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Traveling between CDG and Bastogne - is Metz worth stopping at?

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I'm traveling from CDG to Bastogne in July and need to find a stop for 2 nights in between. I'm renting a car, but could also take a train to a stop and rent from there. I have flexibility on how I will travel. I'm stuck on where to stop and stay after we land in CDG. I'm looking for a beautiful walking city, some points of interest (we love history) and safe old world feel. Something with the charm of Bayeaux?

I originally thought Reims, but two of the major attractions we would see are closed and I don't think it gets us far enough down the road for the next stop on our adventure (Bastogne). We will likely ear mark Reims for a future trip...

I've been looking at Metz and thought that would be great, but some of the photos I've seen don't make it look like the nicest city. Hotels and airbnbs also look a little rough. Is this a charming city? I hear wonderful things, but???

Appreciate the help of this wonderful forum! What cities/towns/villages should I consider staying at between CDG and Bastogne?

Posted by
70 posts

I've been to Metz twice. Once was in the winter time, and it was simply beautiful then (and so was Reims at Christmas on that same trip). Metz is a walking city, and does have the requisite stunning cathedral. I mainly went to Metz because I had a friend who was living there and he offered to take us to Luxembourg and Bastogne on one visit and to Saarbrücken on the other.

If you have any interest or connection to Georgia Tech, there is actually a campus there in Metz! (For my spouse who is a GT grad, that was a must-see.).

Oh, and PS...if you're interested in WWII history and have a car to get around, you might want to see the bunkers on the Maginot Line which is near Metz.

Posted by
1959 posts

Metz is great! Stay at the Citadel, which is part of the old Vauban fortifications and right across the park from the Governors house. The music center is the old Armory. The square outside the cathedral has a memorial to the US divisions that liberated the city. The Cathedral itself has stained glass windows by Chagall. The Museum d Cour La Ore is one of the best in France, it has fantastic Roman exhibits, and it's free. The view of the Temple Neuf from the Moyan bridge is a picture postcard. The covered market (across from the cathedral) is really good for fresh local food. Frankly I like Metz more than Bayeux.

You're going to backtrack a little to get to Bastogne, but I advise you take the roads that avoid Luxembourg. The Luxembourg route has a lot of tunnels (speed restricted) and lots of cameras.

Personally, I'd throw in a drive over to St Avold and visit the Lorraine American Cemetary (it's the largest in Europe), or detour a little and visit Verdun or any of the half a dozen major American WWI monuments in the area.

Note the ABMC Monument at Bastogne is fenced off for renovations.

https://www.abmc.gov/#

https://all.accor.com/hotel/9199/index.en.shtml?utm_campaign=seo+maps&utm_medium=seo+maps&utm_source=google+Maps

https://musee.eurometropolemetz.eu/fr/

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