Twelve years after the public baths closed, as of Monday No Madelineand public toilets Belle Époque in Parispioneers when they opened in 1905.

To one side of the Church of La Madeleine, some staircases decorated with period mosaics offer a short trip back in time, and one can take quite a long time for just €2. Art Nouveau.

Downstairs, painted mahogany walls, stained glass, and ceramics match soft green patterns “beautiful, luxury and useful”According to the deputy mayor of Paris for heritage Karen Tayeb.

until Eric SalesFounder of Point WC luxury public baths. He wants to turn the place into an obligatory “destination”.

This company, which operates five other luxury bathrooms in the capital, was awarded a ten-year concession in 2015 for La Madeleine, classified as Historical monument in March 2011 and closed the same year.

But works of modern art for institutions Porcherbased on the London model at the time, it was “Affected by infiltrations, forcing the franchisor to postpone worksaid the mayor of the 8th arrondissement of Paris, Jeanne de Hautsery, who attended the reopening of the site.

From the surface of the place, that is, at street level, natural light enters, filtered by a historical glass floor that has been reinforced for the occasion with a “waterproof triple layer”, while the old furniture has been preserved, says Karen El Tayeb.

Although the city has not yet restored the staircase mosaic, “everything is in its element”pointing to.

However, the merchant was unable to find a shoe shine for the site, which at the time operated in conjunction with an on-site stand.

With 750 public toilets and urinals, Paris claims to be the first city in the world “in terms of toilets in public places”.

Public toilet reward is set in 2006with the exception of some places entrusted to concessionaires in high tourist locations (Notre Dame, Louvre, Champs-Elysées …).

According to the mayor’s office, there is only one example left of a vespasiana, another type of public toilet from the early 20th century, located on Arago Street.

(With information from AFP)

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