Metz Scavenger Hunt and Self-Guided Tour

The route: Gare de Metz, Porte Serpenoise, the Esplanade, Temple Neuf, the cathedral, Place Saint-Louis and the Porte des Allemands

10 stops · about 47 min walking · start: Gare de Metz · finish: Porte des Allemands

The hunt starts at the Gare de Metz in the Imperial Quarter and heads past the Porte Serpenoise to Place de la République and the fountains of the Esplanade. You cross to the Temple Neuf on the Moselle, climb to the cathedral and Place d'Armes, continue to the Église Notre-Dame and the arcades of Place Saint-Louis, and finish at the Porte des Allemands over the Seille. Façades, fountains and towers supply every answer, so you can leave your wallet in your pocket at each stop, and if you are arriving from the cathedral side rather than by train, the app lets you open the game there and puts the other stops in a fresh order.

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1. 

   1Gare de MetzStart

   Metz station was built between 1905 and 1908, when the city belonged to the German Empire, to designs by the architect Jürgen Kröger. Its long neo-Romanesque façade and tall clock tower were meant to impress, and the station was also planned to move troops quickly towards the French border.

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2. 

   2Porte Serpenoise

   The Serpenoise Gate was one of the gates in the medieval walls of Metz, on the old road leading south. Rebuilt in the 19th century, it has stood on its own since the ramparts were pulled down in the early 20th century, between the old town and the German-era Imperial Quarter.

3. 

   3Place de la République

   This wide square is one of the largest open spaces in Metz. It lies where the shopping streets of the old town meet the Esplanade gardens, and it is used for events and seasonal markets.

4. 

   4Fontaines de l'Esplanade

   Fountains and flower beds fill the Esplanade, a terraced garden laid out on the site of the old citadel, with views across the Moselle to Mont Saint-Quentin. A statue of Marshal Ney, one of Napoleon's generals, stands here, close to the Templar chapel and the ancient church of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains.

5. 

   5Temple Neuf

   This Protestant church was built between 1901 and 1905, during the German annexation, in a neo-Romanesque style inspired by the churches of the Rhineland. It stands at the tip of an island in the Moselle, and its grey stone towers are reflected in the river.

6. 

   6Metz Cathedral

   The Cathedral of Saint-Étienne was built in golden Jaumont stone from the 13th to the 16th century, and its nave, about 41 metres high, is one of the tallest in France. It holds one of the largest areas of stained glass in the world, including windows by Marc Chagall, which earned it the nickname Good Lord's Lantern.

7. 

   7Place d'Armes

   The architect Jacques-François Blondel laid out this classical square in the 1760s, facing the side of the cathedral. The town hall stands on one side, and the square was designed to balance civil, military and religious power in one space.

8. 

   8Église Notre-Dame

   The Church of Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption on Rue de la Chèvre was built by the Jesuits in the 17th and 18th centuries. Behind its sober classical façade lies a richly decorated interior, much of it added in the 19th century.

9. 

   9Place Saint-Louis

   This long square is lined on one side by medieval houses resting on arcades. Under these arches merchants and money changers, many of them from Italy, once set up their tables, and the square was one of the trading centres of medieval Metz.

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10. 

    10Porte des AllemandsFinish

    The German Gate is a fortified bridge over the river Seille, with 13th-century towers on one side and larger 15th-century towers on the other. Its name comes from the hospital of the Teutonic Knights that once stood nearby, and it is one of the most striking remains of the medieval walls of Metz.

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