Articles > Lorraine: Undiscovered France

White fluffy clouds rushed across the blue sky, so fast it seemed almost unreal. It took a while before we realised it wasn’t the clouds but ourselves who zoomed at 200 miles an hour, on our way to eastern France.

Tempted by a short break off the beaten track, we had long debated where we should go and Lorraine won our votes hands up. Lush hills and vales, sleepy villages tucked in the meadows, woodlands and lakes and two capital cities to please north and south, it’s largely undiscovered, yet so easy to reach now that the new high speed train links it to Paris in 1½ hours. We booked our fare right through from London (raileurope.co.uk) and travelled in comfort, delighted to avoid the usual airport queues. Fresh and eager, we set foot in Metz, in a vast cathedral-like station, stretching nearly a thousand feet and flanked by a dainty water tower, once used to supply the steam engines.

Nestling at the confluence of the mighty Moselle and the Seille, Metz is a lovely city, all medieval bridges and islands where pastel-coloured walls are mirrored in a maze of waterways. Water tumbles over the weirs while shaded promenades meander on the banks as far as you can see. We strolled along the ramparts to the fortified gate of Porte des Allemands, watched the pleasure boats in the marina and the brightly-painted barges on the Jouy canal. There are miles of waterside trails and in this ‘little Venice’, swans and ducks glide past old wash-houses and weeping willows. Life moves at a leisurely pace and you could almost be out in the country.

Yet Metz is two cities in one, the new imperial town with imposing buildings dating back to Wilhelm II and 48 years of German rule, and the old medieval town clinging to the hill, topped by St Stephen’s Cathedral which claims more stained glass than any other church in France. We found Metz perfect to explore on foot and soon came across the old Arsenal turned into a concert hall, the museum housed in medieval granaries, the Récollet cloisters and their garden of medicinal plants, the cool arcades of St Louis and the lively Place St Jacques. Outside the cathedral, the market spread its wares on the flagstones and the air smelt of cheese, flowers and fruit and freshly-baked bread. We picnicked by the river, near the elegant Comédie Square glowing honey-coloured in the midday sun.

In summer, Metz is in festive mood with dazzling floral displays and a mirabelle festival celebrating the sweet local plums which shine like gold on the trees. But now it was spring, time for catkins and daffodils nodding in the breeze and quiet evenings feasting on Quiche Lorraine and ewe’s cheese flavoured with berries. Now and then church bells chimed in the dark as the city gleamed silver and gold under the stars.

From the bucolic hills of the Moselle Valley to the pine-scented slopes of the Vosges glistening with waterfalls and mountain streams, this far corner of France has much to offer, chateaux, gardens, spas, vineyards and vast nature parks where butterflies flutter among wild orchids and flowering thistles. We visited the village of Domrémy, birthplace of Joan of Arc, and the mini-Versailles of Lunéville in pristine gardens, but our favourite was the market town of Pont-à-Mousson with 16th century arcades and superb views from the hilltop.

In Lorraine, summers are for rambling through hills and forests, or sailing on rivers, canals and lakes, winters are for skiing on mountain slopes and sharing the magic of a Christmas market festooned in lights, selling mulled wine and hot chestnuts and all sorts of local craft. At the crossroads of ancient trading routes, Lorraine has always been a land of artists and craftsmen and we happily browsed at glazed china and crystal, embroidery and the finest linen from the Vosges. But thinking of our grandson back home, we settled for gingerbread and macaron biscuits, a speciality from Nancy whose recipe is a well-kept secret.

Nancy greeted us with the most stunning town square we had ever seen. Paved in white, lined with classical buildings and fountains and wrought iron gates covered in gold leaf, this World Heritage site was the gift of Stanislas, a deposed Polish king who settled in Lorraine in the 18th century, when his daughter married the French king. We relaxed on a café-terrace, watching the crowds come and go, marvelling at this beloved benefactor who embellished the city and cared for its poor.

Meanwhile in the old town, locals headed for the flea market, a colourful jumble of tableware and photo albums, china dolls, banners and cuckoo clocks. We rummaged through piles of dusty books and opted for a 1919 Michelin guide, complete with maps and flavours of bygone France. We loved this old district, the cobbled lanes, the turrets and fairytale spires peeping above the rooftops, the hidden squares and courtyards, the village shops selling home-made cakes, plum jam, spices and fruit. We lunched in the Rue Gourmande (Food Street) on Lorraine salad and crusty bread, before wandering in search of the flowery Art Nouveau villas which, in the early 1900s, hailed the return to nature.

Keen on arts and culture, Nancy has seven museums so we had to be selective. We popped into the Musée Lorrain, set in the Dukes’ Palace, to glance at paintings by local masters, ancient remains and popular arts and traditions while in the ‘Nancy School’, we admired stained glass and Art Nouveau furniture so beautifully carved you just wanted to stroke it. But for me, nothing beat the sparkling crystal collection displayed in the Fine Arts Museum, in the shadow of the old barbican.
‘Shall we hire a couple of bikes?’

For just six euros each, we had a whole day to seek out the town parks carpeted with primroses and velvety lawns, ride along the canal and its Water Gardens and the river Meurthe where nothing disturbed the peace but the wind rustling through the reeds and birds twittering in the trees. We spotted a heron, a couple of storks, moorhens and coots and dozens of swans. Sleek trams and chic boutiques were barely a mile away and we truly felt we had the best of both worlds.

Much too soon, our break came to an end. We had ventured little further than the heart of Lorraine but we pledged to return and enjoy all those secret treasures just waiting to be discovered.

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