The Centre Pompidou is one of the most provocative buildings in Paris: its skeleton turned inside out, with colour-coded utility ducts and escalator tubes running up the exterior. When it opened in 1977 the neighbourhood was outraged; now it anchors the lively Beaubourg quarter, and its rooftop terrace offers some of the best free views in Paris.
Inside is the Musée National d'Art Moderne, housing Europe's largest collection of modern and contemporary art — some 100,000 works from Kandinsky and Matisse through to the present day. The rotating displays mean the collection always feels fresh. The external escalator ride is thrilling even if you don't go inside.
The surrounding plaza, Place Igor Stravinsky with its colourful Niki de Saint Phalle fountains, is perpetually animated with street performers, skateboarders, and tourists. The area around rue Montorgueil, a five-minute walk north, is one of the best pedestrian market streets in Paris for a post-museum coffee or meal.