. Dozens of Guimard's open entrances, with their stems, lamps and lettering, still dot the city. Choose one near you and look at it as if it were in a museum.
At each stop, take a minute. Follow one curve with your eyes from the ground to the lamp. Notice how it seems to grow rather than stand.
Why it's worth slowing down
These entrances are a gentle lesson: beauty doesn't have to be locked inside museums. It can be part of a commute, a corner, a Monday morning. Once you start noticing, you'll find Art Nouveau all over Paris: doorways, balconies, shop fronts and old bistros.
More hidden beauty in your city
The Digital subscription is full of walks, places and stories like this one, along with recommendations on books, music, opera and ballet, at least one video each month and the digital edition of "(meditating) On Art". For people who like to look up on their way to work.
Remember to take as much time as you need, and meet me at the next one.
Love, Evi