Along the Seine, from the Pont Neuf to the Tuileries Gardens, running underground beneath the Louvre, lies a very different kind of museum. A former traffic tunnel that was first opened in 1967, the Tunnel des Tuileries is now a pedestrian and bicycle-only thoroughfare. The space serves two purposes. For many, it’s a car-free means of commuting through a very busy part of the city. Bikes zoom along the 800m tunnel every peak hour. But since 2022, this subterranean passage has become so much more. Because in the lead-up to the Paris Olympics, every reachable surface has been covered in vibrant and unique street art.
Rogue and commissioned street art can of course be found all over Paris, just like many other cities. It could be argued that street art in its truest form should be unplanned and unsanctioned, a form of urban rebellion. Some of the city-sanctioned projects found in certain areas of Paris fall flat, feeling overly cutesy or sanitised.
But as far as ‘permitted’ street art is concerned, the Tunnel des Tuileries strikes the ideal balance. The space is dark, dripping, concrete- nothing else has been changed since it was a purely functional roadway. The art is diverse and bold, a range of artists’ odes to the city’s iconic moments and sites. Since it was established, in true street art form, many of the original works have been taken over by tags and other images, which rough up any polished edges. The space is also colourfully and dramatically lit with blue and red spotlights and projections that highlight and complement the works.
This is not an abandoned tunnel that’s been left to graffiti. This is a transformed tunnel that’s been turned into an ever-shifting museum for street art.
The Musées de Paris museum map of Paris
Voie Georges Pompidou <> Quai des Tuileries, métro: Pont Neuf (line 7)
Free to visit
Open every day, 7.45am to 10pm
Wheelchair accessible
Les Musées de Paris 