Metz

Saint-Etienne de Metz carries around six thousand five hundred square metres of stained glass, more than any other French cathedral, which is why it is nicknamed the good Lord's lantern; the walls between the piers are largely glass and the nave is among the tallest in France. The glass spans the thirteenth century to the twentieth, with windows by Marc Chagall in the north transept and ambulatory. The city was German from 1871 to 1918, and the district around the station is a deliberate showcase of German imperial architecture from that period. The Centre Pompidou-Metz opened in 2010 under a woven timber roof shaped like a Chinese hat.

What you actually see

• The glass walls - about six thousand square metres of window in one building.
• The Chagall windows - twentieth-century glass among medieval work.
• The German quarter - imperial-era architecture around the station.
• Centre Pompidou-Metz - a woven timber roof over changing exhibitions.

When to go

April to October for the best light through the glass, which is the whole point of the cathedral. The Pompidou changes exhibitions through the year and closes Tuesdays.

Honest expectations

The glass needs sun to do anything; on a grey day the interior is dim. Restoration scaffolding is often present somewhere. The Pompidou has no permanent collection, so check what is showing.

Nearby

Nancy lies south; Luxembourg is north.