Pompidou Centre: the superman of buildings, wearing its underwear on the outside (Centre Georges Pompidou)

Member Name: MarieHHH

Product:	Centre Georges Pompidou
Date:	21/06/09 (52 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: interesting, changing collections, open late

Disadvantages: not for you if you dislike modern art

After working for nearly 3 months on the outskirts of Paris I was feeling stifled by a constant cultural diet of visiting classical buildings and traditional museums such as the Louvre. I mentioned this in passing to a friend I was working with who rolled his eyes and declared that I was clearly in need of a trip to the Centre Pompidou...


What is it?

The Centre Pompidou is Paris's most famous modern art museum. It was built partly due to the desire of George Pompidou, a politician who was both Prime Minister and later President of France, to modernize Paris. It was originally named Centre Beaubourg (after its location) and became the Centre Pompidou in Pompidou's memory after his death. Its construction was completed in 1977, which makes its outward appearance all the more remarkable: it is the 'superman' of the architectural world in that it wears its underwear outside its clothes - all the pipes and other bits of buildings that are usually kept hidden are proudly on display on the very outside of the Pompidou centre, giving it a very usual and modern look even in 2009.


What is it like to visit?

No two visits to the Pompidou centre are ever quite the same. From the vast entrance hall there is a large exhibition space to the right and a smaller one to left, both of which hold changing temporary exhibitions. One of my favourite exhibitions in the smaller left area involved a whole room dedicated to a camera that captured people's shadows as they walked through. The same space, a year earlier, had contained an assortment of distorting mirrors. It is therefore quite hard to give a review of what a visit to these exhibitions might be like in the future. In general I've found the one of the left quite child-friendly and intriguing, whereas the one on the right has often been a little too 'pretentious' for my level of art appreciation and I've often been left wondering what the point of it was (think piles of wooden pallets lying around in a seemingly random way.)

The more permanent collections are upstairs, reached via a series of escalators which in keeping with the centre's insides-on-the-outside approach run outside the front of the building (affording you amazing views of Paris on the way up as an added benefit.) The art in these collections is very comparable to that of the Tate modern and ranges from a canvas in just one colour to beautiful sculptures. There are often 'video rooms' showing random films (I'm afraid I'm unable to review these objectively as I find them a bit bewildering) and also some changing 'instillation rooms' which give over a large room to one piece of art. My favourite of these was definitely the 2m high stiletto shoe model, but then I am a female and therefore biased...

At the very top you can exit onto a balcony to absorb the fabulous views of Paris. There is also a restaurant at the top of the building but I've never visited it.

How much does it cost to visit?

12 euros for an adult, and currently now free for European citizens under 26. A little-advertised fact is that all state-run museums/galleries in Paris are free on the first Sunday of every month, so that is worth bearing in mind if you will be in Paris on that date - either because you want to take advantage of visits being free, or you want to avoid as unsurprisingly the galleries are far more crowded and the queues to get in are longer on these days.


When is it open?

Every day from 11am to 10pm.


What else should I know about if I visit?

The fact that if you face the centre then walk right round the corner you will find a delightful little water feature area with a selection of completely random modern-art inspired fountains. Also that it is near Chatelet les Halles, which is great for mall-type shopping in the big French chain clothes stores.


In summary

The Pompidou Centre is always amusing. Parts of it appear in need of a little bit more TLC but in general it provides a nice contrast to the traditional Paris attractions. The fact it is open later than most is also a plus. Overall, definitely worth a visit if only for the architecture and views of Paris from the top. However, if you hate modern art with a passion it will not be for you.

Summary: worth a visit