For decades, Paris has been among the top ten most popular worldwide destinations for international travelers. And no wonder – the city has multiple historical, cultural, and famous places that everyone associates with Paris. After all, no tourist’s trip to Paris would be complete without visiting the Eiffel Tower, the Seine River, the Arc de Triomphe, Sacre Coeur, Champs Elysées, Notre Dame, and even Disneyland Paris.
Of course, Paris is also chock full of museums and visits to the Louvre, Musée d’Orsay, the Rodin Museum and others are “must sees” when in Paris.
However there’s sad news for Paris’ art lovers because it’s been announced the Centre Pompidou has been scheduled to close for five years for an overhaul.
France’s Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, announced the closing in early May. She explained the project will be a dual modernization and asbestos removal project has to be done to “perpetuate its survival.” The cost of the project is estimated to be 260 million euros ($282 million).
The closure was initially expected to begin in September 2023. But it’s now been postponed until after the Summer Olympics, which will occur in Paris in 2024.
Located in the heart of Paris, the Pompidou (well, officially Centre national d’art et de culture Georges-Pompidou, which translates into English as National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture) (it was named after former French President Georges Pompidou) has over 3 million visitors every year. Located in the Beaubourg area of the 4th arrondissement, near Les Halles, rue Montorgueil, and the Marais, the Pompidou also offers one of the best views of Paris. It was the first major example of an ‘inside-out’ building with its structural system, mechanical systems, and circulation exposed on the exterior of the building.
The goal of the refurbishment (besides asbestos removal) is to reinvent the “original utopia” of the Centre Pompidou while responding to the cultural, societal and environmental challenges of the coming years, Laurent Le Bon, the landmark’s president, informed CNN.
The renovation will also bring a brand new 1,500-square-meter terrace that will afford views over the west end of Paris. The work will also help reduce the center’s energy bill by 60%. “We are probably one of the most energy-consuming buildings in France so this is rather good news,” Le Bon said.
Parts of the museum will still be available during the renovation, albeit in other locations. Its public library, with its 400,000 books, will move to Le Lumière, a temporary site in Paris’s Bercy district. Pieces of art from its National Modern Art Museum will be exhibited, not only across Paris but in other areas within France, as well as in other countries.
The rehab will begin in 2025 and is expected to continue through sometime in 2030.
Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
