The centre Pompidou has been constructed between the 1971-1977 and was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, the British architect couple Richard Rogers and Sue Rogers, and the British structural engineer Edmund Happold and Irish structural engineer Peter Rice. It is a complex in the Beaubourg area of the IVe arrondissement of Paris, near Les Halles and the Marais. It houses the Bibliotheque publique d'information, a vast public library, the Musée National d'Art Moderne, and IRCAM, a centre for music and acoustic research. Because of its location, the Centre is known locally as Beaubourg. It is named after Georges Pompidou, who was president of France from 1969 to 1974, and was opened on January 31, 1977.

The Musee National d'Art Moderne is the French national modern art museum located on the fourth and fifth floors of the Centre. Organisationally, it is associated with IRCAM, the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique, which is located nearby. The museum has a major international collection of modern art by artists such as Kandinsky, Matisse, Miro', Picasso, etc. Some of the art movements represented are Fauvism, Cubism, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism. It has 50,000 works of art (including painting, sculpture, drawing, and photography), of which 1,500 to 2,000 are on public display. Also located here is the Centre of Industrial Design. 20th century architecture and design are covered. The museum has a rolling program of important temporary exhibitions.

To get a taste of one of the world’s greatest collection of modern art, simply head to Centre Pompidou in the 4e arrondissement. To get there by metro, get off at one of the following stations: Rambuteau* (Line 11), Hotel de Ville (Line 11) or Chatelet (Lines 1, 4, 7, 11 and 14). This is the place where we bought our Paris Museum Pass and I recommend this because: a) there are barely any lines when purchasing at Centre Pompidou, and b) Centre Pompidou is included in the pass so it is free. I believe that the Centre is open from 11am to 9pm and closed on Tuesdays. It is said that the Centre has free admission on the first Sunday of every month but that was not the case for us – they would not let us through even though it was said the admission was free. We simply bought the pass and used it to enter the gallery the next day.

The exterior of Centre is what you would expect to see in an engineering plant, only that it’s more colourful and has an art deco feel to it. Many Parisians were offended when it was first established but now it’s highly revered. There are six floors that are accessible by escalator, elevator, and stairs. When I visited back in May 2007, some floors were closed so we were only able to visit 2 floors. Centre Pompidou is the home to many works of famous artists such as Picasso, Kandinsky, Matisse, and several others. For children, there are open-concept works of arts that would be sure to keep them interested.

Centre Pompidou is perfect for people who are keen in photography because the view from the top is spectacular and to die for. Many people mill about on the outdoor grounds in front of the Centre and it’s a great place to do some people watching. If you’re a student or budget traveller and not willing to pay exorbitant prices at Internet cafes, you can use the free Internet at the library inside the gallery. Keep in mind that you must wait in line to receive a ticket that has your computer number and access code and I believe it’s for 30 minutes’ access. To get another 30 minutes added on, you must go back to the line to get another ticket. Either way, it may be hassle but it’s free and beats the 1-euro/15 minute charge seen in most Internet cafes.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the modern works of art and I was very pleased to get a chance to be up and close to my favourite Kandinsky paintings. It also helps that the galleries and their respective floors are brightly lit and have a warm, airy feel, which is a stark contrast to other certain museums. Best time to go is in the late afternoon, early evening – so you can beat the crowds and perhaps have a room to your own!

"What a strange looking building" was all that I could remember thinking the first time I saw the Centre George Pompidou. I must admit though that it did not seem out of place with the Renaissance and Gothic architecture of the rest of Paris in spite of its modern facade. Perhaps it was that the Renaissance architects were of the same creative genius as Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, just a different time period. Whatever it might be, it is easy to see why the Centre George Pompidou is one of Paris' most beloved modern landmarks.

In a city that is so steeped in history and resistant to change, the Centre George Pompidou created a bit of controversy when it was first constructed in the late 1970s. The architect's goal was to turn a normal building design inside out and they accomplished this by having the steel supports, water, electricity, gas, ventilation and all other support systems on the outside of the buildings walls. These systems are color coded to and make a nice visual design when viewed from the outside. Much like the controversy that was initially caused by the IM Pei pyramid at the Louvre, the Centre's naysayers soon were quieted once they realized the genius of the modern artistic structure.

The Centre houses a large library and also the National Galerie d'Art Moderne - which is why I chose to visit. I really enjoy contemporary art, and was expecting to see some Picasso's and other modern European masters. I however was pleasantly surprised by the amount of American contemporary art here - my favorites Lichtenstein and Warhol were well represented. Several of Warhol's famous shoe paintings and Lichtenstein's Hot Dog print were both high on my list of "must-sees". The Centre is also home to a litany of modern sculpture, and other modern modes of expression (eg. video, performance art, etc). There is plenty to visually please once inside, that's for sure.

I really like this museum's clean and open interior. Looking at the jumble of pipes on the outside, one might not expect to be greeted by an open floor plan with plenty of natural light and modern space enhancing techniques. Evidently, it was the goal of the design team to put the mess of the building on the outside to give visitors an uninterrupted expanse which to view artworks. Their plans worked.

The museum has several restaurants that can accommodate you whether you want a quick bite to eat (the Cafe) or a formal sit down meal (Restaurant Georges). The Centre also has several outdoor spaces that belong to it where art work and performance art are exhibited (both permanently and temporarily). With such a variety of activities in this expansive space, it's probably best to plan to spend at least a whole day here. Tickets are only about $10/person for admission making this one of the less expensive ways to take in modern art and some French culture at the same time.

We recognised the Pompidou Centre immediately when we saw it—it is so strange looking.

The Pompidou Centre was built between 1972 and 1977 and displays and promotes contemporary art. It was named after Georges Pompidou - President of France between 1960-1974. He wanted a venue where people could enjoy contemporary film, drama, music, dance, and visual art and so the Pompidou Centre was built. It took 5 years to construct. It is also known as the Beaubourg and houses the Musee National d'Art Moderne.

People either love or hate the brazen design of the building. It has grown on me, I thought it was ugly at first but I think I appreciate it for its "differentness." Anyway, it still manages to attract 6 million people a year.

It was designed to create a radical building inside and out. In most buildings the structural supports and the services—pipeworks, air ducts, and escalators are neatly hidden. Here the architects have put them onto the outside to free up the interior space and made a feature of them by painting them in bright colours. The piping is colour coded—yellow for electrics, blue for air-conditioning, green for water, and red for the lifts.

As well as the art galleries, there is a library with over 2,000 periodicals.

There is a lovely little gift shop on the mezzanine level selling contemporary and beautifully designed objects—household appliances, hairdryers, gifts—very diverse and very nice.

In the square to the west of the centre there were lots of young, studenty, arty people sitting on the ground, chatting and enjoying the sunshine. We also saw lots of street musicians, some Marcel Marceau impersonators and a few unsavoury types as well. Apparently this is an area where pickpockets are rife. We however loved the buzzing and lively atmosphere.

Around the corner from the main entrance to the Pompidou Centre is the Place Igor Stravinsky—there are some great fountains there—modern, surreal and, worth seeing.

By contrast to the Paris’ traditional museums, the Pompidou Centre was built and conceived as a futuristic building in steel and glass, sporting outrageously vivid and some may say shocking colours. I guess nowadays (the building was planned in the early 1970s), it is straightforward and less challenging, but it still retains its importance as a breakthrough in design and construction engineering within the city.

The centre is a sensational looking building, particularly at night as its glass wall, separated by the steel frame gives a strange appearance to the building – almost incomplete in its completeness with its scaffolding suggesting that work is still in progress. It’s the only building, that I’m aware of, that has the main escalator on the outside. It seems to be mimicking the motions of a giant caterpillar as it crawls up the extremities of the structure. The bright colours almost scream at you but I’m assured that each colour is representational: blue for air and openness; yellow electricity and dynamism; green for fluidity of movement; red for flow and lack of restriction. Not sure about that myself, but the starkness of the primary colours certainly has an impact alongside the adjoining buildings and the simplicity of the complex building. The Pompidou centre seems constantly to contradict itself and challenge the senses.

I haven’t seen the building since it re-opened in 2000 – but I understand that its tired inside have been totally re-vamped and loads of new space has been created by moving the administration into another building

From the top floor you get a superb view, across the city’s rooftops, of Sacre-Coeur, the Eiffel tower, and Notre-Dame. Straight below you is the piazza with its static sculptures, water features and a multitude of street entertainers. It’s a busy area and from this height the hoards of tourists and entertainers seem to scurry in orderly fashion, like an army of ants, across the cobbled square.

But I shouldn’t forget the raison d’être of this building. It was conceived by President Georges Pompidou who was determined to establish a modern building in the centre of Paris to display a variety of contemporary and modern arts. Not only inert modern installations but art in its broadest terms – interactive and challenging. So the building itself was meant to challenge the environment and yet offer a real and tangible link with the local and wider community. Here President Pompidou wanted visual arts such as drama, theatre, cinema, and music to be available and he also had a vision that the building itself should be interactive and "talked about". This man’s vision seems to have worked as millions of people have visited the centre since its official original opening back in 1977.

This is a building that you’ll experience and in all honesty you’ll either love it or hate it. I look forward to visiting it again to check out whether those early messages of freedom and openness are still as strong.