Centre Pompidou

The Centre Georges Pompidou, often referred to as the Centre Beaubourg, opened in 1977 and is different from its fellow cultural centres in that it provides a place where art and culture appears to be to be owned by the people, rather than seeming elitist and therefore inaccessible. On the plaza outside this huge strange looking example of modern architecture, street performers entertain the crowds, while students queue to enter the public library (Bibliotheque Publique which is located on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd floors).

Inside people relax on the mezzanine-level café.

One feels that one is right in the middle of Parisian life.

This National Museum of Modern Art also contains many of the most exciting works of the 20th and 21st century.