Paris: What to See & Do: Museums & Galleries: Centre Georges Pompidou

Centre Georges Pompidou

Celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, Europe’s largest repository of modern art may not have fulfilled former President Pompidou’s mission to make Paris a center of modern art that rivals New York, but nonetheless it’s become a highly popular and important museum. The form-follows-function haute industrial design, by architects Richard Rogers and Renzo Piano, shook up Paris when it emerged on the edge of Les Halles in the late ’70s, but today it has an almost kitschy charm. Plan a full day to see the museum’s collection of contemporary works from 1905 to the present—from Primitivism, Fauvism, Cubism, Dada and Surrealism to the postwar period, when American artists came to dominate the international scene. There’s a first-rate photography collection, including works by Brassaï, Man Ray, Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau. Service at Georges, the top-floor restaurant with a dramatic contemporary dining room, can be snippy, but it’s worth putting up with it for superlative views, and it’s ideal for lunch. Closed Tuesday. Métro: Rambuteau, Les Halles or Hôtel de Ville.