suggestions for things to see/do in Nancy

My personal recommendation is "zero - visit as a day trip from Metz", but I will admit that if you have any interest in Art Nouveau (I don't), then perhaps you could stay there for 2 nights, or even longer if you use it as a base for Metz and perhaps Verdun.

I am going there because of my interest in art nouveau but am not sure how much time I need to see what's there on the subject. What do you like in Metz?

We didn’t see any must see sights in Nancy so we stayed in Metz.

How will you be getting around; public transportation or rental car? By nearby, do you mean within 15 minutes, and hour? Most of the places I can think of are about two hours away.

The closest place I can think of is Metz. It would make a good day trip. The cathedral is beautiful. There’s also a Templar Church, the German Gate, and one of the oldest churches in France; Basilique Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains.

Check the official websites for each place for their hours. If you go by what Google maps says, there’s a good chance they’ll be closed when you’re there. The Templar church and Basilique Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains have odd hours. If you’re into WW-I, consider Verdun, but it’s 1.5 hours from Nancy.

As an FYI, there are free busses (N81 and N83) that go around to the different parts of Metz. It’s the Navete. There are multiple stops, but one is right by the cathedral. Colmar has a similar free bus that starts at the train station. Think of them as free hop on, hop off busses.

Thanks for your thorough reply. We will have a car. Metz sounds like a possibility for us.

About 25 miles from.Metz in St. Avoid is the Lorraine US cemetery I think the largest one of our cemetaries.in Europe. It is a beautiful.but sobering sight. I seem.to.remember many of our men.who are buried there died in the Battle of the Bulge. I strongly encourage a.visit.

With Metz, much of the historic center is in a restricted driving zone. Bollards block the roads for those without a pass. We stayed in Metz for 2 nights and parked at Parking Indigo Metz Théâtre-Comédie. It was easy to get to using a navigation system and the parking spaces are wider than in some other parking garages. It’s a five minute walk from the cathedral and next to Temle Neuf. Another garage easy to get to is Parking Saint-Jacques by the Novotel Metz Centre.

It looks like I am the first one to directly respond to your original question. I was in the beautiful city of Nancy a few years ago, and considering your interest in Art Nouveau, Nancy is worth two days. There are two wonderful museums with outstanding Art Nouveau, the Musee de l'Ecole, in a mansion filled with Art Nouveau furniture, glass and other art, and the Museum of Fine Arts, with a spectacular exhibit of hundreds of Daum crystal pieces (not to mention paintings by the likes of Caravaggio and Delacroix). There are many fine Art Nouveau buildings in Nancy, and the tourist office has a map to guide you to them.

Nancy also has Place Stanislas, one of the largest and most beautiful squares in Europe (a UNESCO site), a large medieval old town, and a fine Lorraine Museum located in the Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine. And Nancy has many fine restaurants.

Among the convenient and worthwhile cities nearby, besides Metz (about 45 minutes from Nancy) are Luxembourg City and Strasbourg, (both about 90 minutes from Nancy) and both UNESCO cities. Nancy is a wonderful city.

I agree with Bill. The tourist office used to have a brochure identifying key areas with Art Nouveau architecture. In searching them out on foot, I found more interesting buildings, including some Art Deco.

Had the plan to go to Metz and Nancy this month but with the too high temperatures at the moment there a visit will be for another time. Having a car to my opinion Trier in Germany is besides Luxembourg a worthwhile option too. Not only known for it's architecture from the Roman era but worth also for the Karl Marx museum there giving more insight in European 19th century history and later.

A bit more info about Nancy: https://www.nancy-tourisme.fr/en/discover-nancy/the-french-capital-of-art-nouveau/art-nouveau-architecture/

We stayed in Nancy two nights with no day trips, and we did mostly what Bill mentioned . Also the night light/music show that typically is shown on the front of the cathedrals is shown in Place Stanilas, so you can stand anywhere in the square & enjoy it!

Let me look up the pastry shop we loved! Update: It’s Cadici.

We stayed in Nancy toward the end of our trip, staying in Colmar & Paris afterwards.

Loving all these tips everyone!

There is a restaurant in Nancy with Art Nouveau decor. Sorry, I can’t remember the name; but you should be able to find it. It’s large, and it’s been there since the A.N. Era. We enjoyed the time surrounded by our favorite style, and the food was good, too.

The Excelsior is the art nouveau restaurant. Be aware Nancy taxis are impossible. Even when called they didn’t show up. We had a bit better luck with Uber.
The large park near Place Stanislaus is lovely.

We spent the better part of a week in Nancy several years ago . Being a lover of Art Nouveau , in all its incarnations , it was pure heaven . The Fine Arts Museum at The Place Stanislas was excellent . A great collection of Daum Art Glass is located there

I spent a week plus in Nancy. I consider it a mini-Paris in Art Nouveau. Wonderful small walkable center and park. We also took day trips to Verdun, Strasbourg and over the Vosges to German styled villages…names escape me presently. Regarding Metz…my daughters friends who had been assigned Metz schools all moved to Nancy to live which indicates something to me…

There is also WWII history in Nancy as my father’s US Army Infantry division liberated this city. I have the drawing of a commendation plaque given to the soldiers. When we visited the tourist office in Nancy they knew nothing about its WWII history.