Centre Pompidou

Just a quick note on what I have decided is my favourite museum in Paris so far. The Centre Georges Pompidou is a museum of modern art in all shapes and forms (architecture, design, cinema etc) and as such offers a wide variety of art. There are often exhibitions but the museum itself is free for under 26s so I stuck to that part, which occupies two floors of the centre.

The first floor is comprised of art from 1905 to the sixties and is accordingly home to more traditional aspects of art, as well as cubism and surrealism and artists such as Picasso. A favourite of mine was this 1927 painting by Christian Schad, which presents a male with his companions of the night, including a famous transvestite, on a Montmartre background.
It's then quite refreshing to look around the second floor, which spans from 1960 to the present day and includes Andy Warhol's gorgeous photography of the legend that is Elizabeth Taylor.

Unlike many museums which tend to be a bit stuffy and offer an often mundane selection of similar paintings hung on similar-looking walls, the Centre Pompidou keeps you guessing, offering a variety of bizarre looking objects. Although not everything in the Pompidou was by any means pleasing or exciting, many things were and it was fun to walk around. It also helped that we were quite high up and that the glass walls offered fantastic views of Paris around us. Confused by what I mean by bizarre looking objects? Well there was...

A strange, Alice in Wonderland-esque mushroom.

Dizzy-inspiring paintings: if you look at it for long enough your eyes begin to go cross-eyed.

<---- I'm lost for words on this one.

Thusly you can see that many objects are odd (and maybe even slightly infantile?) but nonetheless amusing and at times thought-provoking. The museum is located in the marais quarter not far from the Hotel de Ville. The large square in front of the museum, the place du pompidou, is filled with street entertainers, tourists and local Frenchies enjoying the sunshine. Voila, perfect for an entertaining and cost-free few hours to spend in Paris, followed by a walk to Rue de Rosiers for a falafel and maybe a cheeky drink or two at La Perle. Bonne Nuit xxx