Centre Pompidou – France's National Museum Of Modern Art

It's Europe's largest museum of modern art. Since Centre Pompidou Paris opened its doors in 1977 it has become one of the top attractions in the city, with more than seven million visitors a year, nearly as many as the Eiffel Tower. It's one of the busiest museums in Europe.

The Greatest Modern Artists in One Place

Centre Pompidou & Place Georges Pompidou at night

Centre Pompidou is the place to see the works of David Hockney, Picasso, Klee, Philippe Starck, Andy Warhol and other great modern artists and designers. You'll also see hundreds of intriguing works by artists you've probably never heard of. In busy Place Georges Pompidou just outside the museum, you find street artists, mimes, jugglers, budding artists and musicians. Don't miss the famous Stravinsky Fountain, a whimsical water-spraying sculpture inspired by the musical works of Igor Stravinsky, next to all the outdoor cafés.

Georges Pompidou & His Centre

A graphic of Georges Pompidou himself overlooks the museum

The kings, emperors, and presidents of France have always had a penchant for creating grandiose monuments in Paris as memorials to their period of rule. That's where Paris got all those grand plazas, gardens, palaces, and arches. The man who was both prime minister and president of France from 1962 to 1974 was no exception to this royal way of thinking.

The Pompidou Center was the brainchild of French President Georges Pompidou who envisioned a modern arts and cultural museum in the heart of Paris. Its unusual design with the radical "plumbing on the outside" was controversial when it first opened in 1977. Also controversial was the decision to raze blocks of buildings in the historic heart of the Marais to make room for the museum.

Work by David Hockney at The Pompidou

The museum's construction and design controversies didn't end with its opening. After only thirty years the building was suffering from mechanical and design flaws. So, in the late 1990s, it was closed for major renovation work that cost at least as much as the original construction. Don't worry, it's now healthy and open!

Today Centre Pompidou holds over 60,000 works by surrealists, cubists, pop artists and other artists of the 20th and 21st centuries. The museum is noted for leading-edge exhibits featuring some of the masters of modern art and for its presentation of the works of lesser-known artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Visiting Centre Pompidou

Centre Pompidou dominates the Marais skyline, photo Centre Pompidou

The museum is located in the middle of the medieval neighborhood of the Marais, and it still somehow feels like an alien in the quartier. Metro Rambuteau on Line 11 gets you to a corner of the Pompidou, but it's very easy to walk to from Metro Hotel de Ville (Lines 1 and 11). Be sure to check the museum's website for info on current exhibitions. Georges restaurant on the top floor provides amazing views of this part of Paris.

Centre Pompidou Resources

• The Pompidou will be closed for another massive renovation between 2025 and 2030
• Over 1,100,000 square feet
• Cost almost one billion French francs to build (and about that much to renovate 20 years later!)
• Open from 11 AM to 9 PM
• Late Night: Thursday until 9:45 PM
• Closed Tuesdays, December 25, January 1 and May 1
• Museum Website…