Sawt Falasteen - Art lovers mob Paris's Pompidou Centre ahead of five-year closure

"Five years -- it's long!" exclaimed one guide, Elisa Hervelin, as people around her took photos of many of the museum's permanent works, among them paintings by Salvador Dali and Henri Matisse and sculptures by Marcel Duchamp.

The 2,000-piece collection, on display on the fourth and fifth floors on the 48-year-old multicultural centre, are to start being taken away from Monday.

The artworks are to be given temporary homes in museums across France and in other countries while the lengthy overhaul of the building -- famously designed with its pipes and ventilation shafts colourfully adorning its facade -- is carried out.

The full closure of the Pompidou Centre -- which also comprises a vast library and a music research unit -- will occur on September 22 this year. The 262-million-euro ($284 million) renovations include removing asbestos from the structure.

With free entrance for its last weekend, visitors made the most of a last swing through the galleries, taking in the art as well as workshops, performances and DJ sets put on for the occasion.

Some were regulars to the museum, while others were seeing its collection in person for the first time.

Alyssa, an 11-year-old French girl taking it all in with her 62-year-old grandfather, said she wanted to "see for real" the abstract paintings of Dutch artist Piet Mondrian, which she had been shown in her school's art class.

Paula Goulart, a 25-year-old Brazilian, admitted she was there mainly for the spectacular view of the Paris skyline from the centre's upper storeys.

Her Portuguese friend Luis Fraga, though, was a frequent visitor to the museum who "wanted to enjoy as much as possible the artworks before they are no longer here".

A Chinese visitor, Yujie Zou, had made the Pompidou Centre a key stop on a trip through Europe.

"I love Matisse. It was the first painter I studied at school," she said.

- 3.2 million visitors -

With 3.2 million visitors last year, the Pompidou Centre is one of the most popular museums in Paris, ranking behind the Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay in terms of attendance.

Opened in 1977, it is named after Georges Pompidou, France's president between 1969 and 1974.

The renovation work will run through to 2030.

"I'm sad," said Hervelin, the guide who has been taking visitors through the museum for the past 14 years and on Saturday was giving one of her last tours before the hiatus.

"Putting the artworks elsewhere... There will never be collections in their current form," the art historian lamented.

She added that it would be "the public -- curious and open -- I will miss the most".

Amelie Bernard, a 21-year-old art student, shared the sense of impending loss.

"For two years now I've been coming here around twice a month. It's been great for me. I've been able to develop an eye for contemporary art and broaden my knowledge for my studies," she said.

"I think I made the most of it -- but, even so, it's a bit of a shame," she said, before adding optimistically: "It will force me to go see other museums -- I really need that!"

L.AbuAli--SF-PST