Delphine Schiltz 9:45 a.m., February 21, 2023

After 12 years of closure, the classiest public toilets in Paris have just reopened their doors.

Toilets like no other, in an Art Nouveau style, built in 1905 under the Place de la Madeleine.

A Dutch company has renovated them with the aim of making them a real tourist attraction.

It is an incongruous historical site which has reopened its doors for the first time in 12 years, in Paris: The Lavatory, public toilets in the Art Nouveau style.

They date from 1905 and are located under the Place de la Madeleine.

Renovated by the Dutch company 2theloo, which now operates the place to make it a real tourist spot, it is above all a piece of history that visitors have come to seek.

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“I drank two liters of water before coming”

Mahogany wooden doors open onto toilet cubicles.

On the walls and ceiling, friezes of green and mauve lotuses.

Like a plunge into an almost forgotten Paris.

Jules traveled all over the capital to discover the old-fashioned glamor of this urinal.

"I drank two liters of water before coming and since this morning, I have only been waiting for this visit. The stained glass windows are exceptional", he says at the microphone of Europe 1.

Only the toilets have been modernized.

The rest is vintage.

An operation that cost 150,000 euros and 12 years of work and waiting for Josette and Jacques.

"I came here 30 years ago and had my shoes shined. It was a time," says Jacques.

"It reminds me of my youth, because I came with my grandmother whom I adored", continues Josette.

And when it's urgent, you have to top it up.

"I will pay the 2 euros without any regrets and we are very well received", adds Josette.

It remains to be seen whether these Lavatories will experience the same success as the Notre-Dame toilets, which receive up to 3,000 visitors a year.