This has got to be the coolest building in Paris. It can't quite match the Eiffel tower in height, but it sure makes up for it with its amazing network of glass tubes, metal tubes and scenic escalators. Another bonus is that it is pretty much bang in the centre of Paris, whereas the Eiffel tower is quite a way out from the centre. The thing that struck me about viewing Paris from the top of the Pompidou was that there was almost nothing in the city centre more than about 6 floors in height, apart from a few churches and civic buildings. Ironically Paris does have quite a few tall buildings but they mostly seem to be away from the centre near the ring road. This means that the views from the Pompidou are pretty much panoramic over the whole city and in some ways I was more impressed by the view from here than from the Eiffel tower. This was built in the 1970s and was pretty "cutting edge" and designed by architects Richard Rogers & Renzo Piano. It has quite an "industrial" look to it, almost like an oil refinery and is quite a contrast to the surrounding historic buildings. The Musee national d'Art moderne occupies two floors of the building and houses some interesting modern "installation" art amongst other things. As the building was almost right next to my Hotel it seemed like a good idea to visit on that last day as there were a couple of hours to kill between checking out and catching the Eurostar back to London. I'd say you really need a good half day to properly look round the museum as 2 hours is really not enough time. Note the very different colouration between this shot on Velvia 100 compared with yesterdays post of the Eiffel tower done on Velvia 50. I like the way that the structural beams are visible through the roof of the tunnel. Scanned "as a slide" using Epson Iscan for Ubuntu Linux on the Epson 4490, then inverted in Gimp to form a "positive" image.

Georges Recipon's galloping horses on the roof of Grand Palais. Taken from the end of Pont Alexandre bridge at blue hour. The Grand Palais is one of Paris’ most recognizable landmarks thanks to its magnificent glass-domed roof. It was the work of three different architects but the project was overseen by famed French architect Charles Girault, who was then given carte blanche to design the Petit Palais. The building is a beautiful combination of a classicist stone facade, art-nouveau ironwork and glass. There was quite a breeze blowing that night and I wanted to take this shot with the shortest exposure I could manage, so I upped the ISO to 200, making it just a little over 2-second exposure. I wanted the French flag to still be recognizable, and I'm quite happy with what I have. Nikon D200; Lens: 70-200mm/ f 2.8; Focal Length: 135mm; Exposure: 2.2 sec @ f/8; ISO 200; © Yen Baet. All Rights Reserved.