Metz: France for the day

Metz is the answer when the household wants France without committing to a weekend. It is roughly an hour from Luxembourg by train, it has a Gothic cathedral with more stained glass than almost any other in Europe, a branch of the Centre Pompidou, an old town of yellow limestone and a covered market that does the thing French covered markets do. It is also markedly cheaper than Luxembourg City, which for a family of four having lunch is not a minor consideration.

Getting there

• By train from Luxembourg Gare Centrale to Metz-Ville, roughly an hour on the regional service, running frequently through the day.
• Public transport is free within Luxembourg; buy the French portion of the journey before travelling.
• By car, around an hour on the A31, with the caveat that the Luxembourg to France corridor carries heavy commuter traffic on weekdays. At the weekend it is straightforward.
• Metz-Ville station is itself worth two minutes of attention: a monumental early twentieth-century building in Rhenish Romanesque style, built when the region was German.

What to see

The cathedral of Saint-Étienne

Known as the lantern of God, and the nickname is earned. It has one of the largest expanses of stained glass of any cathedral in Europe, spanning the thirteenth century to the twentieth, including windows by Marc Chagall. The effect on a bright day is the single best reason to visit Metz, and it is free to enter.

The Centre Pompidou-Metz

The regional outpost of the Paris institution, in a striking building near the station, showing major temporary exhibitions rather than a permanent collection. Check what is on before going, because the programme is the point.

The old town and the Quartier Impérial

Two distinct architectural moods within a short walk. The medieval and classical old town in local yellow limestone, and the German imperial quarter built between 1871 and 1918 around the station, which is unlike anything else in France and is now recognised as a heritage ensemble.

The Marché Couvert

The covered market beside the cathedral, and the reason to arrive in the morning. Cheese, charcuterie, produce and the small counters where people eat standing up. It is closed on Sundays and Mondays, which is worth knowing before planning around it.

The Temple Neuf and the water

The Protestant church on its island in the Moselle, and the walk along the water past the Esplanade gardens, which is the best hour in Metz in good weather.

Eating

This is a large part of why people go.

• Lunch is where the value is. The French weekday and Saturday lunch formula, two or three courses at a fixed price, remains one of the better deals in Europe and is a fraction of what the equivalent costs in Luxembourg City.
• The covered market for produce, cheese and charcuterie to take home.
• Lorraine specialities: quiche lorraine done properly, pâté lorrain, mirabelle plums in season and in every preserved form the rest of the year.
• Book on a Saturday. Good restaurants in Metz fill, and turning up at one is optimistic.
• Note the closures. Many restaurants close Sunday evening and Monday, which catches out visitors from Luxembourg used to different rhythms.

When to go

• Saturday morning is the best single slot: the market is open, the town is busy in a good way, and lunch is available.
• Sunday works for the cathedral, the Pompidou and a walk, and not for the market or much shopping.
• December brings a large and well-regarded Christmas market spread across several squares.
• Late summer is mirabelle season, which the region takes seriously enough to hold a festival for.

A workable day

• Morning train, arriving before the market closes.
• Marché Couvert, then the cathedral immediately next to it.
• Lunch in the old town, booked.
• Centre Pompidou-Metz in the afternoon, or the Esplanade and the riverside if the weather is good and the exhibition is not.
• The Quartier Impérial on the walk back to the station.

With children

Metz is manageable with children: the centre is compact, largely pedestrianised, and the Esplanade gardens and the riverside give somewhere to run. The cathedral holds attention longer than most because of the colour. The Pompidou is variable depending on the exhibition and is worth checking rather than assuming.

The practical points are the same as anywhere in France: lunch is at lunchtime and not at three, and a booking removes the problem.

What to bring back

A considerable number of Luxembourg residents treat Metz as a shopping trip with a cathedral attached, and there is a logic to it.

• The covered market for cheese, charcuterie and produce, at prices that make the journey pay for itself for a family.
• Mirabelle in every form: jam, eau-de-vie, tarts and the fruit itself in August and September.
• Wine, where the French retail range and pricing differ substantially from Luxembourg.
• Books and stationery, since Metz has proper bookshops of a kind that a city of Luxembourg's size struggles to sustain.
• Clothing and household goods in the centre and at the retail parks on the edge, generally cheaper than the equivalent in Luxembourg City.

The caveat is customs and common sense: movement of goods for personal use within the European Union is free, and the practical limits are what you can carry and what your car will hold. If you are travelling by train, plan accordingly.

Three questions we are asked about Metz

Metz or Nancy?

Metz is closer and has the cathedral and the Pompidou. Nancy, half an hour further, has the Place Stanislas, which is one of the finest squares in Europe, and a strong Art Nouveau heritage. For a day trip, Metz. For a weekend, Nancy repays the extra distance.

Is it worth going by car?

Only if you are continuing somewhere else or buying more than you can carry. The station is central, the town is walkable, and parking in the centre is the usual French exercise in patience.

Is it cheaper than Luxembourg?

Noticeably, for restaurants, groceries and most retail, which is why a considerable number of Luxembourg residents shop and eat across the border. Fuel is the exception and is cheaper in Luxembourg.

Why we write these

Being an hour from France and an hour from Germany is one of the genuine compensations of the cost of living here, and it is the argument we make to households wondering whether Luxembourg will feel small.

One further note on timing. Metz keeps French hours rather than Luxembourg ones, which catches out visitors more than anything else. Lunch service runs from around midday to two and then stops entirely, most independent shops close for part of the afternoon, and a good number of restaurants shut on Sunday evening and Monday. Plan the day around the meal rather than fitting the meal around the day, and the town works perfectly.

Every strong property choice contains a trade-off, and why we write these is no exception. For the question raised by “Why we write these”, the useful detail is not a generic list of advantages.

For the question raised by “Why we write these”, the useful detail is not a generic list of advantages.

One of the easiest mistakes around getting there is judging the visible result while ignoring the process that produces it. For the question raised by “Getting there”, the useful detail is not a generic list of advantages. Then ask what happens when one assumption fails.

A stronger reading of a workable day starts by asking what would change for the resident on an ordinary weekday.