We have a barge trip leaving from Metz on October 7. We will arrive a week early to explore the region, partially by car. My original intention called for spending the 6 nights in Metz, exploring Metz on day 1,(arrival day very limited) and 2 , renting a car for 3 days, one day to Verdun, and 2 days to explore. Additional day we would take the train to Nancy for a day trip.
I seeking any thoughts on this brief Itinerary and ideas about the "country drive." Should I limit the drive to 2 days and spend the extra day where? Thoinville is include in our barge trip. We love history, I understand Nancy is a center of Art Nouveau.
Many thanks for you contributions.
Posted by
Normandie
416 posts
You might want to change the "W" in your title to an "E."
Can't help you with art nouveau. Wouldn't know it if I stubbed my toe on it.
Posted by
OP
Darmouth, MA, USA
404 posts
Thank you Bob!
Posted by
Downingtown, USA
2580 posts
Metz to St..Avold is less than 30 miles and you can see the largest US military cemetery in Europe. I believe over 10,000 graves. I believe all are from WWII. Well worth every minute you could spend there.
Posted by
Alsenborn, Germany
1877 posts
Right off the top of my head, you have Saarbrucken 15 minutes from Metz, Trier maybe 10 minutes further north, Saarburg with the waterfall and castle, the mining museum, the iron foundry museum, the Lorraine American Cemetery, The Musee de Cour la Ore in Metz with it's fantastic Roman artifacts, Homburg with its's castle and the caves underneath, Luxembourg, Reims, Verdun and the Meuse battlefields, The Maginot Line forts, Thionville (where the WWII bunkers still stand by te bridge), Charlois, Vianden, and a bunch of little towns I love to crawl through.
Do visit the museum in Nancy that's on Stanislaus square, next to the Opera, for the glass in the basement.
Do go shopping in Forbach at the huge Carrefour.
Posted by
San Francisco
15371 posts
In the Metz Ville train station is a small office that deals with a barge trip from Metz, next to the WC.
You have 6 nights in Metz....fantastic ! I did likewise, ie several nights there in the summer of 2024, fascinating and captivating. If you do get a car, go out to the backcountry> Instead of "through the backdoors" you're seeing "backwater" places in the greater Metz area. I saw some of that by bus when doing Metz to Verdun. For that route the train is also available.
My recommendations for Metz, Verdun, Thionville and other nearby sites in Lorraine pertain to modern French history, if you are also so interested. If so, get out to Morhange, the car is needed for that. The train connection was not enough.
Posted by
Alsenborn, Germany
1877 posts
North and west of Verdun is the Meuse battlefield, which is huge. Just south of Verdun is St Miheil which is the first place American troops went into battle in 1917. You can easily spend weeks just driving around the American sectors for the WWI front lines. If you want to see some nice country, take a ride to include the towns of Varennes, Apremont, and Montfaucon. You'll pass a number of monuments to American troops.
This is a good site to study for the area: https://www.abmc.gov/