Centre Pompidou

Resembling a factory engulfed by gigantic coloured pipes, the eye-catching building looks incongruous in the middle of the Haussmann style buildings. This was precisely the intention of its designers, the architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, commissioned by former president Georges Pompidou to create an emphatically innovative building. Since 1977, it has housed the capital’s National Museum of Modern Art.

Located between the dynamic Les Halles district and the more bohemian Marais, just a stone’s throw from the Rue de Rivoli and its shops, the Pompidou Centre takes pride of place among restaurants, bars and café terraces. Its piazza has even become a favourite meeting place for locals and visitors who settle in to enjoy the sun and the street musicians.

Masterpieces on every floor

In 2017, for its 40th anniversary celebrations, the museum gave itself a new lease of life. Completely reconfigured, the exhibition rooms take you on a new chronological circuit linking the museum’s two permanent collections dedicated to modern and contemporary art.

On Level 5, where the circuit begins, take your pick from the 7,000 works by major modern artists including Matisse, Picasso, Brancusi and Kandinsky. The task is no easier on the lower floor: Level 4 houses contemporary art treasures, by Andy Warhol, Yves Klein, Francis Bacon or Mark Rothko. The Centre also gives pride of place to emerging artists and new artistic forms, spotlighted in Gallery 0, installed on the same level.

Kids’ gallery

You’re never too young or too old to appreciate art. For families, a stopover is required at Level 1, in the Galerie des Enfants. Everyone is welcome to participate in an interactive initiation into contemporary art here, via two annual exhibition-workshops conceived by contemporary artists.

Photography lovers are also spoiled, as the Pompidou Centre has the largest photography collection in Europe, to be discovered at the Galerie des Photographies. Brancusi fans, make a detour by the reconstitution of his studio, located next to the Centre, to admire his sculptures in intimate surroundings.

Sensory pleasures

To these permanent collections, a rich program of temporary exhibitions and retrospectives from the greatest artists of contemporary and modern creation is added, presented throughout the year on the top floor of the museum.

And as a bonus, here you can enjoy a magnificent panorama over the Place Igor Stravinsky square and its fountain decorated with sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle. Look up: the most beautiful monuments of Paris are spread out before you, from the Eiffel Tower to Sacré Coeur. Pressed for time? The “View of Paris” ticket allows you to enjoy this exceptional view without visiting the exhibitions.

After these viewing pleasures, its time to spoil your taste buds at Café Central, overlooking the Forum , or the Georges restaurant, on Level 6, for a magical break overlooking the rooftops of Paris (open to 2am).

Before leaving, make a final stop in the museum shop or in front of the shelves of the Flammarion arts bookshop, located in the Forum, to find the perfect souvenir to complete your visit.

Discover the Centre Pompidou through one of the treasure hunts in the Paris Region Adventures application specially designed for families and downloadable free of charge.