I visited the city of Metz for the first time in 2012, passing through on my way to Belgium for a memorable road trip. At the time, the city was an open construction site due to the building of the future tramway. And yet, despite this chaos, the charm of the city had already struck me back then. In 2021, nearly a decade later, I returned with my favorite photographer for a few days’ getaway in the prefecture of the Moselle department, in this region formerly named Lorraine, which is now called Grand-Est.
Metz is an important metropolis in the heart of Europe, as it is close to Luxembourg as well as the border with Germany. It is very easily accessible from Paris by train (about 1h30 via TGV, train booking possible with Omio from the Paris Est station). In this article, I offer you a little city guide to visit Metz with a selection of sightseeing ideas and things/places to see, as well as my tried and approved addresses, as is my habit.
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Table of Contents
My great addresses in Metz
As usual, you will find below my selection of great addresses in Metz (a magnificent hotel and several restaurants) that we had the opportunity to test during our stay with the favorite photographer. These addresses often offer the chance to discover local products and some regional specialties to taste if you come to the Moselle. The city is apparently also famous for housing many high-quality little restaurants and the few small experiences we had tend to confirm this…
A few local specialties (and for bringing back some local products, we were advised to go to the city’s Covered Market): : mirabelle plum (a great Lorraine specialty available in all forms), Moselle wines…
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Where to stay in Metz? MGallery La Citadelle Metz Hotel
This beautiful 4-star hotel, housed in a former 16th-century military building built with Jaumont stone, is a little gem! This former army larder of the King has been a classified historical monument since 1969 and was returned to civilian life and transformed into a 4-star hotel in 2005 under the name: La Citadelle. The setting of the hotel, now MGallery La Citadelle Metz, is therefore superb with very beautiful volumes. Decor-wise, the hotel is decidedly modern, notably with the presence everywhere in the building of works by the Belgian artist Denis Meyers, whose project and work I had discovered in 2016 in Brussels. This urban art exhibition is the prelude to many others that are set to follow every 6 months in the heart of the hotel.
Another positive point, if you come to Metz by train, is that the hotel is located only 5 minutes from the station, which is extremely convenient. And finally, a very important point in an establishment of this standing, the welcome is extremely pleasant, while remaining friendly and warm.
The MGallery La Citadelle Metz has 68 rooms and suites, recently redecorated in shades of charcoal grey and pearl grey, favorable to sleep, and the bathrooms are in white. Our suite, located on the 3rd and top floor, had a magnificent view of Square Giraud located in front of the hotel, and the king-size bedding was truly very comfortable. We had a large space of 65 m2 with a comfortable library-boudoir lounge, as well as the bedroom area with the bed and a large-screen television.
Another positive point to note (and which is sometimes missing in hotels) is that there were numerous sockets in the room to plug in our electronic equipment, and with all the gear we each carry (phones, cameras, batteries…), we often struggle to plug everything in, which was not the case this time. And finally, as you can see in the photos below, we couldn’t resist the urge to do a series of jumps on the bed, our trademark…
Regarding breakfast, I must say it is flawless, with a majority of local products, homemade items (homemade spread to die for, mirabelle plum tart, guacamole, very successful scrambled eggs…), in short, quality, and that is finally rare enough to be highlighted! And by the way, the bread offered at the hotel comes from the Comptoir Marly (another address of the La Citadelle group) which I mention a little further down.
Hotel MGallery La Citadelle Metz
5 avenue Ney 57000 Metz
Top tips: free wifi accessible throughout the hotel; a games and reading corner with a pool table and books available; in the hotel lobby, bikes are accessible and can be borrowed for free by hotel guests to go for a ride in Metz and the surroundings!
Room rates: from €89 depending on season and room category / offer from €249 in a double room with breakfast and dinner with food and wine pairing at the La Réserve restaurant
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Where to have a gourmet dinner in Metz? La Réserve
This restaurant is located in the MGallery La Citadelle hotel that I just told you about and where we stayed during our getaway to Metz. Renamed La Réserve, a nod to the former provisions store of the Citadel, it underwent a renovation in 2021. The chef Aurélien Person is passionate, and his cuisine is truly delicious! Lorraine cuisine is honored there with new recipes straight from the chef’s imagination, who works a lot with producers in the region around a seasonal menu that changes every 4 to 5 weeks. Everything is balanced and tasty, and we were particularly blown away by his pan-seared foie gras with pot-au-feu consommé and crunchy vegetables, and then the signature chocolate dessert by pastry chef Quentin Nollez is also to die for!
As for wine, the establishment has a well-stocked cellar with vintages of all origins but also, of course, wines from the Alsace-Lorraine region which we were delighted to discover. I also recommend you finish your meal with a Mirabelle de Lorraine brandy from Mélanie if you want to end on a local note. In short, a great address to try if you are passing through Metz, even if you are not staying at the hotel.
We tasted during our meal:
- Menu La Citadelle at €40 (starter + main course + dessert): perfect egg from Neufchef, butternut, grison meat condiment; confit veal medallion, vegetable fricassee, Pinot noir juice; mont blanc, orange marmalade with Christmas spices, blood orange sorbet.
- Menu La Réserve, chef’s inspiration at €65 (starter + 2 main courses + dessert) : pan-seared foie gras, pot-au-feu consommé, crunchy vegetables (to die for!); semi-cooked red tuna, wok with Asian flavors; venison fillet, beetroot in texture, grand veneur sauce (here too a favorite); intense chocolate cream, seed cookie shortbread, coffee chantilly, cappuccino ice cream (the establishment’s signature dessert).
Restaurant La Réserve
5 avenue Ney 57000 Metz
open 7 days/7 for breakfast, from 12pm to 2pm for lunch and from 7pm to 10pm for dinner
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Where to eat/buy good cakes in the surroundings of Metz? Le Comptoir Marly
This address (which also belongs to the La Citadelle group) located on the outskirts of Metz in the town of Marly is installed in a commercial area and yet it hides a quality establishment that is simultaneously a restaurant (seated dining at lunch; possibility of privatization; menu renewed every 4 to 5 weeks), a caterer, but also a wine merchant!
There you can find, notably, the delicious cakes from pastry chef Cédric Schwartzenberger. On the program: lemon tart, passion square, grandma’s chocolate mousse, chocolate-coconut flan, and all-chocolate “skull”; his famous cream puffs (choux) with Mirabelle plum, coffee, and caramel are known twenty leagues around (and after tasting them, I understand why, it’s totally to die for!!!).
Le Comptoir Marly
457 avenue Belle Fontaine 57155 Marly
open from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
Restaurant service at lunch from Monday to FridayTop tip: daily menu starter + main course + dessert at €16.90
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Where to have lunch in Metz? Restaurant La Fleure de Ly
This restaurant tucked away in a pretty little alley, between the cathedral and the Moselle, is housed in a former 16th-century private mansion. The decor is cozy and classy, and on the plates, you can find traditional bistro cuisine with a creative and colorful touch, orchestrated by the chef Nicolas Rapenne.
Our menu: endive velouté, smoked bacon espuma and grilled breast; pear crumble, parsnips, and Auvergne blue cheese; pork cheeks braised in beer and gingerbread with a red cabbage mousseline and spätzles; roasted cod back, chorizo crust with squash and citrus emulsion; coconut, mango, and passion fruit entremets with vanilla ice cream; Baileys verrine, 70% chocolate, and coffee ice cream.
To taste in terms of local wine: a Côte de Toul with a local Moselle grape variety, the Auxerrois.
Restaurant La Fleure de Ly
5 rue des Piques, 57000 MetzClosed on Sunday evening
Market menu at €31: starter + main course + dessert
Top tip: a welcome drink or 1 free aperitif with the City Pass Metz (see below in the “What to see, what to do in Metz?” section)
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Where to eat Italian in Metz? Chez Martina Ristorante
This new address with Italian flavors opened recently in the heart of the station district in Metz. In the kitchen, we find an Italian chef from Rome who offers his family recipes here. The Italian products used are also sourced with a quality selection and you can taste it in the dishes. Decor-wise, it gives off a rather cozy atmosphere (special mention for the little benches by the windows), and it’s the ideal place for a simple but tasty lunch.
To taste: for a starter, Polpette al pomodoro, small golden meatballs simmered in an Italian tomato sauce (€7.90); the chef’s various pastas (fettucine al ragù or fettucine with porcini mushrooms); for dessert, the traditional tiramisu (€6.50); the restaurant’s beautiful selection of Italian wines.
Martina Ristorante
5 rue François de Curel 57000 Metz
Open only for lunch and can be privatized in the evening
Price of pasta: between €13.50 and €16.90
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Where to eat fish in Metz? Le Méditerranée (closed)
During my visit to Metz in 2012, we had lunch with my parents (on the recommendations of Gilles Pudlowski) at the restaurant Le Méditerranée where we enjoyed fish and succulent desserts with a very warm welcome as a bonus, which doesn’t spoil anything, all for the modest sum of €14.90 with the lunch formula (a bargain!). Unfortunately, this restaurant has since closed its doors, but I wanted to keep a trace of our visit to this place here.
Restaurant Le Méditerranée
22 Pl. de Chambre, 57000 Metz
Establishment now closed and replaced by the restaurant Mamie M’a Dit
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What to see, what to do in Metz?
By visiting Metz, one discovers the long history of the city, from its Gallo-Roman origins, through its status as an episcopal city in the Middle Ages, to its transition into the German Empire after the war of 1870, then its return to France in 1918 (if we ignore a second German annexation from 1940 to 1944). In short, a rich history with a remarkably preserved heritage that is particularly interesting to discover! The city of Metz is also very interesting from an architectural point of view because it was an architectural laboratory since the 19th century. It is also a city deeply rooted in art and culture.
Located between the Moselle and the Seille, Metz is a city of water and gardens where it is very pleasant to walk on foot, along its canals or its quays. The city is also very green with 580 ha of green spaces (it is actually the 3rd greenest city in France!) and 50km of walks accessible to the Messins and visiting tourists (well obviously it’s more pleasant in fine weather than in winter, but still…).
Below I talk about some places to visit in Metz, but don’t hesitate to also go see, for example, the Porte des Allemands, a small autonomous medieval fortified castle and very emblematic of the city located at the eastern entrance of Metz, its set of 18th-century French squares, or even the Saint-Maximin Church which houses stained glass windows made in 1962, based on the sketches of Jean Cocteau.
Top tip: the City Pass which allows for €13.50 to have 1 entry to the Centre Pompidou-Metz + 1 Visi Pass’ ticket for unlimited travel on the LE MET’ network for 1 day + 1 audio-guided tour of Metz + discounts in many places in Metz (restaurants, accommodations, local producers, fun and sports activities…).
Metz Tourist Office
2 place d’Armes 57007 Metz
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Visit Saint-Etienne Cathedral
Obviously, I had to take a tour of the Gothic Saint-Etienne Cathedral, with its height under vaults of 42 meters, one of the highest in France with Beauvais and Amiens. The place did not disappoint me and the edifice is worthy (as the case may be) of its reputation. Nicknamed “The Lantern of the Good Lord”, the cathedral dominates the city and offers to the gaze magnificent stained glass windows (more than 6500 m2!) executed from the 13th century to the 20th century by renowned artists (including Chagall). The cathedral, moreover, celebrated its 800 years in 2021!
The square bordering the building is itself very pretty and houses the Tourist Office, which can be convenient if you wish to have information to visit the city.
Cathédrale Saint-Etienne
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Visit the Cour d’Or Museum
This establishment, located on Sainte-Croix hill, is the fine arts museum of the city of Metz. Its name “La Cour d’Or” is a reference to the palace of the kings of Austrasia whose site it currently occupies. It is also extremely vast, about 5000 m2 of exhibition (plan for several hours to do the entire route) and its antique collection (particularly the Gallo-Roman period, from which one can see the remains of the thermal baths in the route) is very rich. It is precisely an opportunity to discover the ancient past of the Messine city, named at the time Divodurum. The medieval collection is also exceptional, with the incredible medieval ceilings with bestiary painted in the 13th century.
And then, icing on the cake, the museum is entirely free and that’s quite rare for a museum of this quality! If you pass through Metz, you have no excuse not to devote a few hours to discovering the treasures of this collection.
Musée de la Cour d’Or
2 rue du Haut Poirier, Metz
Free entry for everyone all year round
Top tip: the museum also regularly organizes free guided tours
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Visit the FRAC Lorraine (Regional Contemporary Art Fund)
The FRAC Lorraine is housed in a former 12th-century private mansion, the Hôtel St Livier, located on Sainte-Croix hill once again. The venue offers temporary exhibitions of contemporary artists, artistic performances, and also hosts artists in residence. There were 3 exhibitions during our visit: an exhibition by Hanne Lippard, a Norwegian artist, around language; an installation “Jardin in progress” by Liliana Motta, a botanist artist who works for the rehabilitation of “foreign plants”; and an exhibition by a local artist Paul Heintz.
As always in contemporary art, it’s sometimes a bit difficult to access, but as the entry is free, I can only encourage you to come and take a look to confront yourself with the visions of the artists and also to enjoy the building which is also well worth the detour.
Frac Lolo – FRAC Lorraine (Regional Contemporary Art Fund)
1 bis rue des Trinitaires 57000 Metz
Open Tuesday to Friday from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
Free and open access for all
Top tip: a poster of the current exhibition offered with the City Pass Metz
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Visit the Centre Pompidou Metz
If you are passing through Metz, you cannot miss visiting the Centre Pompidou Metz, an extension of the Centre Pompidou in Paris. This modern and contemporary art center offers temporary exhibitions all year round (only temporary, no permanent exhibitions here) of international standard, presenting works from the Centre Pompidou collection but also from other museums, galleries, and collectors from around the world. The building, which is also worth the detour, is the work of Japanese architect Shigeru Ban and his French partner Jean de Gastines, who imagined it covered with a Chinese hat.
During my visit in 2012, I saw an exhibition around the cultural production of the year 1917. The theme of the exhibition is certainly not the most joyful, but how could it be otherwise with such a delicate subject, and I found it extremely well constructed, documented, and presented. An example in the field and which perhaps explains the slightly high price of the entrance ticket (€7 and no reduced rate, but free under certain criteria, see below).
During our visit in November 2021, we discovered (on the last day, I think), the very beautiful exhibition “Face à Arcimboldo“, around the universe of Giuseppe Arcimboldo, a unique and mysterious 16th-century artist, whose works were confronted with masters of the Renaissance but also with contemporary artists like Francis Bacon, Magritte, Picasso, or even Cindy Sherman.
Indeed, this artist, primarily known for his portraits mixing the vegetal, animal, and mineral worlds, masterpieces of Mannerism, inspired many others, and the surrealists had already recognized, for example, Arcimboldo as a source of inspiration. One discovers or rediscovers the work of Arcimboldo as it has been viewed, guessed, and fantasized about by the 135 artists presented in the exhibition. The latter unfortunately ended on November 22, 2021.
We also visited the exhibition “Ecrire, c’est dessiner” (Writing is drawing), imagined during a conversation with the poet and artist Etel Adnan. This exhibition explores our fascination for the richness of languages and that of their writing, and I must say it interested us a lot. You can discover it at the Centre Pompidou Metz until February 21, 2022.
Another exhibition we were able to see during this visit was the one around the Taipei Biennale (island of Taiwan) “You and me, we don’t live on the same Planet”, around the issue of ecology and the conflicts related to it. You can see this exhibition until April 4, 2022.
Centre Pompidou Metz
1 parvis des Droits de l’Homme, 57000 Metz
Open from Wednesday to Monday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and until 7:00 pm on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays
Rates adjustable based on the number of exhibition spaces open on the day of your visit: €7 / €10 / €12
Free admission: – 26 years old / students / job seekers and RSA beneficiaries
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Visit the Imperial Quarter around the Central Station
Around the central station, an imposing neo-Roman style building (which is worth seeing, and if you arrive by train, don’t hesitate to linger there), willed by William II and raised by Jürgen during the city’s German period, one also finds other remarkable buildings such as the post office, Place Mondon, the villas on Avenue Foch which reinterpret Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, or Baroque art and stand alongside Art Deco and Jugendstil. This neighborhood is truly an exceptional illustration of Germanic urbanism of the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century.
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Go to Christmas markets in winter
Starting from November, the city installs Christmas markets on 5 city squares with chalets, gourmet and artisanal products, a 55m high Ferris wheel at the foot of the cathedral on Place d’Armes J-F Blondel to admire Metz from above (we actually took a little spin on it), an ice rink, the Lantern Trail (which unfortunately was not yet set up during our visit)… It’s also an opportunity to drink traditional mulled wine to warm up and enjoy a real Christmas atmosphere.
During this 2021 edition, each square had a theme: gourmet square, tradition villages, lights seen from the sky with the Ferris wheel, square of colors and flavors, between ice and lights. We notably took advantage of it one evening to have a meal at the gourmet market installed on Place de la Comédie. We enjoyed a little flammekueche at the O’Flamme chalet with a Christmas beer, which was very pleasant.
Metz Christmas Markets
open from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm / Sunday and holidays from 10am to 4pm
from late November to late December every year
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Thanks to MGallery La Citadelle Metz, to Corinne, and to Inspire Metz for this beautiful welcome.
I hope that with all this I will have made you want to discover Metz, and if you also have your great addresses and advice for this destination, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments below!
Find all my articles on the Grand-Est below:
⇒ All my articles on the Grand-Est
MY ARTICLES ON THE GRAND EST
⇒ The Aube
⇒ The Meuse
⇒ The Marne
⇒ The Haute-Marne
⇒ The Moselle
Photo credits: Nicolas Diolez and Mademoiselle Bon Plan Photos are not royalty-free, photographer authorization mandatory before any use
