No Title

Sacré-Cœur Basilica

Beautiful from the outside, not that impressive inside. My camera stopped at the facade:

Wide and Narrow

Paris has it all, from the widest boulevards:

To the narrowest streets:

Palais de Tokyo

Open every day except Tuesday from noon till midnight. Dedicated to modern and contemporary art.

Place de la Concorde

Situated slightly off dead city center (that position belongs to the Notre Dame cathedral), Place de la Concorde is the largest square in Paris (occupying the area of almost 22 acres). It is surrounded by a bewildering array of magnificent monuments and architectural marvels, as well as the famous Champs-Élysées boulevard, Tuileries Gardens, Pont de la Concorde, Rue de Rivoli, Rue Royale, etc. When you visit this gigantic octagonal square, you’ll immediately know that you’re in the midst of some of the most significant historic and architectural spots in the French capital.

Notre Dame

Another spectacular Parisian landmark that needs no introduction; I’ll let the photos speak for themselves:

Louvre

Paris and Louvre are, of course, almost synonymous. What can anyone possibly say about the Louvre that hasn’t already been said countless times over? Rather than boring you with historical facts and stats, I’ll let the photos speak for themselves:

Art And Culture As Centralized Political Power

French novelist André Malraux, who was the first minister of French cultural affairs, proposed the idea of building a multicultural complex in the heart of Paris. Thus the Centre Georges Pompidou was eventually built in 1970s and is today hosting the vast public library, the Musée National d’Art Moderne (the largest museum for modern art in Europe), and the Institut de Recherche et Coordination Acoustique/Musique (a European institute for science about music and sound and avant garde electro-acoustical art music).

Despite causing much controversy, Centre Georges Pompidou had revolutionized our ideas about museums by transforming the traditional places of elite monuments into democratic places of social and cultural exchange. Architecturally daring, this edifice turned the architecture world upside down (or perhaps inside out?) by exposing the innards of the giant building to the outside world. Thus we see that all the typically hidden infrastructure, such as plumbing, electrical wiring, climate control and such, get exposed on the outside of this multiplex:

As you can see from the above photos, functional structural elements are color coded: green pipes are plumbing, blue ducts are for climate control, electrical wires are encased in yellow, and circulation elements and devices for safety (e.g., fire extinguishers) are red.

A fairly large open space, usually hosting street performers and carnivals, leads visitors into the building:

As you climb the escalator, exciting Parisian vistas open up:

My favorite 20th century artist:

This museum is huge, need to go out to on the terrace for a break:

Another attraction in front of the Centre Georges Pompidou is the Stravinsky Fountain. It contains sixteen moving sculptures that represent themes and works by composer Igor Stravinsky:

Beauty And The Bird

Refreshment time (with one unexpected visitor):

Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris

Museum of Modern Art of the City of Paris contains some of the most grandiose art exhibits ever assembled in one place. If you are into grand scale artwork, you must visit this incredible edifice, which is located in the sixteenth arrondissement, at the bank of the river Seine.

The entrance to the museum is very stylish, and deceptively non-pompous:

However, once you get in, you will experience ever unfolding vistas of grand rooms and halls.

Cesar — one of my favorite 20th century sculptors

School children get early education in modern art:

Finally, here is some of the mechanics of art: