Last chance to see: Pompidou draws crowds before closure for five years

Visitors from around the world flocked to the Pompidou Centre in Paris at the weekend, seizing the last opportunity to enjoy Europe's largest temple of modern and contemporary art before it closes its doors for a five-year overhaul.

- Kate Connolly

In one of the most complex closures of its kind, the task of removing the museum's 2,000-strong permanent collection will start today. The Pompidou's Chagalls, Giacomettis and myriad other treasures will be relocated to other sites in Paris and museums elsewhere in France and around the globe.

The refit of the nearly 50-year-old building, constructed in the heart of Paris by the architects Renzo Piano and Richard Rogers, is expected to cost an estimated €262m and will require the entire centre - including its huge library and music research unit - to be shut from late September.

The building, famous for its facade adorned with colourful pipes and ventilation shafts, will be given a top-to-toe renovation, with everything from its technology and accessibility to its energy efficiency due to be reconditioned. Most crucial is the removal of asbestos, present everywhere from the museum's ceilings to its pipes, a task so huge a complete demolition had been proposed.