Centre Pompidou

The Centre Pompidou is the great cultural building in the Beaubourg district of Paris, and one of the most recognisable buildings of the twentieth century. It was designed in the early 1970s by the architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, with Gianfranco Franchini, after an international competition, and it opened in 1977 under the name of the president who had backed it, Georges Pompidou. Its design turned the usual building inside out. The structure, the pipes, the ducts and the escalators are all on the outside, painted in bright colours, so that the interior spaces are left open and flexible. The colours follow a code: blue for air conditioning, green for water, yellow for electricity and red for circulation, including the lifts and the escalator in its glass tube. The design was controversial at first, and many Parisians disliked it, but it has become an accepted landmark and an influence on architecture around the world.

The building houses several institutions. The Musée national d'art moderne holds one of the largest collections of modern and contemporary art in the world, covering the period from about 1905 to the present. Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism, abstract art and the movements that followed are all represented, with works by Picasso, Matisse, Kandinsky, Duchamp, Miró, Warhol and many others. The Centre also has a large public library, the Bibliothèque publique d'information, open to all without charge, as well as cinemas, performance halls, a design collection, and space for large temporary exhibitions. The museum also looks after the studio of the sculptor Constantin Brancusi, rebuilt beside the building.

The square in front, the Place Georges-Pompidou, slopes down toward the street and is lively with street performers. Close by, the Stravinsky Fountain, with colourful moving sculptures by Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely, stands in its own square beside the church of Saint-Merri. The top floor of the Centre offers a terrace and a view over the rooftops of Paris, which is among the best in the city and can be reached by the external escalator.

A warning for planning. The building was announced to close to the public for a major renovation starting in the autumn of 2025, with reopening planned around 2030, so the museum and its views may not be open at the time of your visit, and part of its programme has been moved to other sites. Check the official website for the latest information before you go, because hours and prices change.

The Centre is easy to reach by metro at Rambuteau or Hôtel de Ville, and it lies close to the Marais, the Musée Carnavalet and the Conciergerie. Its surroundings are worth a walk even when the museum is closed, and the building remains a landmark of modern Paris. It suits lovers of modern art, architecture fans and anyone interested in the cultural history of the twentieth century.