A new book pays affectionate tribute to the Paris Metro
“Metropolitain” is an eclectic blend of engineering and travelogue, urban planning and anecdote
There is something strangely seductive about the Paris Metro. Its distinctive warmth. The floral Art Nouveau entrances, designed by Hector Guimard in 1900. The single word “Métropolitain” suspended at street level above descending station steps. From Serge Gainsbourg’s first hit song in 1958 about a ticket-puncher, “Le Poinçonneur des Lilas”, to François Truffaut’s film “The Last Metro” in 1980, the Paris underground and its iconography have marked modern French culture.
This article appeared in the Culture section of the print edition under the headline “Paris, underground”
Culture August 19th 2023
From the August 19th 2023 edition
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