Things to do in Metz
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Metz
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Best months overall, warm enough for river terraces with all venues in season.
Lovely and quieter, with the Le Livre à Metz literature festival in mid April.
Constellations, Metz-Plage and long evenings, with heat and some mid August restaurant closures.
Coldest and quietest months, redeemed by low prices and empty museums.
Flat early November, then Christmas markets from late November transform the centre.
What's on
- Constellations de Metz 19 June to 30 August
International digital arts festival with cathedral video mapping and Moselle installations through summer.
- Fête de la Mirabelle 22 to 31 August
Mirabelle plum festival with floral floats, concerts, fireworks and the Montgolfiades balloons.
- Christmas Markets in Metz late November to 30 December
Chalets, big wheel, ice rink and Lantern Trail across several central squares.
- Saint-Nicolas in Metz early December
Lorraine's Saint Nicholas festivities, a major family tradition at the start of December.
- Moselle Wine Festival late March
Gourmet village and Moselle wine festival on Place de la République.
Best things to do in Metz
Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Metz
A golden Gothic cathedral filled with stained glass including Chagall windows, best seen when morning light pours through.
Centre Pompidou-Metz
Shigeru Ban's woven roof shelters large temporary modern art shows drawn from the Paris Pompidou collection.
Musée de la Cour d'Or
A labyrinth of Roman baths, medieval art and Metz history in historic buildings two minutes from the cathedral.
Quartier Impérial
The German imperial district built around Metz station, with Avenue Foch mansions and monumental official buildings.
Temple Neuf
A neo Romanesque church on a Moselle island tip, and the pivot of the best free river walk in Metz.
Marché Couvert de Metz
Metz's covered food market by the cathedral, for mirabelle, pate lorrain, Moselle wine and market counter lunches.
Arsenal Jean-Marie Rausch
Ricardo Bofill's concert hall, home of the Orchestre National de Lorraine and Metz's finest classical music nights.
Porte des Allemands
Metz's great medieval fortified gate, reached through the lived in Outre-Seille tanners quarter across the Seille.
Where to stay in Metz
Ancienne Ville
first trip, sightseeing and eating
Pedestrian lanes around the cathedral put the main sights, market and most restaurants within minutes on foot.
Nouvelle Ville
train arrivals and day trips
Grand imperial streets by the station, quieter at night, with the Pompidou close and the old town walkable.
Amphithéâtre
Pompidou trips and design stays
The new quarter around the Centre Pompidou and Muse, home to Maison Heler and modern parking.
Les Îles
value and quiet by the river
Calm river island and north bank streets facing the Moselle, ten minutes from the cathedral.
Think twice about
- Borny
A post war priority neighbourhood east of the centre with a persistent reputation for insecurity and almost no visitor accommodation.
- Patrotte / Metz-Nord
A northern priority neighbourhood with pockets of drug dealing and a run down feel, far from the sights and a poor late walk home.
Best restaurants in Metz
Yozora
Metz's starred French Japanese tasting menu inside the Centre Pompidou, by Charles Coulombeau.
Quintessence
Seasonal fine dining on a Moselle island, with tasting menus that can be ordered fully vegetarian.
Le Jardin de Bellevue
An acclaimed destination restaurant locals drive to, away from the cathedral square crowds.
Derrière
A small acclaimed room in the old town cooking serious seasonal French plates.
Hesperius
A modern, produce led all rounder that pleases mixed groups better than almost anywhere in Metz.
Les Copains d'Abord
A warm, generous French bistrot full of locals, ideal for a first night dinner in Metz.
Les Pas Sages
A playful, market led bistrot for a long lunch or dinner at honest mid range prices.
Fox Coffee Shop
The cheap daytime fixture for coffee and light French cafe food between the cathedral and museums.
Outdoor things to do in Metz
Golf de la Grange aux Ormes
A championship course around a chateau estate near Marly, host of the Mirabelle d'Or tournament.
Metz Technopôle Golf
A compact city golf at the Technopôle, the easy round to fit into a morning before the old town.
Plan d'Eau de Metz
A broad Moselle lake by the centre for boat rental, kayaks, lawns and summer Metz-Plage days.
Solis Mettensis - Vedette Solaire
A solar boat cruise through Metz's rivers and canals, with lunch and Moselle wine on some sailings.
Casemates du Bock
Rock tunnels in Luxembourg's UNESCO fortress, with gun window views down to the Grund lower town.
Mémorial de Verdun
The essential Verdun museum, explaining the 1916 battle through objects, film and soldiers' daily lives.
Fort Douaumont
Verdun's largest fort, with cratered tops, damp galleries and gun turrets explored by audioguide.
Zoo d'Amnéville
One of France's largest zoos, strong on big cats, with giraffe feeding and birds of prey shows.
Best hotels in Metz
Hôtel la Citadelle Metz - MGallery Collection
A grand hotel in a 16th century citadel building by the Arsenal, with La Réserve restaurant and parking.
Maison Heler Metz, Curio Collection by Hilton
Philippe Starck's concept hotel by the Pompidou, a modern tower topped by a turreted mansion.
Hôtel de la Cathédrale
A 17th century house facing the cathedral, where a front room gives you the floodlit glass at night.
Novotel Metz Centre
A dependable central hotel with a pool terrace, family rooms and parking under the Saint-Jacques centre.
Mercure Grand Hôtel Metz Centre Cathédrale
A central Accor hotel on Rue des Clercs, a short walk from the cathedral and the old town lanes.
ibis Styles Metz Centre Gare
A bright budget hotel two minutes from the station, with the old town a fifteen minute walk away.
ibis Metz Centre Cathédrale
A standard ibis six minutes from the cathedral, often the cheapest respectable bed this central.
Is Metz expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | €75 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | €145 a person |
| Splurge | €300 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Centre Pompidou-Metz: a few days ahead
- Arsenal Jean-Marie Rausch: weeks ahead
- Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole: weeks ahead
- Golf de la Grange aux Ormes: weeks ahead
- Metz Technopôle Golf: a few days ahead
- Solis Mettensis - Vedette Solaire: a few days ahead
- Casemates du Bock: a few days ahead
- Mémorial de Verdun: a few days ahead
- Book Yozora weeks ahead and Derrière and weekend bistrot dinners days ahead.
- Book Arsenal and Opéra-Théâtre headline nights when the season programme opens.
- Check Centre Pompidou gallery status before travelling and book the Solis boat and Grange aux Ormes tee times ahead in summer.
Is Metz safe?
- Central Metz has no area of severe street homelessness or dereliction a visitor needs to fear by day.
- Use ordinary station area caution late at night and care in bar streets at closing time.
- Do not base in Borny or Patrotte for a cheap room, and book Technopôle hotels only on purpose.
Metz travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- The Pompidou in a changeover week at full price with one gallery open is the main documented disappointment.
- Cathedral square terraces sell the view rather than the cooking, so walk two streets for dinner.
- Verdun's underground citadel is weaker than the Mémorial and the forts, so spend the day on the heights.
Getting around Metz: public transport and more
- Walk the compact centre, whose two sight clusters are fifteen minutes apart on foot.
- Use Le Met' Mettis lines A and B and city buses for Technopôle, the station and Amnéville connections.
- TGV from Paris Gare de l'Est takes about 1 hour 20 to 30 minutes, Luxembourg about an hour, Nancy about 40 to 50 minutes.
Who Metz suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Great |
| Bachelorette parties | OK |
Make Metz your trip
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