Metz
The lacy golden spires of this Gothic cathedral crown Metz’ skyline. Exquisitely lit by kaleidoscopic curtains of 13th- to 20th-century stained glass, the…
Must-see attractions in Lorraine
Nancy
Lodged in a regal 18th-century edifice, Nancy's standout gallery occupies art lovers for hours. A wrought-iron staircase curls gracefully up to the 2nd…
Nancy
Nancy’s crowning glory is this grand neoclassical square and Unesco World Heritage Site. Designed by Emmanuel Héré in the 1750s, it was named after the…
Metz
Designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, with a curved roof resembling a space-age Chinese hat, the architecturally innovative Centre Pompidou-Metz is…
Meuse-Argonne American Cemetery
Lorraine
The largest US military cemetery in Europe is this WWI ground, where 14,246 soldiers lie buried – a sobering sea of white crosses reaching as far as the…
Lorraine
Comprising 7km of underground galleries, this cavernous subterranean citadel was designed by military engineer Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban in the 17th…
Lorraine
This heart-rending museum, which, in the words of owner Jean-Paul de Vries, is all about ‘life stories’ and ‘the human being behind the helmet’. Artefacts…
Lorraine
Rising like a gigantic artillery shell above 15,000 crosses that bleed into the distance, this sombre, 137m-long ossuary, inaugurated in 1932, is one of…
Lorraine
Sitting high on a hill, this is the strongest of the 38 fortresses and bastions built along a 45km front to protect Verdun. When the Battle of Verdun…
Lorraine
The village of Fleury, wiped off the face of the earth in the course of being captured and recaptured 16 times, is now the site of this memorial. It tells…
Nancy
Once home to the dukes of Lorraine, the regal Renaissance Palais Ducal now shelters the Musée Lorrain. The rich fine arts and history collection…
Lorraine
Located in crater-scarred countryside 10km northeast of Verdun, this fort was constructed between 1881 and 1884. It was the second fort – Douaumont was…
Lorraine
Verdun had a significant military presence from the end of WWII until Charles de Gaulle pulled France out of NATO’s integrated military command in 1966…
Nancy
A highlight of a visit to Nancy, the Musée de l’École de Nancy brings together an exquisite collection of art-nouveau interiors, curvaceous glass and…
Nancy
A saunter through the charming old town takes in the silver-turreted, 14th-century Porte de la Craffe, Nancy’s oldest city gate, and place St-Epvre,…
Metz
The largest single Maginot Line bastion in the Metz area was the 1000-man Fort du Hackenberg, whose 10km of galleries were designed to be self-sufficient…
Metz
Delve into the past at this trove of Gallo-Roman antiquities, hiding remnants of the city’s Roman baths and a statue of the Egyptian goddess Isis…
Nancy
The whimsical Villa Majorelle, built by Henri Sauvage in 1901, bears the hallmarks of Majorelle (furniture) and Gruber (stained glass). The centrepiece is…
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…
Lorraine
On 12 June 1916, two companies of the 137th Infantry Regiment of the French army were sheltered in their tranchées (trenches), baïonnettes (bayonets)…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Nancy
On a hot summer’s day, escape the crowds in this formal garden, with ornamental fountains, a rose garden and a Rodin sculpture of Baroque landscape…
Metz
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…
Lorraine
The Musée Baccarat displays 1100 exquisite pieces of handmade lead crystal. The boutique out front is almost as dazzling as the museum.
Metz
The formal flowerbeds of the Esplanade – and its statue of a gallant-looking Marshall Ney – are flanked by imposing buildings, including the Arsenal…
Nancy
This lime-tree-fringed square, World Heritage material, is graced by a Baroque fountain by Bruges-born Louis Cyfflé (1724–1806), inspired by Bernini’s…
Lorraine
Perched on a hillside, this Romanesque-meets-Gothic cathedral shelters a gilded Baroque baldachin, restored after WWI damage. Much of the stained glass is…
Lorraine
Steep steps lead up to this austere 1920s monument commemorating war victims and survivors. The crypt hides a book listing the soldiers who fought in the…
Nancy
Forming part of the place Stanislas ensemble, the grand 18th-century Hôtel de Ville spreads across the entire southern flank of the square.
