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Ideas for Metz

We are spending a few days in Metz -- any ideas? We know about the Pompidou and of course the Cathedral and German Gate -- we'd love to find a river cruise on the Moselle but are not finding anything very interesting. Has anyone done a river tour? We are thinking of a day trip to Nancy and maybe Trier -- are there places nearby that can be reached by public transport that would be interesting?

Any favorite restaurants? View points? Parks for hanging out? Concert venues? WE are staying at the Citadel Hotel recommended by someone on this site.

Posted by
15555 posts

Re: a river cruise on the Moselle. Next to the WC in the Metz train station is the office that deals excursion, activities in the Moselle region around Metz as well as information on river cruises.

You can go to Verdun by train or bus. I have done it both ways, depending on the dep. time. Maybe a 20 min time difference. A car is more flexible but not absolutely necessary. The bus goes partly by the back roads which historically is more revealing as this part of Lorraine was a big war zone (theater of operations) in 1870.

Posted by
15555 posts

Nancy is worth more time than a day trip.

I've been some of the towns in the Metz area....Nancy (I always like going back there) , Luneville (you need to change trains in Nancy to get to Luneville, Toul ( a town absolutely no tourists except a few French), Longwy (in a way looks a town time forgot but I didn't venture very far), and Gravelotte, which is accessible by bus #103 from the PEM bus depot in Metz, opposite side of the train station going to the centre-ville. From Metz I only go by train.

Historically, the region surrounding Metz is a fascinating area with its villages.

Posted by
2193 posts

From the Citadel look over at the Governers House. Walk past that and cross the river and you'll see a huge park on the right. And, from there, if you walk around the lake back to town, you will find a place where you can rent kayaks and either do the whitewater section of the river, or the other fork where it's smooth. And just past that is Luxembourg Square which is another large park with a really interesting church tower.

Or you can just turn to the right, walk around the edge of the Citadel, and you find a park around the small chapel, and further along the fort wall the walled in herb garden.

You can walk along the river all the way down to the Devils Gate where the Seille joins the Mosel.

Don't forget to visit the indoor market, right by the main cathedral, or the Cour de l'Or Museum.

If you're there over a weekend check and see if there's a flea market. Google "Metz Puces".

Trier is an easy visit, as is Nancy with long lists of things to see and do in both. As Fred mentions there's a lot of interesting little towns also. Plus there's the huge American cemetery at St Avold, and Maginot Line forts close by. Verdun is fairly close, but if you think about going there let me know and I'll clue you in on a number of other monuments you can visit on the same trip if you have a car.

And then, if you're interested in iron or coal mining there's a couple huge mining museums with underground tours about 40 minutes from Metz.

You want to walk around the Pont Moyen in the evening and get a photo of the Temple Neuf when it's all lit up.

Posted by
7913 posts

To get a feel for Metz there are two free shuttles that make loops around the city. There are two routes and each route/loop takes about 30 minutes. We picked up the shuttle by the cathedral. We enjoyed just walking around town by the Neuf Temple and then over by Saint Pierre aux Nonnains. Near it is Chapelle des Templiers de Metz. Check the hours for places you want to visit as they change depending on time of year.

Verdun battlefield is nice, but if one wants to go to the museum, ossuary, fort, etc., a rental car would be better since the sites are not next to each other. There’s little to the town itself and the battlefield sites are on the outskirts.

Probably too far away (2hours) is Maignot Line Fort Schoenenbourg. It was very interesting.

When we were there we had a rental car so cannot speak about public transportation options.

Posted by
9268 posts

Wow this is very helpful. We had debated between Nancy and Metz -- but settled on Metz. Definitely a day trip to Nancy. the information about the parks and river walks in Metz is very helpful. Hanging out in beautiful parks and walks along scenic rivers is about our speed.

We no longer drive -- my husband cannot and I don't want to at my age in a foreign country so we now are restricted to public transport. And we no longer plan lots of short stops when traveling hence 4 nights in Metz rather than 2 and 2 for Trier and Metz or Nancy and Metz.

We spend most of our time in Paris but always plan a side trip to spend a few days in a new spot -- have done Lille, St. Malo, Lyon, Angers/Nantes, Annecy, Montpellier etc. Our favorite part of France is the Dordogne and am glad we spent several week long trips there when we still drove, but it is too hard to do with public transport.

I looked for day tours -- we have done them recently from Montpellier and from Geneva and both were excellent way to get to places we could not otherwise see but I am not finding anything from Metz even on sites like Get your Guide and Viator which can be useful for identifying possibilities even if you don't book through them.

Posted by
15555 posts

On a restaurant in Nancy: I like the "Excelsior" , a big and classic place located on Rue Henri Poincare, across from the train station. The unique architecture makes it easy to spot out his restaurant. This a restaurant where it's best to reserve at lunch otherwise as a walk-in you're chances of getting a table are nil until 2:30. Patrons are overwhelming French, locals and tourists.

On the WW1 military cemeteries, aside from US one in St Avold, for which you need a car to reach, the area is also dotted with those of the French and the Germans, such as the large German one in Morhange. The train station , actually a pit stop, just a bit bigger than that in St Avold, has posted a large historic photo of the Kaiser's visit there in 1905.

If no car, you can possibly arrange with the Metz Tourist Office located in the centre ville on taking you out to these sites and St Avold.

Good that you've set aside 4 nights in Metz...well worth it.

Posted by
8452 posts

I have not been to Metz, but it appears that Strasbourg is less than an hour by direct TGV, making it an easier trip than Trier. Trier is a nice destination, a full day by itself. I found the river Moselle to be sleepy and less to see than the scenic Middle Rhine Gorge, by comparison. However, our rental car drive from Mulheim to Trier, when it was up on a ridge, was quite scenic - looking down on the river and the opposite side. I think the Moselle boats are smaller and slower, didn't ride one. In general you need reservations for winery visits in Germany, maybe less so in Alsace?

Posted by
9268 posts

Strasbourg would be high on the list if we had not already spent time there years ago when we drove. On that trip we drove from Amsterdam, up the Rhine, took a day cruise on the Rhine, and then hooked over to Strasbourg for a few days and visited a few of the towns on the wine road. We had a hotel where our rather spartan room had a huge window that opened right on the facade of the very beautiful Cathedral. I remember the boat trip out to the EU headquarters and through the old town -- it was quite wonderful. Not to speak of some of the best pork in the world.

so we'd definitely have Strasbourg on the list if we hadn't done this -- good suggestion for someone else following this thread who might be looking for day trips.

After Strasbourg and environs we drove to Provence where we stayed with friends in a cottage on the slopes of Mt Ventou and then through Burgundy and to Paris where we dropped the car. In a great bit of luck, the agency in Amsterdam needed a French car to go to Paris, so we didn't have to pay the giant drop fee one normally does when dropping a car cross border.

Posted by
2193 posts

No car, really not a problem. Saarbrucken is another city that's close by train. Good museums, great castle, excellent old town.

Another good museum, that doesn't get a lot of traffic, is the Museum of the War of 1870 and Annexation. The English translations are a bit thin, but the videos can be done in English, and the displays are interesting. Nice little cemetery across the street. with obvious damage from the fighting in the same area during WWII.

The Centre Pompidou-Metz is modern art, if that's interesting for you. The Muse, across the street, is a major shopping mall. Good places to eat around there.

I was in Metz today and it was not crowded.

Posted by
41 posts

Hi Janet,
I (perhaps we) are in a similar situation - just beginning to sort out Reims, Metz, Verdun, and Nancy, for late April-early May visit between Paris and Strasbourg stays. No car. I’m following your thread, as I think we have similar interests.
I’m also looking for one or more day tours, especially for at least major Verdun sites. I’ll post here if I find anything promising.

Deb

Posted by
15555 posts

Be advised that " The Museum of the War of 1870 and of the Annexation" is located not in Metz but in the village of Gravelotte , the site of that war's bloodiest battle.

I'll be back in Metz next Friday, 29 Aug.

Posted by
2694 posts

The military cemetery in St. Avoid is a WWII cemetery, I don't believe there are any WWI grave sites It is not too far by train and the cemetery I seem to remember is only about a mile or so from the train station. If you decide to go there you can call a cab to take you to the cemetery from the train station and arrange for them to pick you up either when you call them or arrange a time to meet you there. We did that and the pick up was very prompt and very inexpensive. This is the largest US cemetery in Europe with over 10,000 graves. Very humbling and worth a visit in my opinion.