Centre Pompidou. Famous works. Visit

Centre Pompidou facts

Lesser known than the Louvre Museum and Musée d'Orsay, Le Centre Pompidou is well worth your time: central location in Le Marais district, a daring monument, first class modern art collections, stunning Paris views and a lively district.

Together with Picasso Museum, another world class museum of modern art at walking distance, Centre Pompidou greatly contributed to the fame of Le Marais, now the most fashionable district in the city.

Centre Pompidou visit

Centre Pompidou closed its doors on septembre 29 2025 for a massive five-year restoration.

Locate Centre Pompidou on Paris map. Paris metro: Chatelet-les Halles and Rambuteau stations.

Le Marais Hotel Le Presbytère

Many good Paris hotels are in Le Marais. A few are exceptional, set in old houses and so different from modern hotels everywhere in the world. Set in the former presbytery of Saint-Merry church, Hotel Presbytère in Le Marais is one of them. It is a mere 300 m from the famous Pompidou Centre and 350 m from Forum des Halles shopping centre. Notre-Dame is 800 m away. Set over 5 floors, each room in this 3-star hotel has an en suite bathroom. The Gothic decoration and furnishings will transport guests to another time. A courtesy tray is provided in each of them. A continental breakfast is served daily, in the comfort of your rooms if booked in advance. There are pLenty of bars in rue des Lombards near-by. Many restaurants can be found within walking distance. Chatelet metro station (lines 1, 4, 7, 11 and 14) is just 350m from Hôtel Le Presbytère, making it easy for guests to discover the parts of Paris that are further away. A public car park is available at a surcharge.

Centre Pompidou most famous works

Centre Pompidou has 60 000 pieces of art, the second largest 20th century art collection in the world behind MOMA in New York City, USA. The collections are exhibited on a six month rotation basis. Picasso, Chagall, Matisse, Kandinsky, Léger are the best represented painters in the museum, which also stages first class temporary exhibitions.

To see more great modern and contemporary paintings in Paris, visit also the lesser known Musée art moderne.

Picasso in Centre Pompidou

Born in Spain, Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) spent most of his life in Paris and in the French Riviera in Southern France. For that reason, France has three world class Picasso Museums: Centre Pompidou, Picasso Museum Paris, Picasso Museum Antibes.

Centre Pompidou has 65 Picasso paintings spanning his entire life. A good complement to Paris Picasso Museum dedicated to the artist.

Chagall in Centre Pompidou

Born in Russia, Marc Chagall (1887-1985) spent much of his long life in Paris and in the French Riviera. He became a French celebrity and popular painter.

Centre Pompidou has a collection of 59 Chagall paintings spanning his entire life. While in Paris, you can also admire the Chagall ceiling of XIXth century Opéra Garnier. We also recommend you to go to the French Riviera and visit the wonderful Chagall Museum Nice.

Matisse in Centre Pompidou

Henri Matisse (1869-1954) was a frenchman. As Picasso and Chagall, he started in Paris, emigrated to the USA when World War II broke out and came back to France after the war to settle in the French Riviera. Matisse is also an extremely popular painter.

Centre Pompidou has a large collection of Matisse paintings. You could also complement your visit of Centre Pompidou by flying to the great Matisse Museum Nice in the French Riviera.

Fernand Léger in Centre Pompidou

Fernand Léger (1881-1955) was also a frenchman. As the three others, he first settled in Paris, emigrated to the USA and came back after the war to settle in the French Riviera.

Centre Pompidou has 35 Léger paintings. You could complement your visit to Centre Pompidou with a visit to the spectacular Léger Museum Biot in a lovely village in the French Riviera.

Centre Pompidou district

Jonglers and musicians animate the large lazza in front of Centre Pompidou. The whole district is very lively. You will find bars and music on rue des Lombards (Paris map) very close to Centre Pompidou. The large Les Halles Shopping Mall is 5' walking from Centre Pompidou.

On the top floor of Centre Pompidou, the expensive Georges restaurant has a great Paris view. It is possible to enjoy the view of the city from the escalator and top floor platform.

Centre Pompidou architecture

Centre Pompidou is the most spectacular 20th century monument in Paris. It was designed in 1977 by architects Renzo Piano from Italy and Richard Rodgers from the UK.

It all began with Georges Pompidou who wanted to construct a monumental cultural center in Paris that would attract all kinds of visitors. The president held an international competition for the project. Suprinsingly, the design of Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, both not famous at the time, won the competition.

They designed a high-tech modern cultural center unlike anything seen before, exposing all of the infrastructure of the building. The skeleton itself engulfs the building from its exterior, showing all of the different mechanical and structure systems not only so that they could be understood but also to maximize the interior space without interruptions.

Georges Pompidou

Georges Pompidou was born in 1911. He was Prime Minister of France from 1962 to 1968, the longest tenure in the position, and President of France from 1969 until his death in 1974. He had long been a top aide to president Charles de Gaulle. As president, he was a moderate conservative, repaired France's relationship with the United States and maintained positive relations with the former colonies in Africa. Georges Pompidou passionately loved modern art. He personnally took the decision to create what later became the Centre Pompidou.