Centre Pompidou, the popular museum of modern art in the heart of Paris, reopened in 1999 after a $90-million renovation. Inaugurated in 1977, the museum, which looks like a refinery turned inside out, was receiving 8 million visitors annually before it closed, and this huge crowd had worn out a structure designed to receive half that number. Aside from haying its physical plant renewed, the museum was enlarged by 50,000 square feet, which allows it to put 1,400 works from its permanent collections on display, as opposed to just 800 when it closed. The museum is now home to a bookstore and boutique, both of which are run by the Printemps department store. Georges, the critically acclaimed restaurant on the sixth floor, is run by local trendsetters the Costes Brothers. One much-loved attribute of the Centre was changed during the museum’s makeover, though: The ride up the escalators used to be free—now you need your ticket to the museum.

The centuries-old Louvre, on the other hand, is still standing firm, and ongoing renovations have made it more beautiful than ever. The more modern addition is the Sack­ler Wing, housing 2,000 works of ancient Iranian and Ara­bian art. The Louvre can be dazzling, overwhelming, irritating, or exhausting, depending on your point of view. Many visitors to Paris just skip it or go only to the adjacent underground shopping mall.

What is there to say about the Eiffel Tower, known the world over as the symbol of Paris and the ultimate tourist attraction? That its lacy ironwork is lovely to look at; that riding the glass elevator slantwise upward is exciting and kind of scary; that the views are just a little disappointing because you’re so high up and Paris is so flat. Unless you’re going to eat at its first-rate restaurant Le Jules Verne, you might want to skip the long lines for the elevator.