Centre Pompidou

According to Lonely Planet, the Centre Pompidou is "the most visited cultural site in Paris." But keep this in mind -- and recent travelers attest to this -- if you're not a fan of modern art, you probably won't enjoy this museum. But if you do appreciate art moderne, you'll probably love the Pompidou. It's all modern and contemporary art -- even its exterior is a little "out there," with its insides (piping, plumbing, elevators, escalators, etc.) exposed on the outside.

Inside the inside-out museum, you'll find a massive complex of art museums, a reconstituted studio (the Brancusi Studio), a library, rooftop restaurant, two cinemas and one theater among many more gems.

• The trendy rooftop restaurant, Georges (01-44-78-47-99) is a romantic spot for dinner. Be sure to reserve a table near the window. … There are public toilets in the basement that don't have the long lines of those on the ground floor." -- Fodor's
• In fact the place is literally surrounded by some of the nicest sidewalk cafés in the city, in its superb location between the car-free above ground part of Forum Les Halles and the Marais art district." -- Wikitravel