Musée de l’Impression sur Étoffes
Alsace
Once known as the ‘French Manchester’, Mulhouse is fittingly home to this peerless collection of six million textile samples – from brilliant cashmeres…
Must-see attractions in Alsace & Lorraine
Alsace
More stimulating than it sounds, this is a treasure trove of wallpaper (some of the scenic stuff is as detailed as an oil painting) and the machines used…
Nancy
The whimsical Villa Majorelle, built by Henri Sauvage in 1901, bears the hallmarks of Majorelle (furniture) and Gruber (stained glass). The centrepiece is…
Colmar
Lit by late-medieval stained glass, this desanctified Gothic church shelters the celebrated triptych La Vierge au Buisson de Roses (The Virgin in the Rose…
Alsace
One of Alsace’s most striking churches, this Gothic giant, built from weighty red sandstone and sporting a colourful mosaic-tile roof, is illuminated by…
Metz
The stately boulevards and bourgeois villas of the German Imperial Quarter, including rue Gambetta and av Foch, are the brainchild of Kaiser Wilhelm II…
Alsace
About 25km west of Obernai, off the D130, stands Natzweiler-Struthof, the only Nazi concentration camp on French territory. Today the sombre remains of…
Lorraine
On 12 June 1916, two companies of the 137th Infantry Regiment of the French army were sheltered in their tranchées (trenches), baïonnettes (bayonets)…
Strasbourg
An expression of flourishing Franco-German friendship, Strasbourg and its German neighbour Kehl have turned former customs posts and military…
Strasbourg
Trace Strasbourg’s history from its beginnings as a Roman military camp called Argentoratum at this engaging museum, housed in a 16th-century…
Metz
Bounded by one of the channels of the Moselle, this neoclassical square is home to the city’s 18th-century Théâtre, France’s oldest theatre still in use…
Strasbourg
Across from the Council of Europe's Palais de l’Europe, 2km northeast of Grande Île, this flowery park, designed in the 17th century by Le Nôtre, of…
Cave des Hospices de Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Founded in 1395, this brick-vaulted wine cellar nestles deep in the bowels of Strasbourg’s hospital. A hospice back in the days when wine was considered a…
Strasbourg
Housed in a striking 19th-century water tower, this one-of-a-kind museum apparently showcases the world's largest private collection of West African…
Alsace
An ode to the automobile, this striking glass-and-steel museum showcases 400 rare and classic motors, from old-timers such as the Bugatti Royale to…
Alsace
On the southeastern fringes of Sélestat, this nature reserve is a mix of deciduous forest and wetlands. It attracts plenty of wildlife, including…
Strasbourg
A tribute to one of Strasbourg’s most famous sons – award-winning illustrator and cartoonist Tomi Ungerer – this museum, just northeast of Grande Île, is…
Strasbourg
Spread across three typical houses from the 1500s and 1600s, with creaky floors and beautifully restored wood-panelled interiors, this museum dips into…
Strasbourg
Science is never boring at this interactive science and technology museum, 2.5km southeast of central Strasbourg. There are plenty of hands-on activities…
Nancy
Adjoining place Stanislas – on the other side of Nancy’s own Arc de Triomphe, built in the mid-1750s to honour Louis XV – is this quiet square. Once a…
Nancy
Bang in the centre of town, this museum brings together a natural history museum and aquarium under one rather stylish art-deco roof. Its tanks swirl with…
Lorraine
This 375m-high mound, site of a US monument with a bronze relief map, is surrounded by a round neoclassical colonnade. The monument commemorates the…
Lorraine
Commemorating the 1918 Meuse-Argonne Offensive, this 336m-high mound is topped by a 58m-high Doric column crowned by a statue symbolising liberty. Ascend…
Alsace
Stroll among exotic free-flying butterflies at these pretty gardens, situated around 500m east of Hunawihr. A walk among the wildflowers here reveals not…
Metz
Nearly always closed (enquire at the tourist office about guided tours that visit here), this octagonal, 13th-century chapel is the only one of its kind…
Lorraine
In this WWI cemetery, the graves of 4153 American soldiers who died in the 1918 Battle of St-Mihiel radiate towards a central sundial topped by a white…
Metz
Originally built around AD380 as part of a Gallo-Roman spa complex, Église St-Pierre-aux-Nonnains is a fine example of a pre-medieval basilica, tracing…
Alsace
A Unesco World Heritage Site since 2008, the citadel of Neuf-Brisach has remarkably well-preserved fortifications. The Musée Vauban, below the porte de…
Metz
You might not have packed your bucket and spade for a trip to Metz, but you can head to this makeshift 'beach' on the banks of the Moselle in summer…
Alsace
Church spires rise gracefully above the red rooftops of the old town, which hugs the left bank of the River Ill. Some of the finest examples of half…
Lorraine
On the bank of the park-lined River Meurthe, the dark concrete sanctuary of Église St-Rémy, built in the mid-1950s, is austere on the outside and…
Alsace
Trainspotters are in their element at Europe’s largest railway museum, displaying SNCF’s prized collection of locomotives and carriages. Take bus 20 from…
Alsace
A gentle stroll takes in the 14th-century, pink-granite ramparts, originally pierced by four gates, three still holding aloft watchtowers and bearing…
Alsace
Kids love to feed popcorn (special monkey popcorn, of course) to the free-roaming Barbary macaques and their cheeky infants at this 2.4-hectare woodland…
Lorraine
Set in Verdun’s handsomely classical former bishop’s palace, built in 1724, this museum’s permanent exhibition touches upon wars, their causes and…
Alsace
The house where the musicologist, medical doctor and 1952 Nobel Peace Prize–winner Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) was born is now a museum, with exhibits…
Alsace
Rue des Juifs (site of the former Jewish quarter) leads down the hill to this medieval stone tower. Inside is a gruesome torture chamber with English…
Metz
In summer, pedal boats and rowboats can be rented on quai des Régates. The promenade leads through a leafy riverside park, with statues, ponds, swans and…
Alsace
About 20 storks live year-round in the Enclos aux Cigognes, and more hang out on top of it. It’s 250m behind the Renaissance hôtel de ville; on foot,…
Colmar
Delicate stonework guides the eye to the polychrome mosaic roof and Mongol-style copper spire of this Gothic church. Its jewel-like stained-glass windows…
