Paris has some remarkable metro stations. One of the most incredible is a station with a submarine-like architecture. With its retro-futuristic decor and rust-colored hue that reaches right up to the ceiling, this station with its unusual history is undoubtedly the most beautiful metro station in Paris.
This submarine-like metro station is undoubtedly the most beautiful in Paris…
On a daily basis, we tend to complain about public transport and grumble about the worst metro lines we can find. But what if taking the metro could be like visiting a museum? That’s exactly what it feels like to walk through this exceptionally designed Parisian metro station. You may recognize it: Arts et Métiers station, on line 11. But have you ever wondered why this station looks like a submarine?
Twenty thousand leagues under the sea in the metro corridors
Originally, the Arts et Métiers metro station looked like many others. However, a major change took place in 1994, on the occasion of the Bicentenary of the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. To pay tribute to this institution, now known as the Musée des Arts et Métiers, the station was literally transformed, with the complicity of RATP. The transformation was carried out by Belgian scenographer François Schuiten, famous for his retro-futuristic universe, in collaboration with French cartoonist Benoît Peeters. The two merged their ideas and worked together to transform this initially classic metro station into a breathtaking submarine. Their inspiration came from the fantastic stories of Jules Verne, including the iconic adventure novel “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” (1869).
Métro Arts et Métiers, a little museum hidden underground?
Much more than a simple renovation, it’s a narrative work of art that saw the light of day in 1994. That year, huge copper plates covered the surfaces of Arts et Métiers station, banishing all advertising hoardings. Beneath the bronze-colored vaults, golden portholes tell short scientific and cultural stories. Inside, models of inventions pay tribute to the Conservatoire turned museum. And details abound: cogs on the ceiling, dark wood seats on the platform, contrasting with the usual colored plastic seats… And even a perpetual-motion cogwheel embedded in the copper walls. So many meticulously designed little objects, evoking a living mechanical world, in keeping with the spirit of the Musée Arts et Métiers. Which Parisian station do you like best?