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Regions à la carte
Eastern France
Region at a glance |
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 Major city:
Metz, Nancy
World War I and II
sites
Beautiful medieval architecture and palaces of the Dukes
of Lorraine and Burgundy
Famous for its crystal houses
Excellent fine arts and "art nouveau" museums
Lorraine's history is
synonymous with the struggles of Europe's many peoples to
live in peace and harmony. Verdun is perhaps more of a
pilgrimage than an excursion, yet the simple power of its
name is more than matched by the vestiges of war's
destruction preserved in a huge outdoor museum
surrounding Fort Douaumont with a massive ossuary
containing the bones of 400,000 unknown soldiers. The
luxuriant greenery of its gently sloping hills revives
the eye and the heart.
After the Franco-Prussian
War of 1870, artists streamed into Nancy to escape the
German occupation, incidentally producing the first
flowering of the style known as art nouveau. A by-product
of that bloom was the refinement of crystal ware that
continues today in firms such as Baccarat and Daum.
Resident in Nancy's ducal
palace, the Dukes of Lorraine and Burgundy fashioned one
of Medieval Europe's most beautiful cities from what had
been a wide spot in the road. Behind the elaborate
wrought-iron gates to the Place Stanislas stands the
ornate Hôtel de Ville (city hall), but far more
impressive are the Musée des Beaux Arts and the Musée
Historique Lorrain displaying the region's past glories.
Further north is another enormous fortified city: Metz.
Once the capital of the Carolingian Kings during the
Middle Ages, Metz's massive German Gate opens onto the
old city and the great cathedral of Saint-Étienne, whose
magnificent stained glass windows stretch from the 13th
Century when the church was begun, to those designed by
Marc Chagall in 1960.
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Places of interest |
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Baccarat |
Crystal Museum |
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Bar-le-Duc |
Saint Pierre Square, St. Etienne church |
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Bitche |
Citadel designed by Vauban |
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Epinal |
St. Maurice Church, famous for ancient industry of
color prints, Block Print Museum |
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Gérardmer |
Ski and summer resort in the heart of the Vosges
Mountains |
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Marsal |
Salt Museum |
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Maginot Line |
Defense barrier erected between the two World Wars
to protect French territory from invasion from the Germans |
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Metz |
15th-16th century St. Louis Square with vaulted
gallery and arches, medieval mansions, Saint Etienne Cathedral
with famous stained glass windows by Chagall, 4th century
Saint-Pierre-aux Nonnains, the oldest church in France, Saint
Maximin church with stained glass windows by Cocteau, monumental
railway stations built during German occupation |
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Nancy |
Place Stanislas with famous golden gates, City
Hall, Fine Arts Museum, Government Place, city's Old Quarter,
Historical Museum, School of Nancy Museum (Art Nouveau), Daum
crystal factory |
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Saint Dié |
Considered the godmother of America ,where the
first book on the New World was printed, cathedral, Gothic
cloister
Saint-Nicholas Famous pilgrimage site dedicated to
Saint-Nicholas-de-Port |
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Stenay |
Beer Museum |
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Verdun |
Historic battlefields of WWI I, Fort de Vaux, Fort
Douaumont, Ossuary and Douaumont National Cemetery, Underground
Citadel. |
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Technical
tourism and sports |
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The Lorraine is perhaps best known
for the succulent plum liqueur, Mirabelle de Lorraine.
Throughout the countryside in summer, entire rows of trees are
covered with the small yellow plum. Also from this region is
the Côtes de Toul wine, produced in the north from vineyards
covering the southwestern slopes of the Côtes de Meuse.
Lorraine crystal is produced in Nancy (Daum factory), Vannes
le Chatel, Baccarat, Hartzviller, Vallerysthal,
Saint-Louis-les-Bitche (oldest crystal works in France),
Lemberg (city's Crystal Hôtel), Meisenthal (Glass and Crystal
Museum) and Portieux.
Violin and lace-making in Mirecourt, embroidery in Lunéville.
Biking, barging, hot air ballooning, hiking, skiing. |
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Cuisine |
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The region's most famous contribution to the
culinary world is undoubtedly the Quiche Lorraine, which dates
back to the 16th century. But this is only one of the good
things that Lorraine offers: its lakes and rivers supply local
chefs with an abundance of matelote, perch and carp; its
dishes include potée Lorraine, a hearty stew of smoked
sausage, beans, carrots and leeks. Dairy products from
Lorraine include fresh cream, cheese, and among its desserts
are the sumptuous tarte aux mirabelles,
a plum tart, madeleines, macaroons and almond candies known as
dragées. Lorraine's local Côtes de Toul and Moselle wines and
fruit brandies, such as the plum Mirabelle of Lorraine, are
excellent.
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