Tourist attractions Metz

The cathedral, built of yellow Jeumont stone, is a remarkable Gothic edifice, steeped in history, legends and piety. The nave is one of the highest in France but it is particularly renowned for its windows, which occupy a surface area of 6 500sq m, h..

Housed in a former Carmelite convent, the museum's basements contain the vestiges of ancient baths and its archeology section covers the city's brilliant Gallo-Roman and Merovingian periods. The architecture and lifestyle collections reflect everyday..

The zoo's 2 000 residents were all born in captivity and are free to roam about vast enclosures in which the natural habitat of each species has been recreated. You go from the African plain , populated by elephants, giraffes and white rhinoceroses,..

The oldest church in France dates from 390. It was originally a civil basilica, transformed into a chapel in around 615. In turn a Benedictine chapel and a military depot in the 15C, it is a significant part of Metz's heritage. Its splendid chancel ..

This fine esplanade was laid out on the site of a citadel. From the terrace, there is a fine view of Mont Saint-Quentin and its fort, and one of the arms of the River Moselle.

A square lacking in symmetry. It is lined with houses with buttresses and arcades, built along the traces of the old rampart which serves as their foundations. It gives the square a certain charm and attraction.

The cantilevered chancel is decorated with stained-glass windows designed by Jean Cocteau. Two basket-handle arches link the chapel of the Gournays (Metz aldermen) with the right arm of the transept.

Beside and above the River Seille stand the vestiges of the old fortifications. Two round towers crowned with slate pepperpot style roofs on the city side and two large crenellated towers on the open side, linked by a gallery.

Upon entering the house where the "Father of Europe" (1886-1963) spent the last years of his life, you cannot help fancying that his presence lives on here. A renovation carried out in 2004 has pieced together a loyal reconstruction of his ..

Formerly a wine-growing village, Laquenexy switched to cultivating fruit trees in the 1970s. The regional centre for fruit experimentation and a conservation orchard were also set up in the village. The orchard was established in order to inventory t..

Built under Louis XVI as the military governor's palace, it is the most imposing building on the esplanade.

Created in yellow Jeumont stone by Ricardo Bofil, the Catalan Neo-Classical architect, on the site of the former arsenal, some parts of which have been preserved. While the Church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains and the neighbouring Chapel of the Knight..

The Knights Templar, whose commandery in Metz dates back to 1133, built this chapel in the early 13C. It is octagonal in shape and every wall but one has a small window in the arch. The last one gives onto a square chancel and aisle.

Decorated in the 19C, the interior has rich wainscoting and Rococo confessionals from Trier to alleviate the sins of the penitent. The baroque organ was made by Jean Nollet.

Its foundations are formed by the Gallo-Roman rampart, visible on either side of the entrance. The beauty of the church resides in the originality of its narthex. Four Romanesque pillars support the ribbed vault. Works of art include the stained-glas..

The town hall with its sober Louis XV façade, the former guardroom, its pediment decorated with trophies and the former Parliament stand around this square, laid out in the 18C by François Blondel. In the centre stands the statue of Marshal Fabert (1..

Ideally situated, it offers a charming view of the river, the islands, the Protestant church and the two small bridges reflected in the water.

This 18C theatre is the oldest in France. It is framed with historic buildings, the Pavillon de la Douane (Customs pavilion) and the Pavillon Saint-Marcel and stands opposite the former Hôtel des Intendants, rebuilt after a fire in 1803, which is now..

This wide avenue, lined with plane trees, has a pleasant promenade with plants, thickets and flower borders, culminating in the fountains of Place Mondon.

The convent, with its fine 15C cloister, is now home to the European Institute of Ecology.