Editing Paris Métro (section)

=== Exterior decoration ===
[[File:P1040948 Paris XVI métro Passy rwk.jpg|thumb|Overview of [[Passy (Paris Metro)|Passy station]]]]
The original Art Nouveau entrances are iconic symbols of Paris. There are currently 83 of them. Designed by [[Hector Guimard]] in a style that caused some surprise and controversy in 1900, there are two main variants:
* The most elaborate feature glass canopies. Two original canopies still exist, at [[Porte Dauphine (Paris Métro)|Porte Dauphine]] and [[Abbesses (Paris Métro)|Abbesses]] (originally located at {{Lang|fr|[[Hôtel de Ville (Paris Métro)|Hôtel de Ville]]|italic=no}} until moved in the 1970s). A replica of the canopy at Abbesses was installed at [[Châtelet (Paris Métro)|Châtelet]] station at the intersection of Rue des Halles and Rue Sainte-Opportune.
* A cast-iron balustrade decorated in plant-like motifs, accompanied by a "''Métropolitain''" sign supported by two orange globes atop ornate cast-iron supports in the form of plant stems.
** Several of the iconic Guimard entrances have been given to other cities. The only original one on a metro station outside Paris is at [[Square-Victoria-OACI (Montreal Metro)|Square-Victoria-OACI]] station in [[Montreal]], as a monument to the collaboration of [[RATP Group|RATP]] engineers. Replicas cast from the original moulds have been given to the [[Lisbon Metro]] (Picoas station); the [[Mexico City Metro]] ([[Metro Bellas Artes]], with a "Metro" sign), offered as a gift in return for a Huichol mural displayed at [[Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre (Paris Métro)|Palais Royal&nbsp;– Musée du Louvre]]; and [[Chicago Metra]] ([[Van Buren Street (Metra)|Van Buren Street]], at South Michigan Avenue and East Van Buren Street, with a "Metra" sign), given in 2001. The [[Moscow Metro]] has a Guimard entrance at [[Kiyevskaya (Koltsevaya Line)|Kievskaya]] station, donated by the [[RATP Group|RATP]] in 2006. There is an entrance on display at the Sculpture Garden in Downtown Washington, D.C. This does not lead to a metro station, it is just for pleasure. Similarly, The [[MoMA|Museum of Modern Art]] has an original, restored Guimard entrance outdoors in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden.<ref name="public consult"/>

Later stations and redecorations have brought increasingly simple styles to entrances.
* Classical stone balustrades were chosen for some early stations in prestigious locations ([[Franklin D. Roosevelt (Paris Métro)|Franklin D. Roosevelt]], [[République (Paris Métro)|République]]).
* Simpler metal balustrades accompany a "''Métro''" sign crowned by a spherical lamp in other early stations ([[Saint-Placide (Paris Métro)|Saint-Placide]]).
* Minimalist stainless-steel balustrades ([[Havre-Caumartin (Paris Metro)|Havre-Caumartin]]) appeared from the 1970s and signposts with just an "M" have been the norm since the war ([[Olympiades (Paris Métro)|Olympiades]], opened 2007).

A handful of entrances have original architecture ([[Saint-Lazare (Paris Métro)|Saint-Lazare]]); a number are integrated into residential or standalone buildings ([[Pelleport (Paris Métro)|Pelleport]]).