PARIS METROPOLITAIN

 TIMELESS BEAUTY CREATED BY HECTOR GUIMARD

Nothing says Paris and Art Nouveau quite like the stylized Metropolitain entrance signs.

Architect Hector Guimard designed the first ones in the early 20th century.

The unsung Guimard also designed a number of highly decorative apartments and houses in Paris.

Most of the Art Nouveau metro entrances are replicas, as the city destroyed many of the originals in an ill-advised move toward a more modern look in the mid 20th century.