What is there
to see?

The centre

Georges Pompidou, French President from 1969 until he died in 1974, was the force behind the Pompidou Centre. The centre is named after him because he was the one who commissioned the building and got the ball rolling. The purpose of the cultural centre was to create a “gateway to knowledge” for the French people and anyone else who visited. Its doors were finally opened in January 1977.

Modern and contemporary art is showcased in the MNAM or Musée National d’Art Moderne (National Museum of Modern Art). But the attraction also houses a centre for industrial design (in keeping with its outer appearance), a library with a whopping 2000 reading spots, a music research centre, a cinema room and lecture halls.

The museum – Musée National d’Art Moderne

If you’re anything like me, the museum will be the most important part of the centre for you. I know that modern and contemporary art isn’t everyone’s cup of tea… But if you happen to have a penchant for Bacon, Klein, Koons or Dubuffet, you’ll feel right at home here. There will be plenty of opportunity for you to admire their masterpieces.

Even if you aren’t familiar with these contemporary artists, there will be some big names from the modern era that you are sure to recognise. Think Picasso, Dali, Chagall and Matisse.

The architecture

The building design was the work of architects Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini. The idea was to create something modern and extraordinary. And so all of the stairs, water pipes, ventilation ducts, electrics and structural elements were placed on the outside of the building, allowing plenty of flexibility in the layout of the inside space. The concept was revolutionary! You either love or hate the design, right?
Either way, with all the pipes and everything else on the outside, the Pompidou Centre is by far the most colourful building in the whole city. How come? That’s down to the colour coding system: white for supporting elements and ventilation, red for escalators and lifts, yellow for electricity and blue for air-conditioning.

Just one year after it opened its doors, the Pompidou Centre welcomed James Bond himself, when it was used for one of the shooting locations for ‘Moonraker’. The pedestrian tubing was firmly in the spotlight on the big screen!

Stravinksy Fountain

The Stravinksy or Tinguely Fountain is located on Place Igor Stravinsky next to the Pompidou Centre. The fountain – and indeed the square – was named after Igor Stravinsky, a Russian composer and conductor (1882–1971).
And Jean Tinguely was the Swiss architect who designed the fountain in 1982/83 with his partner Niki de Saint Phalle (who also created the Nana statues, one of which is on display at the Pompidou Centre).
The fountain is filled with 16 moving sculptures. The brightly coloured mythical creatures have Niki de Saint Phalle written all over them, while the black mechanical sculptures are the work of Jean Tinguely. But they are all inspired by the compositions of Igor Stravinsky.