A trendy hotel near Beaubourg - Pompidou Centre: the 9Confidentiel hotel

Fans of contemporary art visiting Paris will love the 9Confidentiel hotel, a trendy hotel very near Beaubourg - Pompidou Centre - or officially: Georges-Pompidou National Centre of Art and Culture-, a world-famous cultural institution.

History of the Pompidou Centre (Beaubourg)

The Beaubourg Centre came from the initiative of Georges Pompidou, President of France from 1969 to 1974. As an art lover, he wanted to showcase contemporary art and create a Mecca for culture in Paris so he organised a competition for architects from all over the world. The design of Renzo Piano, Gianfranco Franchini and Richard Rogers (two Italians and an Englishman) were selected out of 681 candidates from 49 countries. Work began in 1971 and took five years to complete. The Centre was opened on January 31st, 1977 by the president at the time, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, the prime minister, Raymond Barre, and the secretary of state for culture, François Giroud. Georges Pompidou did not live to see the completion of his project as he passed away in 1974. Although controversial for its eccentric architecture, the centre has been a success and quickly became a Parisian tourist attraction. Between 1997 and 2000 a new wave of construction was carried out to renovate the building. As a popular tourist attraction, the centre welcomed 3.3 million visitors in 2016.

Beaubourg: symbolic architecture

The Pompidou Centre measures 166 metres long, 42 metres high and 60 metres wide. Inside are 5 levels of 7,500m² with a total area of 103,300m², of which 45,000m² is accessible to the public. Its urban and industrial character is primarily due to the materials used during its construction such as steel, glass and reinforced concrete, but also due to the characteristics of the building such as the exterior escalator, metallic framework and big colourful pipes surrounding the structure. The colours of the pipes vary according to their purpose: blue pipes for air (air conditioning), green pipes for water, yellow pipes for energy (electricity), and red pipes for various circulation elements (lifts, galleries, etc.).

Collections and events

The National Museum of Modern Art collection is split into two spaces: the modern period (1905-1960), with notable works by Matisse and Picasso; and the contemporary period (from 1960 to present) which showcases artists such as Andy Warhol and Niki de Saint Phalle. On the top floor are temporary exhibitions of international renown and a panoramic view over the centre of Paris. As well as these collections, the Pompidou Centre hosts different events such as the Festival Hors Pistes and the International Documentary Film Festival.

Composition of the Pompidou Centre

In addition to its modern art museum, Beaubourg has several cultural spaces, such as theatres and cinemas, an industrial design centre and the Public Information Library (BPI). With 2,200 seats, an area of 10,400m² and a collection of nearly 380,000 freely accessible documents, the Pompidou Centre’s BPI is the premier public reading library in Europe.

Practical information:

Museum hours
11am to 9pm every day except Tuesdays.
Entrance to the Museum is free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month.

BPI Opening Times
11am to 10pm Saturday, Sunday, and bank holidays.
12pm to 10pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday.

Access
Place Georges-Pompidou - 75004 PARIS
Metro: Rambuteau (line 11), Hôtel de Ville (lines 1 and 11)
RER: Châtelet - Les Halles (lines A, B, D)
Bus: lines 29, 38, 47, 75

https://www.centrepompidou.fr/en