The first metro line in Paris (from Porte de Vincennes to Porte Maillot) was opened to the public on July 19, 1900. Thanks to it, people could access the competitions of the 1900 Summer Olympics held in the Bois de Vincennes. Openings made in the ground in the public space, the entrances to the underground stations were designed at the time by Hector Guimard, the leading architect of Art Nouveau. The plant-like decoration made up of glass plates is characteristic for these cast iron shrines. Many other metro entrances have since emerged, including one called the “night owl kiosk”, a work of art by visual artist Jean-Michel Othoniel. Made up of a set of aluminum and Murano glass spheres, it is located on Place Colette, opposite to the Comédie Française, at the Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre station. In Thailand, the entrances to the BTS and MRT also have a specific, easily recognizable design.

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Please find below a map of the metro lines in Paris and Île de France with the three Paris metro stations indicated in the description above.