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Offered languages
- French
Explore the Auteuil of the Belle Époque during a 2-hour guided tour dedicated to Hector Guimard's Art Nouveau. This garden district, a true architectural laboratory, reveals sinuous facades and bold details that illustrate the evolution of modern architecture.
From the flamboyant Castel Béranger to the mythical entrances of the Parisian metro, from the winding facades of Gros, Agar, and La Fontaine streets to the elegance of the Trémois building, every step reveals a new metamorphosis of Guimard's genius.
The Mezzara Inn, a jewel of light, and the Guimard Inn, a total work conceived down to its smallest details, reveal the audacity of an architect who dreamed of uniting beauty and life.
Each stop plunges you into the fascinating universe of a visionary architect who redefined beauty and functionality.
Complete your journey by discovering the Villa Flore and the Houyvet building, prefiguring Art Deco.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
30 rue Gros, 75016 Paris, at the entrance of Square Henri Collet
Itinerary
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1
Step 1 - Introduction Square Henri Collet Auteuil, an independent village that became the 16th arrondissement, is the neighborhood where Guimard built the most: nearly thirty buildings Presentation of the ambition of Art Nouveau: not a simple floral decoration, but an insurrection against academicism and industrialization, and the dream of a total art Presentation of Hector Guimard: "The Ravachol of architecture"
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2Castel Beranger
Step 2 — Le Castel Béranger, At 27, Guimard shatters the codes of architecture 36 dwellings on a U-shaped plan, variety of materials, polychromy, asymmetry, rationalism, whip curve, vegetal and animalistic decorations, fantastic decorations, First Award of the facades of Paris An example of total art: from wallpaper to doorknobs!
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3
Step 3 - The metro entrances, Square Henri Collet. For the 1900 Universal Exhibition, Paris wants to catch up to London and Vienna The competition for metro mouths is a fiasco The Metropolitan Company calls Guimard Its cast iron access becomes world icons, but very quickly the criticism flies
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
4
Step 4 - Gros, Agar and La Fontaine Streets. Art Nouveau is mocked as "noodle style" or "tapeworm style" Guimard, married to the painter Adeline Oppenheim, refines his style 12 years after the Castel Béranger, the facades are monochrome and subdued in this complex of 6 buildings on Rue Gros, Rue Agar, Rue Lafontaine
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5
Step 5 - Trémois Building - 11 rue François Millet A wiser Art Nouveau An elevator in the vegetable ironworks
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
6
Step 6 - The lost workshops of Guimard (1904, demolished in the 1960s) - His support: The Nozal family - Lost heritage such as the Nozal Inn or the Humbert room of Romans - Guimard's artistic fonts, used by other architects like Deneu de Montbrun! Art Nouveau building by Joachim Richard: The Art Nouveau glazed stoneware of Gentil & Bourdet - Presentation of Alexandre Bigot, ceramist, who contributed to the Castel Béranger, the Majorelle villa in Nancy, and the buildings of Jules Lavirotte in Paris!
20 minutes • Admission ticket free -
7
Step 7 - Presentation of Paul Mezzara: novelistic character and forgotten artist of Art Nouveau - Presentation of the history of the Mezzara Inn: from an Art Nouveau manifesto to a school and a home for female high school students - Presentation of the Guimard museum project
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
8
Step 8 The Guimard Inn, built in 1909 after the architect's marriage to Adeline Oppenheim, is presented as a technical feat on a triangular plot. The interior is described as a total work of art: furniture, textiles, lighting, tableware, and monograms are designed by Guimard - Presentation of the exile and death of Hector Guimard and the dispersal of his furniture
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
9
Step 9 Geometricization of shapes, clean decor, disappearance of polychromy Art Nouveau gave way to Art Deco, born from the 1925 Art Deco Exhibition Explanation of the reasons for the disappearance of Art Nouveau - Conclusion
10 minutes • Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Not recommended for travelers with low physical fitness (walking and standing)
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
- This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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