Paris offers so much to see and do that it’s important to plan your trip in advance to ensure you see all the highlights and have time to relax. Low season discounts are plentiful right now with many Paris apartments for rent offering up to 25% off. This guide will take you through three of the cultural highlights of any art lover’s trip to the French capital.

the pompidou center

This iconic postmodern building known to millions as “the one with the pipes outside” was a collaborative architectural project between Renzo Piano, Richard and Sue Rogers, and Edmund Happold. The powerful aesthetic of the building gives it the appearance that it has been turned inside out. The Center Georges Pompidou was built between 1971 and 1977 and houses a large public library, the Bibliothèque publique d’information, the Musée National d’Art Moderne and IRCAM, which is a center for musical and acoustic research. The building is named after a former French president, Georges Pompidou, who was in power from 1969 to 1974. In awarding the design team, the Pritzker jury said the Pompidou “revolutionized museums, transforming what they once were.” elite monuments in popular places of social and cultural exchange, woven into the heart of the city”. The Place Georges Pompidou in front of the center is popular with tourists due to the presence of street artists and musicians, which create a unique atmosphere.

The Georges Pompidou Center is open every day from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Tickets cost EUR10 with EUR8 for those entitled to concessions. Address Georges Pompidou Square.

The Louvre

Once a royal fortress, this Paris landmark is arguably the most famous art institution in France, let alone Paris. The original fortress dates from the end of the 12th century and it was not until 1793 when it was transformed into a museum. The museum opened with a collection of 537 paintings, said to have been confiscated from church and royal property, it has now grown to a collection of more than 380,000 objects and 35,000 works of art, spread over an area of ​​60 600 square meters. meters The most famous work of art contained in this museum is, of course, Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa, which was completed shortly before the artist died in 1519. The collection is extensive and organized into eight different curatorial departments. Visitors have the opportunity to view rare Egyptian antiquities, Islamic art, sculpture, decorative arts, paintings, prints, and drawings. It’s easy to get to the museum, just get off at the Palais-Royal-Musée du Louvre station and follow the people going in or out. Numerous buses stop around the museum and all stops are clearly signposted. There is even a large underground car park whose entrance is on avenue du Général Lemonnier.

It is open every day from 7 am to 11 pm The opening hours of the museum are: 0900-1800 hrs every day except 01/01, 05/01, 11/11, 12/25. The museum is open until 10:00 p.m. every Wednesday and Friday night. Admission costs range from EUR 6 to EUR 13 depending on the fare you purchase. As the museum is divided into several sections, it is recommended to buy the combined ticket for 13 EUR, as you have full access to all parts of the museum. Address: Cour Napoleon, AP 34, 36 quai du Louvre

Orsay’s Museum

The Musée d’Orsay houses one of the largest collections of French Impressionist works by the likes of Monet, Degas, Van Gogh, Renoir and Cezanne. The collection is made up largely of French art dating from 1848 to 1915. A former train station that was built for the 1900 World’s Fair, the Gare d’Orsay was converted into a museum that opened in 1986. Between 1939 and 1986 the building was used as a post office, sets for Orson Welles’ Kafka trial and also as a theater space and auction house. Famous pieces in the collection include Claude Monet’s Wind Effect of Poplars series and Renoir’s The Boy with the Cat.

Hours: the museum is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to 9:45 p.m. Tickets cost €8 at regular price and €5.50 for those entitled to a concession. The address is 62, rue de Lille, the nearest train station is RER Musée d’Orsay.