Paris is a major center of the arts.
Paris . By the 17th century , Paris was one of Europe 's major centres of finance , commerce , fashion , science , and the arts , and it retains that position still today . Paris has many important cultural institutions : its Louvre museum is the most visited in the world ; its Musée d'Orsay is noted for its collection of French Impressionist art , and its Pompidou-center Musée National d'Art Moderne has the largest collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe .