Free Walking Tour Metz: Roman Walls to Chagall Glass

Your Metz Walking Tour Stop by Stop, Six Places and Seventeen Centuries

1. 1

   Porte des Allemands

   

   You start at the only one of Metz's 17 medieval city gates that still stands. The Porte des Allemands, the Germans' Gate, was the main way into the city from the east, and its name has nothing to do with an invading army. It comes from the hospital of the Teutonic Order, set up around 1210 near the church of Saint-Eucaire. A more faithful translation would be the Gate of the Teutonic Knights.

   Look at it as one piece of a much larger machine. Until the middle of the 12th century, Metz still sat inside its late Roman wall. When suburbs grew up outside it, the city decided to protect its trade with a new wall, finished around 1230: 5,500 metres long, enclosing 20,000 people on 160 hectares.

   The defences never stood still. At the end of the 15th century a low outer rampart was set in front of the 13th century main wall, and by the early 16th century the circuit counted twelve gates and 76 towers. Their upkeep fell to the city and to the Metz guilds, so the craftsmen of the town literally held its walls together.

   The gatehouse is free to visit inside, so a short look fits easily into the start of your walk. If it is closed, you still see it well from outside.

   From here it is 1,330 m, about 19 minutes on foot, to the Centre Pompidou-Metz: from medieval defence to a museum that opened in 2010.

   Hours

   Tue–Sun 14:00–19:00 (May–Sep), Tue–Sun 14:00–18:00 (Oct–Apr), Mon closed

   Price

   Free

   Website

   metz.fr ↗

   Location

   Porte des Allemands on Google Maps ↗

2. 2

   Centre Pompidou-Metz

   

   Before you think about tickets, walk around the building. It is a large hexagon under a roof 90 metres wide and 8,000 square metres in area, made from sixteen kilometres of glued laminated timber. The beams cross to form hexagonal cells that copy the cane-work of a Chinese hat, the object that inspired the Japanese architect Shigeru Ban when he found one in Paris. In the middle rises a spire of 77 metres, a nod to 1977, the year the original Centre Pompidou opened in Paris.

   The first piece of the building was laid on 7 November 2006, and President Nicolas Sarkozy inaugurated it on 12 May 2010. As a branch of the Paris centre, it draws on the National Museum of Modern Art, Europe's largest collection of 20th and 21st century art, for semi-permanent and temporary shows. With 5,000 square metres across three galleries, a theatre and an auditorium, it is the largest temporary exhibition space in France outside Paris.

   Inside, the three rectangular galleries weave through the building on different levels and push out through the roof. Their huge windows are angled at landmarks: the Gothic cathedral, the Imperial railway station, the Arsenal concert hall by Ricardo Bofill, the Arènes sports arena by Paul Chemetov and the Seille park. The great nave covers 1,200 square metres, its ceiling climbing from 5.7 m at one end to 18 m.

   Is it worth going in? If modern art or architecture is your thing, yes: give it about 90 minutes. The museum charges admission, and the price depends on the exhibitions. If you are short on time, the roof alone rewards a slow circuit outside.

   Next comes a jump back of some 1,600 years: Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains is 1,310 m away, about 19 minutes on foot.

   Hours

   Mon, Wed–Thu 10:00–18:00, Fri–Sun 10:00–19:00, Tue closed (summer schedule, valid 1 Apr-31 Oct 2026); last admission to the exhibitions 30 min before closing

   Price

   7, 10 or 14 EUR depending on the exhibitions on show; under 26 free

   Website

   centrepompidou-metz.fr ↗

   Location

   Centre Pompidou-Metz on Google Maps ↗

3. 3

   Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains

   

   This plain looking building is one of the oldest you will see anywhere on the walk: a Gallo-Roman hall of the 4th century, probably from the reign of Theodosius. Nobody is quite sure what it first was, perhaps the palaestra, the exercise hall, of a bath complex, perhaps a civil basilica. Look at the walls: bands of brick run between rows of cut stone. That pattern, called opus mixtum, is how you recognise the Roman masonry.

   It went up in uneasy times. The Alamanni had sacked Metz in 253, and the city ringed itself with a wall 3.5 metres thick, reusing pieces of Roman monuments and gravestones. Before the 7th century the hall became the church of a Benedictine abbey, and in that century it received a stone chancel screen to separate choir from nave; the screen is now kept in the Musées de Metz.

   Around the year 1000, when Metz belonged to the Holy Roman Empire, a Romanesque nave was built, and Emperor Otto I endowed the abbey richly. Gothic vaults followed in the 15th and 16th centuries. Then came the siege of 1552 by Charles V: François de Guise had some forty religious buildings torn down, part of this abbey among them. From 1556, with the construction of the citadel, the church became a military warehouse and stayed one into the 20th century. It was listed as a historic monument in 1909, the remains of the cloister in 1932.

   When the doors are open, entry is free, and ten or fifteen minutes are enough to feel the scale of the Roman walls from inside.

   The 1,060 m to the Temple Neuf take about 14 minutes and lead you past the Esplanade de Metz.

   Price

   Free

   Website

   metz.fr ↗

   Location

   Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains on Google Maps ↗

4. 4

   Temple Neuf

   

   The Temple Neuf stands on the southwestern tip of the Île du Petit-Saulcy, the little willow island, with the Moselle flowing around it. It is a Reformed Protestant church, and its existence is a direct result of the annexation of Metz after the Franco-Prussian War, when Protestant Germans moved into this traditionally Catholic city.

   By 1886 the congregation had grown to about 8,000 people. Until then they had worshipped in the former chapel of the Trinitarian order, built in 1720 and handed to the small Reformed community in 1803. It had just 350 seats. Enlarging it or taking over another church were both considered and dropped.

   In 1891 the city architect Conrad Wahn presented a first design for a new church. The largely Catholic city council had one firm condition: a domed building with no tower, so that the new church would not rise above the cathedral towers. At that point the plan was still to build on the Trinitarian site, which sits on the highest point of the old town. The church eventually rose here on the island instead.

   The setting by the water is the main reason to stop, and ten minutes outside is enough for most people. Going in costs a fee, payable at the door.

   From here it is only 430 m, about 6 minutes, to Metz Cathedral, past the Marché Couvert de Metz.

   Website

   templeneufmetz.org ↗

   Location

   Temple Neuf on Google Maps ↗

5. 5

   Metz Cathedral

   

   Walk in and look up. The nave of Metz Cathedral, the Cathédrale Saint-Étienne, reaches 41.41 metres, the third highest of any cathedral in France after Amiens and Beauvais. Then look at the walls of light: 6,496 square metres of stained glass, the largest expanse in the world, which earned the building its nickname, la Lanterne du Bon Dieu, the Good Lord's lantern.

   The glass spans the centuries. The Gothic and Renaissance windows are by masters such as Hermann von Münster, Theobald of Lixheim and Valentin Bousch. Later styles follow: Charles-Laurent Maréchal for Romanticism, Roger Bissière, Jacques Villon's Cubism, Marc Chagall and the contemporary artist Kimsooja. Walking slowly around the church is the best way to read it as a history of art in coloured light.

   The site is far older than the Gothic building begun in the 13th century. A Gallo-Roman fortified town stood here from at least the first century BC, a stop on the trade road between Lyon and Trier, and later an imperial residence. Metz's first bishop, Clement, is recorded in 346. According to Gregory of Tours, the shrine of Saint Stephen was the only building spared when Attila's Huns sacked the city in 451. In the 14th century the cathedral was joined to the collegiate church of Notre-Dame, and the new transept and late Gothic choir were finished between 1486 and 1520.

   Entry is free and the church is open daily; give it at least 40 minutes. The treasury shows vestments and liturgical objects gathered over the long history of the diocese. Since 2014 the cathedral has been part of 'Metz royale et impériale', the historic centre and its German extension, on France's Tentative List for World Heritage.

   The last leg to Place Saint-Louis is 630 m, about 8 minutes.

   Local name

   Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Metz

   Hours

   Apr–Oct: Daily 08:00–19:00 | Nov–Mar: Daily 08:00–18:00

   Price

   Free

   Website

   metz.catholique.fr ↗

   Location

   Metz Cathedral on Google Maps ↗

6. 6

   Place Saint-Louis

   

   You finish where the main lines of the pedestrian centre meet. Place Saint-Louis is lined with houses crowned by battlements, with Renaissance balconies above and arcades at street level that have stood since the Middle Ages. Together they form a covered gallery on both sides of the square, still full of shops and places to eat.

   The arcades are the key to the story. In the 13th century the city grew beyond its old limits, and the Roman wall of Divodurum, which had passed right through here in the 3rd century, lost its role. Bankers settled in the new quarter, most of them from Lombardy, and built houses with arcades that reminded them of home. In the 14th century there are said to have been more than 60 of them here. Their trade turned the square into a market and later into a fair ground known far beyond the city.

   The name rests on a mix up. The priest of the neighbouring church of Saint-Simplice, destroyed during the Revolution, put up a statue of King Louis XIII. People later took it for Saint Louis, King Louis IX, and the square was named after him. In 1867 the sculptor Charles Pêtre made a real statue of Louis IX to settle the matter; look for it at the end of the square where the Rue du Change begins.

   The square is open at all hours, so you can linger under the arcades as long as you like, though for dinner the better value lies a street or two away. If you want to return to the start, the GPS navigation can lead you back to the Porte des Allemands.

   Hours

   Open 24/7

   Price

   Free

   Location

   Place Saint-Louis on Google Maps ↗

Shorter Ways Through Metz

Not every day has room for four hours. These two cuts keep the heart of the route and drop the long first leg.

Morning start at the Pompidou

Stops: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

For anyone who wants to start in the morning. You begin at the museum, then walk on to the Roman church, the Temple Neuf, the cathedral and the arcades: 47 minutes on foot in total. Admission applies at the Pompidou and the Temple Neuf.

Old town in an hour and a half

Stops: 3, 4, 5, 6

For a short visit or a stopover. From Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains to Place Saint-Louis it is 28 minutes of walking. Everything is free except the Temple Neuf, so this is also the low budget version of the route.

How Long the Metz Tour Takes, With and Without the Museum

The pure walking time is 1 h 7 min. The real time depends on two decisions: whether you go into the Pompidou (around 90 minutes) and how long you give the cathedral (40 minutes is a good minimum for the glass). Add short stops at the gate, the Roman church and the Temple Neuf and you are at about four hours.

A sample afternoon: start at the Porte des Allemands at 14:00, reach the Pompidou at 14:39, leave at 16:09, stand in Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains at 16:28, pass the Temple Neuf at 16:57, enter the cathedral at 17:13 and arrive on Place Saint-Louis just after 18:00.

The morning start at the Pompidou takes about three and a half hours with the museum visit; the old town version from Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains fits into roughly an hour and a half.

Before You Set Off at the Porte des Allemands

• Start and end: The recommended start is the Porte des Allemands, the end is Place Saint-Louis. You can join at any stop. From the last stop, the GPS navigation can lead you back to the start if you want.
• Best days: Plan the walk for an afternoon if you want to see inside the gatehouse, the museum and the cathedral.
• Best time: Start at the Porte des Allemands in the early afternoon, and a late arrival at the cathedral still leaves enough time inside.
• Seasonal note: The Pompidou's opening hours change with the season, so check them before you set out.
• Costs: The route, map and GPS navigation cost nothing. The Porte des Allemands, Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains, the cathedral and Place Saint-Louis are free. The Pompidou charges admission depending on the exhibitions, and the Temple Neuf charges a fee, which you pay at the door.

Food and Breaks on the Way Through Metz

The squares on the route are lined with terraces, but the better meals in Metz tend to sit a street or two away. These are the places worth a pause, from a market lunch to a pastry that locals buy for guests.

Tourist Traps to Avoid in Metz Around the Cathedral and the Squares

• Terraces on the main squares: Restaurants right on these spots charge premium prices for mediocre food. For dinner, walk one or two streets back. (Around Metz Cathedral, Place Saint-Louis and the Centre Pompidou-Metz)
• Bread you did not order: If bread or snacks arrive at the table unasked, ask whether they cost extra before you eat them.
• Bracelets, rings and petitions: Someone ties a string bracelet on your wrist and demands money, picks up a 'gold' ring in front of you to sell it, or asks you to sign a charity petition. Keep walking. (Around Metz Cathedral)
• ATM that keeps your card: If a machine does not return your card, stay at the machine and call your bank; scammers remove the slot once the owner walks away.
• Cab helpers at the station: Well dressed people offering to 'get you a cab' charge a fee for the introduction. Go to the taxi rank yourself.

Common Questions About Walking Metz