The best MTB trails around Orny

It's called the "Lantern of God" because St. Stephen's Church in Metz has almost three times the window area of Chartres Cathedral. Many great artists have attempted to design it – for the 800th anniversary, it will be a woman for the first time.

Built between 1220 and 1522, it is the result of the merging of two separate churches. With its 42-meter-high nave, it is one of the largest Gothic buildings in Europe. Its 6,500 square meters of stained-glass windows have earned it the nickname "Lantern of the Lord." Created in the 16th and 18th centuries by Hermann von Münster, Thiébault de Lixheim, Valentin Bousch, Jacques Villon, and Marc Chagall, these masterpieces of fire and light are a true encyclopedia of glass art.

A typically beautiful pedestrian zone in Metz. Located between Port Allemagne and the Cathedral.

A bridge over the Moselle River offers beautiful views of the Moselle Island. At night, the arches beneath the bridge are illuminated in colorful lights, a beautiful eye-catcher.

A spectacular building from 2010, the first branch of Paris's famous Centre Pompidou, a museum of contemporary art. A white, curved roof is stretched across many exposed wooden beams. Inside, the tube-like exhibition spaces are stacked one above the other in a star shape, with enormous panoramic windows at the ends offering views of the city and the surrounding area.

In the evening the bridge is illuminated and looks very beautiful

In Roman footsteps

The Center Pompidou-Metz is a well-known contemporary art museum located in the Amphitheater district. Created in 2010 as part of a development project, it is one of the most visited museums in France outside of Paris. Its creation represented the first example of decentralization of a public cultural building, in this case the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris. The idea of creating a "branch" came to the now director Jean-Jacques Aillagon in 1997, when the Pompidou in Paris was closed for works (1997-2000). To continue exhibiting the various collections it was decided to create the “Outside the Walls” project, with exhibitions in various French cities. Given the success, concrete thought was given to a second location for the Pompidou Center. Input to the project was given by Aillagon himself when, in 2002, he was appointed Minister of Culture. Various cities showed interest, including Caen, Montpellier, Nancy and Lille, but in January 2003 the final choice was announced: Metz. The following March the tender for the project was launched, won by architects Shigeru Ban, Jean de Gastines and Philip Gumuchdjian. The construction was part of the urban redevelopment project of the Amphitheater district which, in addition to the Pompidou Centre, led to the construction of the Seille Park, the "Robert Schuman" conference centre, the Muse shopping center as well as various buildings of housing and green areas. The official inauguration took place on 11 May 2010 in the presence of President Sarkozy. The Pompidou Center in Metz has a hexagonal plan. The structure develops around a central body with a 77 meter high tower and is characterized by the presence of three self-supporting tunnels that cross each other transversally. The three galleries are oriented towards different points of the city, so as to provide the most complete overview possible. The cover, entirely made of wood, recalls the shape of a traditional Chinese hat owned by Shigeru Ban himself. In addition to the vast exhibition space, which extends over 5,000 m², the structure includes places to welcome the public, a studio for the presentation of shows and performances, gardens, an auditorium, a bookshop, a restaurant and a café. www.centrepompidou-metz.fr