The Pompidou Center, commonly known as Beaubourg, changed the face of Paris when it opened in 1977 in a rundown neighborhood that once had been the public market. It houses, among other things, the Musée National d'Art Moderne, the largest modern art museum in Europe, and IRCAM, a center for music and acoustic research. The museum holds block-buster exhibitions and attracts several million visitors a year. Out front the Place Pompidou is a vibrant gathering of street performers, sketch artists and musicians. The high-tech architecture by Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Gianfranco Franchini won out in an international competition judged by Oscar Niemeyer, Jean Prouvé and Philip Johnson Museum.

centrepompidou.fr