Art Nouveau and Modernist Architecture: A Guide to Paris’ 16th Arrondissement

Away from Paris’ tourist center and into the 16th arrondissement, you’ll see where three revolutionary movements transformed the city’s architecture in just three decades. This walking tour takes you chronologically through the birth of Art Nouveau, the elegance of Art Deco, and the bold statements of Modernist architecture.

Starting on Pont de Grenelle, the bridge with views of both the Eiffel Tower and the miniature Statue of Liberty, you’ll hear the stories of four visionary architects who dared to break from 19th-century Haussmann traditions and create something entirely new. You’ll learn how the 16th Arrondissement became Paris’ laboratory for architectural innovation when it was incorporated into the city in 1860, attracting wealthy clients willing to risk bold new designs. You’ll also hear the stories behind the buildings, including how they were affected by the persecution of Jews during World War II.

As you walk through tree-lined streets that retain their village atmosphere, you’ll learn to spot different styles, from Art Nouveau’s organic curves to Modernism’s geometric precision. En route to Rue de l’Assomption, where the tour ends, you’ll see the highest concentration of significant early 20th-century architecture in Paris, from intimate private homes to entire streets designed as unified artistic statements.

On this hour-long tour, you’ll have a chance to:

• Stand before Castel Béranger, architect Henri Guimard’s 1898 masterpiece that launched Art Nouveau in Paris and earned the nickname Castel Derangé (Deranged Castle)
• Explore Rue Agar and its houses, where Guimard refined his style across six interconnected buildings
• Discover Henri Sauvage’s Studio Building, a 1928 Art Deco landmark that housed 50 artist studios for bourgeois clients seeking creative fantasy in their living spaces
• Visit Maison La Roche, architect Le Corbusier’s UNESCO World Heritage house which served as his laboratory for the five points of modernist architecture
• Walk the entire length of Rue Mallet-Stevens, a unique street where the architect designed five houses as a unified modernist ensemble
• Learn how world exhibitions influenced Parisian architecture, from the Eiffel Tower’s iron innovation to the integration of new industrial materials and techniques
• Find out how architect Le Corbusier’s controversial Plan Voisin would have demolished historic Paris to create a car-centric city of skyscrapers

By the end of this tour, you’ll have a sense of how Paris’ architectural revolution unfolded in the neighbourhood that continues to influence design worldwide.