When old meets new - today's focus will be on two highly prominent museums in Paris - the Centre Georges Pompidou (which houses the museum of modern art) and the Louvre Museum (one of the largest museums housing a massive collection of art dating back to the prehistoric periods). The Centre Georges Pompidou was officially opened in 1977 (constructed between 1971 and 1977), while the Louvre Museum has a much longer history, dating back to the 1790s when it was used to house paintings, confiscated church property and other masterpieces during that time (and earlier).
First up - let's explore the Centre Georges Pompidou. This unique steel structure reminds me of a skeleton - everything is exposed!! Check out the front facade of the building - I first came across the Centre Georges Pompidou in an architecture book (which is currently in Singapore at the moment)...and was so fascinated by the prominent zig-zag escalator...and I vowed that I had to visit the Centre Georges Pompidou someday. And...so I did!
The foyer and main entrance of the building was pretty interesting too - everything was built in an open concept. But check out the ceilings! Pipes, pipes and more pipes. I should also mention that the back of the building had LOTS of different coloured pipes. These pipes were initially colour coded for various purposes, but now I doubt the colour code still holds.
Remember the zig-zag escalator thingy on the front facade? Well - it actually led all the way up to the highest floor on the building! It was like a dream come true - when I finally entered the escalator tunnel...and slowly made my way up to the top floor.
The building itself is 6 storeys high, and even from 6 storeys above ground, the view was pretty amazing!!
Right next to the escalator tunnel was yet another transparent tunnel, allowing us to have even more photo-taking opportunities! I didn't spot this tunnel when I first saw the building, but when I realised it was accessible, I went through it straightaway! Of course, many others were in the tunnel already, and I could see that they were also fascinated with the view...
Through the tunnel, I also caught a glimpse of some of the architectural details of the building. It really fascinates me - how pipes, structures, scaffolding...are so well-organised and yet so exposed. Everything seemed so transparent...including the escalator tunnels and this tunnel here. I guess it's all part of the design...
Also spotted a restaurant on the top of the building. It wasn't open for dinner yet, so it was relatively quiet...
Had some fun trying to take pics of the details on the building. This was totally a far cry from the buildings that I had been seeing in the past couple of days in Paris, such as the Opera Garnier, the Grand Palais/Petit Palais, Sacre Coeur and some others...this was absolutely modern, and so innovative. So I decided to go all out...and take as many pics as I could!
Went down to the fifth floor, where there was yet another walkway. Now this one was exposed - and gave us even better views of the city and the surroundings!! And oh - I should also mention, here's yet another pic of the front facade, from the 5th floor walkway.
And after taking that pic, I went up and down the walkway, taking pics of the Parisian skyline. It was interesting to see how the older buildings in Paris were no taller than 6 storeys high...the whole skyline looked pretty flat from here! Especially the buildings right in front of the Centre George Pompidou!
As I went down the escalators, I was attempting to take more pics of the structural details of the building...all the way from the 5th floor, right down to the ground floor.
And just as I was leaving the area, I took one last pic of the Centre Georges Pompidou...well, half the Centre Georges Pompidou with the other surrounding buildings...it actually took me some time to find the Centre Georges Pompidou, but it was definitely worth it!
And earlier that day? Well I was at the Louvre Museum! It was raining that day and we entered the mall next to the Louvre Museum to seek shelter...but got lost in there, and had to find our way out somehow! We eventually realised that there was a passage within the mall - that would lead all the way to the Louvre Museum, but it was way too long.......
Anyway, managed to sneak a pic of this upside down pyramid before we left the mall.
It had been raining non-stop, and the skies were so dreary that day. But this time, the rainy weather kind of helped me...when I was taking these pics I was really fascinated by the reflections of the buildings and the pyramids on the ground. Just a heads' up - EACH of the beautifully decorated heritage buildings leads up to an art gallery, and the giant pyramid right in the middle of the compound is where the ticketing office is. The smaller pyramids provide views of the four surrounding buildings...and serve as natural lighting...
The giant pyramid was only added to the compound in 1988 and was designed by I.M. Pei. The upside-down pyramid I featured earlier was added later on, years after this giant pyramid was installed.
Finally finally finally entered the giant pyramid after queuing up for ages! The queue to the Louvre is ALWAYS long. Not surprising - considering that the famous Mona Lisa portrait is housed in the Louvre, and that the Louvre is one of the most famous and most frequently visited museum in the world!
I initially wanted to enter the giant art galleries to see the artworks housed by the Louvre...but queuing up was already such a chore. Besides...school groups were starting to come in...and check out the crowd...
So I scrapped the idea. And bought a book on the Louvre Museum instead - the book featured all the artwork exhibited in the museum anyway! Needless to say - the book cover had the portrait of Mona Lisa.
The Louvre Museum has quite a rich history - and is really aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The Louvre Museum is actually housed in the Louvre Palace compound, originally built as a fortress in the 1200s, and was chosen by King Louis XIV to house the Royal Collection in the 1600s. Subsequently the building was converted into a museum to house national artworks, and that's how the Louvre gradually became one of the most famous museums in the world! The collection has expanded ever since the Louvre was first established.
Anyway - I was - as usual, fascinated by the details on the building...so I had quite a nice time, despite the rain. It was pretty cold that day though!!
After exiting the giant Louvre Museum compound (trust me - you need at least one ENTIRE day to explore this massive compound...and possibly one more day just to enter and look at the artwork....), I wandered around for a bit - since the rain had died down considerably. So here're some pics of the random places I wandered through, before heading off to my next destination...
And that's it for now! Two ticks off the "bucket list" - going up the Centre Georges Pompidou, and visiting the Louvre Museum. In the next post - more ticks off the "bucket list" follow...accompanied by LOTS of climbing. Do stay tuned!