The Louvre may be the world's greatest art museum - but it's also the one most avoided by visitors to Paris. Daunted by its size and overwhelming richness, many people head to smaller galleries. But if you have even the merest interest in the fruits of human civilisation from antiquity to the 19th century, then visit you must. To make your visit more enjoyable, pick up one of the useful map-guides and check out the works you really want to see, concentrating on only a couple of sections of the museum. The most famous works from antiquity include the Seated Scribe, the Jewels of Rameses II and the armless duo - the Winged Victory of Samothrace and the Venus de Milo. From the Renaissance, don't miss Michelangelo's Slaves, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and works by Raphael, Botticelli and Titian. French masterpieces of the 19th century include Ingres' La Grande Odalisque, Géricault's The Raft of the Medusa and the work of David and Delacroix.

In 1871 the railway company of Orleans bought the site. Victor Lalous had the duty to integrate the station in the urban middle class setting.
Only two years were necessary to finish the construction which was inaugurated during the Universal Exhibiton of 1900. The railway passed by Nantes, Bordeaux, and Toulouse. In 1939, the lines were abandoned and the station took little by little the appearance of a sales room, of a theatre, or was used as a movie setting. The building was saved from destruction thanks to a new interest in the architecture of the middle of the 19th Century. It has been a Historical Monument since the 8th March, 1978.The museum opened on the 1stDecember, 1986. This museum of arts is devoted to paintings and sculptures. However, photography, architecture, arts and decoration and the whole artistic production from 1848 to 1914 arre also present.

The Pompidou Centre, also known simply as Beaubourg, is all about modern and contemporary 20th-century art. Thanks in part to its vigorous schedule of temporary exhibitions, it has become the most visited cultural sight in Paris. The design of the Pompidou has drawn critical comment since construction began in 1972. To keep the exhibition halls uncluttered, the architects put the building's 'insides' on the outside, with each duct, pipe and vent painted its own telltale colour: elevators and escalators are red, electrical circuitry yellow, plumbing green and air-conditioning blue. After a massive renovation during 1998-99 the center has a stunning reworked facade on the west side, an expanded exhibition space, and a new cinema, restaurant and cybercafé - plus new facilities for dance, theatre, CD and video.
Two floors are dedicated to exhibiting some of the 40,000-plus works of the Musée Nationale d'Art Moderne, France's national collection of 20th-century art. The top floors have a magnificent view of Paris, and place George Pompidou below attracts street performers, musicians and artists.

Located in the La Villette Park, the Cité offers a complete panorama of sciences and technology: communication, environment, health, astronomy, computers, etc. through exhibitions, shows, models, conferences and interactive games. Planetarium, Mediterranean aquarium, Louis-Lumière cinema (3D films), media library.

In the park: a real submarine can be visited: the Argonaute. Also the Cité des Enfants for children aged 3 to 12, the Géode and its 1000 sq. m hemispherical screen, the Cinaxe (simulation theatre) and as of April 1995 the "Techno cité" (for 12-15 years old).

The Petit Palais was created for the Universal Exposition of 1900 as a city museum in which to showcase the works bought from the yearly Salons. Most of the collection is the legacy of Auguste Dutuit. Among this collection you can find ancient artifacts, medieval objects, rare manuscripts and books, Dutch paintings from the seventeenth century. The collection includes western art from the Egyptian era to the present. Dutuit also left a fund for the further purchase of works.
Le Petit Palais was opened officially December 11, 1902, between the Champs-Elysees and the Avenue Alexandre III. The collection includes Poussin's The Massacre of the Innocents, Ruben's Prosperpina, and Rembrandt's Self-Portrait with Poodle. There are also Impressionist selections from the nineteenth century by Pisarro, Morisot, Cassatt, Manet, Renoir, and Gauguin. The museum has also more than 12,000 prints. The Grand Palais was originally built for the World Expo in 1900 and displays modern art. Work on it began in 1897, following the plans of architects Deglane, Louvet, and Thomas. The building measures 240 meters wide and 40 meters tall, and the façade, with its enormous porch and ionic columns, shows off Recipon's quadrigae. Ultimately, the Grand Palais is a harmonious blend of iron, stone, and glass.

The aim of the vast museum renovation program-adopted in 1993, initiated in 1996, and recently completed-was to ensure that the institution founded by Emile Guimet can increasingly assert itself, in line with the efforts of all its previous Directors and curatorial staff, as a major centre, in the heart of Europe, for the appreciation and knowledge of Asian civilizations, while also taking into consideration the latest developments in museum science and new requirements for the display and conservation of artworks. The architects, Henri and Bruno Gaudin, together with the team of curators, have given priority to natural lighting and to the creation of open perspectives within the 5500m2 of permanent gallery space. This new, pleasantly open and serene layout will make it easier for visitors to grasp the inter-relationships and differences between the various artistic traditions of Asia. With this major program of works, the Musée Guimet has now completed the total reorganization of its interior spaces since it was founded over a century ago.