Sunday, July 05, 2020

The Paris Metro

The Metro in 2020: official map from the RATP.

The Paris Metro was built at the turn of the 20th century, and became a major factor in the way that Paris grew and developed. The original plan was to have one metro line that encircled the city, with other lines crossing the center. Transfer points between the lines were conveniently located, thus enabling access to most neighborhoods. Each line was numbered, and also named for the stations at the two ends. As the city grew larger and larger in the second half of the 20th century, the lines were extended further and further into the suburbs, and were merged with inter-urban railroad lines that were for a long time a separate transport system. The Paris metro, along with other public transport, is managed by the RATP (Régie Autonome des Transports Parisiens), which publishes maps and offers up-to-the-minute online information about transport at https://www.ratp.fr/.

Every metro station has a long and interesting history. Station names often reflect the location, using old neighborhood names, like Grenelle or Passy, or street names, such as St.Michel-Notre-Dame near the site of the cathedral and Boulevard St.Michel. Many station names honor a particular person, such as the  station named for Fulgence Bienvenüe (1852-1936), the engineer who designed and managed the construction of the metro, or the station named Frankln D. Roosevelt. Station names can also commemorate a historic event, such as the Bir Hakiem battle of 1942.

Paris Metro stations are built in a variety of styles. The best known exterior style is that of the Art Nouveau stations, which were designed at the start of the construction of the system by the architect Hector Guimard (1867-1942). Inside the stations, the styles also vary enormously. On the platforms, the stairways, and the long passages between trains, enormous advertising posters are often the most memorable detail, along with the buskers, who must audition for a license to sing or play music in the metro.

The system includes over 300 stations with miles of underground or elevated lines connecting them, and entire books have been written to document all the details. I thought I had other books, but I could only find the following two on my shelves:

Stations of the Metro: Dictionary of the 366 Stations
My copy of this book, published by the RATP, is from the 1980s, so new stations have since been added. It's a complete list of all the stations with the history of their names. The cover echoes the signature white tile of metro walls.

Paris Underground
This is a fascinating account of how the metro was built. The engineering challenges were totally impressive, as underground Paris was full of unexpected quarries, watercourses, and many other obstacles. The technology for tunneling under the river was amazing!

Inventing the Metro Map

Paris Metro Map, 1936 (Source: "Paris Metro Map – The Redesign")
Creating maps of the Paris Metro for the benefit of riders was an interesting challenge in itself. Simplifying the images of the lines and connections while maintaining some relationship to the streets and contours of the city isn't all that easy. This 1936 map came from a very interesting article about how the current map was conceived and created from past versions, and how this can help one to visualize the system and find one's way.

Me and the Metro

Now that I've given you some information about Paris metro history and maps, I'd like to share a few of my Metro memories:

Classic Art Nouveau Metro entrance designed by Hector Guimard.
This is me during our 1976 stay in Paris.

A paper map of the metro from our stay in 1976.
The view from our balcony in 1976: the elevated metro line on Boulevard de Grenelle.
Yes, it was VERY noisy! 
During our stay in Paris in 1976, we had no car so we always took the metro. (Actually we have never had a car in Paris -- it's totally impractical.) The closest station to our apartment was Bir-Hakeim-Grenelle, named for the battle of Bir Hakeim, which took place in 1942 in the Libyan Desert during World War II and for the Grenelle neighborhood where we lived. The station has been extended to include exits closer to the Eiffel Tower, so it is now called Bir-Hakeim-Champs de Mars-Tour Eiffel.
In a station on the platform of the elevated metro near our 1976 apartment.
Photo taken on our visit in 2018.
Under the elevated line: we lived in the huge building in
the photo. A service station/garage was on the ground floor.
Sadly, our photos from that year have faded badly.
The current Bir-Hakeim-Tour Eiffel station, RATP map.
Riding the Metro in 2013

If you go to Paris, you'll surely take the metro. Sometimes it's the only way to get from one place to another! There's definitely a lot of practical information you'll need that I didn't offer today. If you read books or watch movies about Paris, you might also come across lots of references to the metro; the metro in popular culture is another subject I didn't touch here. The metro has been a rich part of Parisian life for over a century -- too much for a short post like this!

This post is designed as a contribution to Paris in July at Thyme for Tea, Tamara's blog. The post and original photos are copyright © 2020 by mae sander. 



13 comments:

Marg said...

Exploring the metro is one of the things that I was looking forward to - all those art nouveau stations and getting around the city! I do find the history of this kind of thing very interesting.

Iris Flavia said...

Again. Big bo-hoo to the German school system.
I learn this only through you, and this was quick!

We went to the language laboratory. Quatre-Vingt-Dix-Neuf, yips, got it. In the metro? LOST. History facts: None.
(Thankfully I was with my Frensh guest family from Louviers).
Thank you, dear teacher!

Jeanie said...

I love riding the Metro. They struck me as relatively clean and very efficient. It was good to see the metro map again. Loved all in this post but especially smiled at the photo of you by the metro station in the 70s. What an interesting PIJ entry!

Catalyst said...

I remember riding the Metro fairly late one night and we were somewhat stunned to see an older lady in a full length fur coat as a fellow passenger.

Tandy | Lavender and Lime (http://tandysinclair.com) said...

We've walked under that part of the elevated metro. We also use the metro to get around Paris add it makes the most sense. Thanks for sharing your memories.

Linda said...

Very informative. I was expecting some warnings about thieves. I was almost robbed on the Metro the first time I went to Paris. I clamped my hand down on my purse as the guy reached for it and he ran off. The second time I was in Paris, someone tried to steal my husband's wallet as he went through the turn-stile.

Brona said...

I love, love, love your photos from 1976 - I hope you share more over the next few weeks :-)

Jeff the Chef said...

I used to live in NY, and was completely familiar with that subway system, so I figured the Metro, which I ventured into while vacationing, would be a snap. I did manage to get where I wanted to go, so I guess there's something to be said about that. But I found the experience to be harrowing, frustrating, even if exhilerating. Paris is so much like New York: the Metro seemed to be a knotty maze, the people seemed to be in a pressurized rush. In New York, that madness always seemed fun to me. In Paris, it seemed more like a frustration. I chalk it up to my French, which although not nonexistant, isn't great. Or maybe it wasn't language so much as it was not understanding the iconography. Probably both.

dee Nambiar said...

Oh wow! So nice to know about your book. That must have been a BIG project. I'm sure it was challenging and satisfying at the end. :)

Lovely picture of you, Mae. :)
Have a good week. Stay safe.

Tamara said...

Ive been watching a series called the Busiest Stations in the world, N.Y. Central, Mumbai, Mebournes Finders street, but i must have missed the Paris metro. This post is fascinating. Mae you have studied paris in every detail. Thank you for sharing... and especially the photos from 1976!

Carola Bartz said...

I was thinking of writing a post about the Metro, but mine wouldn't have been half as thorough than yours. It's interesting to learn so much about the Underground system in Paris - thank you!

Lisbeth said...

The metro in Paris sounds promising. I love metros, especially when you are not so familiar with transportation as you come as a tourist. It is so easy to find your way, and it is fast. It is nice to look out from a bus window, but more difficult to find bus routes, and it takes longer.
I did not know they have Art Noveaux stations. I love this style so will have to find out more, once I come to Paris again.

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

One of the first things we did when we got to Paris last winter was to get an Ile de France Mobilites Navigo Decouverte, called a Navigo pass. Two of my sister's grandchildren were with us, and some days it was nice to hop on when they (or we!) got tired.

I live in Houston where there is no way to get around but cars, cars, cars, so I'm a huge fan of the metro.