If you haven't read my introduction to the Paris Metro, you can do so by CLICKING HERE.
WARNING: This is a really LONG entry (I couldn't help myself). Sorry.
Arts et Metiers
The closest station to our apartment turns out to be our favourite, in terms of decoration. It's named after the museum above which it serves, the "Musée des Arts et Métiers" (Arts and Trades). Imagine plunging to the centre of the earth in a Jules Verne-inspired mechanical beast. Huge rivetted copper plates line the corridor while portholes offer glimpses of the dreamy concepts captured by the inventions housed in the museum above.
The station was renovated in 1994 to mark the bicentenary of the opening of the museum collection (Yup, it was started 200 years ago). Belgian comic artist François Schuiten designed the station in a "steam punk" style (click here). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_punk
Cité
If you're on your way to Notre Dame Cathedral, this is where you get off. It's the only station on the Île de la Cité, and also serves the other monuments in this, the oldest part of Paris.
This underground cavern is contained in a massive steel cylinder plunged into the earth. To get to the top, take the elevator, or climb the endless stairs for a quick view of the entrance way. The Métro's Art Nouveau entrances are iconic symbols of Paris. When they were first introduced in 1900 this style caused surprise and controversy. Today, some 83 of these still survive.
Surrounding the metro entrance is the Marché aux Fleurs (Flower Market) which, according to some, has been here since 1809 when Napoleon created the square to counterbalance some of the nasty business that had to take place in the courts and jails in the area.
Saint-Michel
Moving sidewalks quickly transport passengers from connecting lines and to the urban railway leading to the countryside, for instance Chateau Versailles. A quick climb above ground finds us lusting after the copper pots of a local Brasserie. Monty, Bob, Glen and I would love to get our hands on these.
Varenne
This is classic "Paris Metro" style before the advent of mass produced print advertising posters. Clean white tiles, basic blue ceramic borders, simple typography. But we're here to view some Rodin sculptures; they're copies of the originals found in the Rodin Museum above.
Roosevelt
Post-industrial deconstructionism? Nope, it's simply renovation-time for Roosevelt. Too bad, we had previously enjoyed the stainless steel-clad platforms in a very 50s style. On to another stop....
Porte Dauphine
This is "la perle" (the pearl) of metro portals. Near the outskirts of the city, this Art Nouveau glass-shrouded shrine is one of only two remaining in Paris (the next is below!).
Abbesses
This station is one of the deepest in all of Paris, 118' below the surface. You can take the elevator up or ascend a long spiral staircase which was renovated in 2007 to replace the graffiti which lined it's walls (some of which still appears on the footsteps). Local artists were hired to create new artworks of local Montmartre -inspired themes. Above ground is 1 of only 2 surviving glass-canopied entrances, moved here in 1970 from Hotel de Ville. If you watched the movie "Amélie", this was her metro stop!
Concorde
No, it's not Cindy's favourite game of Scrabble, nor a word search. It's a metro station decorated with the "Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen" (The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen) from the french revolution. I suppose you could spend a day here reading the document. You might get a stiff neck! Or you could read it here:
Palais Royale
Nothing out of the ordinary here until you reach above ground. Close to ground, silver burnished tiles. The portal is marked with brightly coloured glass beads and polished aluminum, creating a striking contrast to the traditional surroundings only blocks from the Louvre Museum.
Louvre-Rivoli
Who needs to stand in line and pay $15 when you can see the major works of the Louvre without the crowds? OK, so there's only a few works, and they're plaster replicas, but it's still free with a metro pass! Renovated in 1968, this is the first metro station that was decorated with a culturally inspired theme.
Pont Neuf
Giant ceramic coins (ancient and new, francs and euros) announce that you've arrived at the station serving the Paris museum of money above ground.
Gambetta
If Jim Morrison was alive today to view his own gravesite, this would be his metro stop, only steps away from Pere Lechaise Cemetery.
Bastille
For a few short moments, you're above ground, within sight of the monument erected to commemorate the events at, and surrounding, the old jail, the Bastille. Original foundations can be viewed underground, while the platforms above depict, in bright tiles, the history of revolt, reprisal, revolution...
Cluny - La Sorbonne
The tiled ceiling depicts religious symbolism, as well as the signatures of kings, abbots, saints, noblemen, writers, etc., who were raised or did their deeds in this area. Cluny has ancient religious roots, and is now the home to a wonderful medieval museum and Gallo-Roman baths dating from the 3rd century.
Champs-Élysées - Clemenceau
Modern urban tilework greets the metro traveller.
Montparnasse - Bienvenue
When the moving sidewalk here was installed in 2002, it was supposedly "the fastest in the world" at 12km per hour. Evidently personal injury ensued, so the speed has since been reduced to 9km/hr. This will give you time to read the history, facts and figures of the Paris Metro System lining one side of the corridor. The other side, of course, is advertising, currently showing Ikea kitchens (larger than life).
Vaneau
This unique sheltered entranceway was built in 1923 at the beginning of the #10 line. It's one of only a few that is "embedded" into another building, in order to avoid encroaching on the sidewalk. This created a need for the unique ironwork and globes indicating the entranceway, invisible otherwise from down the street.
You can "metro like an egyptian" right next to the doorway. At one time, water poured from the two vessels on each side of the egyptian into the small pool below, then emptied out of a bronze lion's head. A convenient spot for locals to gather their daily water before the introduction of household plumbing.
Notre-Dame-des-Champs
The entranceway to this and several other stations in the area date from 1910 when a private company supplied two additional lines (North-South A and B) to the original Paris Metro company. This is the only time a separate company performed these works. The ironworks and painted tiles, also Art Nouveau, are quiet different from the Guimard-designed stations of the "Compagnie de Chemin de Fer Metropolitain de Paris" (the name since shortened to simply METRO).
Sevres-Babylone
This stop shows the tilework above tunnel entrances unique to the North-South line. Before the advent of lighted signage, this was the method by which passengers could identify the direction the train was running, thereby allowing them to confirm the proper platform.
Assemblee Nationale
Beauty or cost savings? You choose. This station was renovated without the use of tilework, and now has simply "wallpaper" applique. A tagger's dream, strangely untouched for the most part.
Barbes-Rochechouart
The east-west Line 2 travels above ground and includes 4 stations in silver-painted ironwork, glass shelters, and stainless steel fencing. In 1941, Colonel Pierre-Georges Fabien shot and killed a German soldier in this station, marking the beginning of the armed French Resistance in Paris.
DM
Arts et Metiers
The closest station to our apartment turns out to be our favourite, in terms of decoration. It's named after the museum above which it serves, the "Musée des Arts et Métiers" (Arts and Trades). Imagine plunging to the centre of the earth in a Jules Verne-inspired mechanical beast. Huge rivetted copper plates line the corridor while portholes offer glimpses of the dreamy concepts captured by the inventions housed in the museum above.
The station was renovated in 1994 to mark the bicentenary of the opening of the museum collection (Yup, it was started 200 years ago). Belgian comic artist François Schuiten designed the station in a "steam punk" style (click here). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_punk
Cité
If you're on your way to Notre Dame Cathedral, this is where you get off. It's the only station on the Île de la Cité, and also serves the other monuments in this, the oldest part of Paris.
This underground cavern is contained in a massive steel cylinder plunged into the earth. To get to the top, take the elevator, or climb the endless stairs for a quick view of the entrance way. The Métro's Art Nouveau entrances are iconic symbols of Paris. When they were first introduced in 1900 this style caused surprise and controversy. Today, some 83 of these still survive.
Surrounding the metro entrance is the Marché aux Fleurs (Flower Market) which, according to some, has been here since 1809 when Napoleon created the square to counterbalance some of the nasty business that had to take place in the courts and jails in the area.
Saint-Michel
Moving sidewalks quickly transport passengers from connecting lines and to the urban railway leading to the countryside, for instance Chateau Versailles. A quick climb above ground finds us lusting after the copper pots of a local Brasserie. Monty, Bob, Glen and I would love to get our hands on these.
Varenne
This is classic "Paris Metro" style before the advent of mass produced print advertising posters. Clean white tiles, basic blue ceramic borders, simple typography. But we're here to view some Rodin sculptures; they're copies of the originals found in the Rodin Museum above.
Roosevelt
Post-industrial deconstructionism? Nope, it's simply renovation-time for Roosevelt. Too bad, we had previously enjoyed the stainless steel-clad platforms in a very 50s style. On to another stop....
Porte Dauphine
This is "la perle" (the pearl) of metro portals. Near the outskirts of the city, this Art Nouveau glass-shrouded shrine is one of only two remaining in Paris (the next is below!).
Abbesses
This station is one of the deepest in all of Paris, 118' below the surface. You can take the elevator up or ascend a long spiral staircase which was renovated in 2007 to replace the graffiti which lined it's walls (some of which still appears on the footsteps). Local artists were hired to create new artworks of local Montmartre -inspired themes. Above ground is 1 of only 2 surviving glass-canopied entrances, moved here in 1970 from Hotel de Ville. If you watched the movie "Amélie", this was her metro stop!
Concorde
No, it's not Cindy's favourite game of Scrabble, nor a word search. It's a metro station decorated with the "Déclaration des droits de l'Homme et du citoyen" (The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen) from the french revolution. I suppose you could spend a day here reading the document. You might get a stiff neck! Or you could read it here:
Palais Royale
Nothing out of the ordinary here until you reach above ground. Close to ground, silver burnished tiles. The portal is marked with brightly coloured glass beads and polished aluminum, creating a striking contrast to the traditional surroundings only blocks from the Louvre Museum.
Louvre-Rivoli
Who needs to stand in line and pay $15 when you can see the major works of the Louvre without the crowds? OK, so there's only a few works, and they're plaster replicas, but it's still free with a metro pass! Renovated in 1968, this is the first metro station that was decorated with a culturally inspired theme.
Pont Neuf
Giant ceramic coins (ancient and new, francs and euros) announce that you've arrived at the station serving the Paris museum of money above ground.
Gambetta
If Jim Morrison was alive today to view his own gravesite, this would be his metro stop, only steps away from Pere Lechaise Cemetery.
Bastille
For a few short moments, you're above ground, within sight of the monument erected to commemorate the events at, and surrounding, the old jail, the Bastille. Original foundations can be viewed underground, while the platforms above depict, in bright tiles, the history of revolt, reprisal, revolution...
Cluny - La Sorbonne
The tiled ceiling depicts religious symbolism, as well as the signatures of kings, abbots, saints, noblemen, writers, etc., who were raised or did their deeds in this area. Cluny has ancient religious roots, and is now the home to a wonderful medieval museum and Gallo-Roman baths dating from the 3rd century.
Champs-Élysées - Clemenceau
Modern urban tilework greets the metro traveller.
Montparnasse - Bienvenue
When the moving sidewalk here was installed in 2002, it was supposedly "the fastest in the world" at 12km per hour. Evidently personal injury ensued, so the speed has since been reduced to 9km/hr. This will give you time to read the history, facts and figures of the Paris Metro System lining one side of the corridor. The other side, of course, is advertising, currently showing Ikea kitchens (larger than life).
Vaneau
This unique sheltered entranceway was built in 1923 at the beginning of the #10 line. It's one of only a few that is "embedded" into another building, in order to avoid encroaching on the sidewalk. This created a need for the unique ironwork and globes indicating the entranceway, invisible otherwise from down the street.
You can "metro like an egyptian" right next to the doorway. At one time, water poured from the two vessels on each side of the egyptian into the small pool below, then emptied out of a bronze lion's head. A convenient spot for locals to gather their daily water before the introduction of household plumbing.
Notre-Dame-des-Champs
The entranceway to this and several other stations in the area date from 1910 when a private company supplied two additional lines (North-South A and B) to the original Paris Metro company. This is the only time a separate company performed these works. The ironworks and painted tiles, also Art Nouveau, are quiet different from the Guimard-designed stations of the "Compagnie de Chemin de Fer Metropolitain de Paris" (the name since shortened to simply METRO).
Sevres-Babylone
This stop shows the tilework above tunnel entrances unique to the North-South line. Before the advent of lighted signage, this was the method by which passengers could identify the direction the train was running, thereby allowing them to confirm the proper platform.
Assemblee Nationale
Beauty or cost savings? You choose. This station was renovated without the use of tilework, and now has simply "wallpaper" applique. A tagger's dream, strangely untouched for the most part.
Barbes-Rochechouart
The east-west Line 2 travels above ground and includes 4 stations in silver-painted ironwork, glass shelters, and stainless steel fencing. In 1941, Colonel Pierre-Georges Fabien shot and killed a German soldier in this station, marking the beginning of the armed French Resistance in Paris.
DM
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