The Green Chairs of Paris

The story of a design icon in the City of Lights

The chairs that bring Paris to a standstill. All photos in this article by William Sidnam.

What’s the most iconic thing in Paris? If someone asked you the question, you’d probably say the Eiffel Tower.

And you’d be right.

But there’s another icon in the City of Light that, in my view, should be as celebrated as Gustave Eiffel’s 1889 edifice — the famous green SENAT chair.

If you ever visit the Jardin du Luxembourg, the Jardin du Palais-Royal or the Jardin des Tuileries — three of the main public parks in central Paris — you’ll find a whole array of these metal chairs all over the place.

While seats are a commonplace feature in most public parks in any country, what’s unique about these green chairs is not just that they’re free to use, but that they’re completely mobile. You’ve got carte blanche to do anything you want with them: take them wherever you want, face them in any direction you desire, occupy as many or as few as you feel like.

Green chairs on the Terrasse du Jeu de Paume