Day 68 - Making my Way in Metz

With a late-morning/early-afternoon train to Metz, I had a slow-ish start this morning. I stopped off at a cafe for my croissant breakfast, and attempted (with limited success) to find a few more caches on my way to the station. The weather, like yesterday’s, could best be described as autumnal. If I was being less forgiving, I might simply describe it as grey and chilly!

The train ride to Metz was just under two hours. The station itself is seriously architecturally impressive.

My hotel in Metz was pleasingly close to the station and I was therefore able to check-in and have a brief stop in my room before heading out - waterproof coat very much on - to get my bearings in the city. Just having a wander, I saw some really cool sights.

Metz is so historically significant that it is on a tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage Site. One of its historical features that I somewhat stumbled upon is the oldest church in France - the Basilica of St Pierre aux Nonnains, dating from the fourth century.

From here, I walked down to the Moselle River.

Probably the most famous building in the city is the cathedral though. After Strasbourg yesterday and Milan a week or so ago, I have been rather spoilt by gorgeous cathedrals lately! Fun fact - Metz Cathedral has the third tallest nave of cathedrals in France - it is over 40 metres tall. It is the stained glass that is most impressive though - it has the largest expanse of stained glass of anywhere in the world - 6,496 square metres apparently.

I am going to explore the city centre more tomorrow (I did see another little train….) so detoured at this point to a lovely little restaurant for some dinner. I had a lovely blue cheese pasta dish. Nom nom nom! I may have also then had a rather delicious caramel ice-cream….

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