So my husband has a precious 2 days off and wants to see the birthplace of Joan of Arc in Domrémy-la-Pucelle. We'd like to just experience the region/be in france/get away from it all for a couple of days. Traveling by car. Unfortunately this is a rather last-minute decision and I know nothing about anything in the region (and of course, it's not covered in RS's France guidebook). Has anyone visited this area? We're thinking of going without reservations and trying to find cheap lodging once we're there. We're coming from Stuttgart and could stay anywhere that would be charming and cheap. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, you guys haven't steered me wrong in the past!
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
I can only say that I spent two days in Nancy in April 2009, and wish I had another day. This was because I wanted to take a day trip to Metz, and also because one of the main museums was closed both Monday and Tuesday. Guess which were my two days there? Nancy has a lot of great Art Nouveau (the tourist office has a brochure with several walking tours). The main square is quite something, both by day and by night. It was also a very pleasant town to spend time in, and I actually preferred it to Strasbourg. I stayed in the Hotel de Guise, which was quite nice, although a bit north of the center on foot (I honestly don't remember if it would be good with a car or not) http://www.hoteldeguise.com/uk/index.php Sorry, that's all I have to add. Even Rough Guide and Lonely Planet had sparse coverage of Lorraine (mostly Nancy and Metz) - maybe Michelin Guides would have more?
Posted by
San Francisco
14980 posts
Hi, Yes, I have visited Lorraine in my trips to France. It's great going to Alsace-Lorraine, even though you'll be only in Lorraine. Visit Nancy esp the Platz, Metz is worth about 2 days of walking and real exploring, three if you visit the cathedral and museum. One time I spent almost a week in Metz. Since you're motorised (I didn't have that luxury), see the outskirts of Metz, esp. the small villages west of it. That's the advantage of having a car in a place like Metz and its surroudings. To the north of Metz, the town of Thionville (Diedenhofen) is interesting. If you spend the night(s) in Metz, numerous hotels are across the street from the station...you won't need reservations. Given a choice between the two cities, I'll take Strasbourg any day.
Posted by
OP
Stuttgart, Germany
3050 posts
Thanks for the info everyone!
Posted by
Portlandia
3313 posts
If you go without reservations, which I do frequently, look for the Logis de France chain of independently run small hotels. They're usually low-priced and high quality. They're in small towns all over France.
Posted by
OP
Stuttgart, Germany
3050 posts
We ended up going to Lindau instead (got a late start and wanted a shorter drive) but I've promised promised promised my husband we will go next time, and I'll definitely check out the hotel tip, sounds great. Now I'm wishing I was back in Lindau. Gonna start petitioning for the Bodensee to be added to the 2014 RS guides. Then again, it's not like it needs MORE tourists there either.