Showing 1-11 of 11 results
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Cathédrale St-Étienne
Metz' stupendous Gothic Cathédrale St-Étienne, built between 1220 and 1522, is famed for its veritable curtains of 13th- to 20th-century stained glass, among the finest in France. The superb Flamboyant Gothic windows (1504), on the main wall of the north transept arm, provide a remarkable stylistic contrast with the glorious Renaissance windows on the main wall of the south transept arm, created a mere two decades later.
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Centre Pompidou-Metz
Come the spring of 2008, the Centre Pompidou-Metz - a branch of the inside-out original in Paris - is supposed to open its doors to aficionados of modern and contemporary art. The winning design, by Shigeru Ban (Tokyo) and Jean de Gastines (Paris), is like nothing else ever conceived by the human mind. Suffice it to say that the whole thing will be covered by an undulating, translucent 'membrane' of Teflon-coated fibreglass. The project may do for Metz what the Guggenheim did for Bilbao.
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Église St-Pierre-aux-Nonains
Église St-Pierre-aux-Nonains was originally built around AD 400 as part of a Gallo-Roman spa complex (the wall sections with horizontal red-brick stripes are Roman originals). For a thousand years - from the 6th to the 16th centuries - the structure served as the abbey church of a women's monastery.
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Esplanade
The formal flowerbeds of the Esplanade - and its statue of a gallant-looking Marshall Ney, sword dangling at his side (1859) - are flanked by imposing public buildings, including the Arsenal Cultural Centre (1863) and the sober, neoclassical Palais de Justice (late 18th century). West and northwest of the Esplanade, on both sides of blvd Poincaré, is a lovely riverside park graced with statues, ponds, swans and a fountain. In the warm months, pedal boats and rowboats can be rented on quai des Régates.
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Musée La Cour d'Or
The superb Musée La Cour d'Or has a first-rate collection of Gallo-Roman antiquities, among them a statue of the Egyptian goddess Isis unearthed right here in Metz; art from the Middle Ages, including objects from around the year 1000 and several rare painted ceilings; paintings from the 15th century onwards, among them some fine works by lesser-known local artists; and objects that trace the history of Metz' ancient Jewish community. A room-by-room brochure in English is available.
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Place de la Comédie
Neoclassical Place de la Comédie, bounded by one of the channels of the Moselle, is home to the city's Théâtre (1738-53), the oldest theatre building in France that's still in use. During the Revolution, place de l'Égalité (as it was then known) was the site of a guillotine that lopped the heads off 63 'enemies of the people'. The neo-Romanesque Temple Neuf (Protestant Church), sombre and looming, was constructed under the Germans in 1903.
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Place St-Louis
On the eastern edge of the city centre, triangular Place St-Louis is surrounded by medieval arcades and merchants' houses dating from the 14th to 16th centuries.
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Quartier de l'Amphithéâtre
'The wrong side of the tracks', until recently a wasteland of abandoned hangars and depots, is undergoing a complete transformation thanks to Metz' seemingly boundless cultural ambitions (and development budget). The Quartier de l'Amphithéâtre already boasts Les Arènes (Palais Omnisports), a vast steel-and-glass venue for sports events and concerts, and the green riverside lawns of Parc de la Seille.
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Quartier de la Gare
The solid, bourgeois buildings and broad avenues of the Quartier de la Gare, including rue Gambetta and av Foch, were constructed in the decades before WWI.
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St Peter of the Novitiates
The oldest church in France, Église St-Pierre-aux-Nonnains has incredibly escaped destruction numerous times. Built pre-AD 400 as part of a Gallo-Roman spa complex (note the red-brick striped walls), it was a women's monastery in the 7th century, periodically expanded and from 1556 used for weapons storage. Today it hosts concerts and exhibitions.
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St Stephen's Cathedral
The stupendous Cathédral St-Etienne, built by joining two churches together in the 14th century, is famous for being superlative in France: it has the highest nave (41m) and the greatest surface area of stained glass windows (nearly 6500sq m). Try to visit on a bright day and after dark - the cathedral is beautifully illuminated at night until .
Showing 1-11 of 11 results
