METZ (pronounced "Mess"), the capital of Lorraine, lies on the east bank of the River Moselle, close to the Autoroute de l'Est, linking Metz and Strasbourg, and the main train line. Its origins go back at least to Roman times, when, as now, it stood astride major trade routes. On the death of Charlemagne it became the capital of Lothar's portion of his empire, managing to maintain its prosperity in spite of the dynastic wars that followed. By the Middle Ages it had sufficient wealth and strength to proclaim itself an independent republic, which it remained until its absorption into France in 1552.

A frontier town caught between warring influences, Metz has endured more than its share of history's vicissitudes, none more gruesome than those it has suffered in the last 130 years. In 1870, when Napol�on III's defeated armies were forced to surrender to Kaiser Bill, it was ceded to Germany. It recovered its liberty at the end of World War I in 1918, only to be re-annexed by Hitler in 1940 before being liberated again by American troops in 1944.

Although its only really important sight is the magnificent cathedral, Metz is not at all the dour place you might expect from its northern geography and industrial background. The university founded here in the 1970s is at least partly responsible for its liveliness

The City
Metz in effect is two towns: the original French quarters , gathered round the cathedral, and the Ville allemande , undertaken as part of a once-and-for-all process of Germanification after the Prussian occupation in 1870. The latter, although unmistakably Teutonic in style, has considerable elegance and grandeur. The gare SNCF sets the tone, a vast and splendid granite structure of 1870 in Rhenish Romanesque, which looks like a bizarre cross between a Scottish laird's hunting lodge and a dungeon. Its gigantic dimensions reflect the Germans' long-term strategic intention to use it as the fulcrum of their military transport system in subsequent wars of conquest against the French. It is matched by the post office opposite as well as by some imposing bourgeois apartment buildings in the surrounding streets. The whole quarter was meant to serve as a model of superior town planning, in contrast to the squalid Latin hugger-mugger of the old French neighbourhoods, which begin five minutes' walk to the north in place de la R�publique.

The place de la R�publique is a main parking area, bounded on the east side by shops and caf�s, with army barracks to the south and the formal gardens of the Esplanade , overlooking the Moselle, to the west. To the right, as you look down the esplanade from the square, is the handsome classical Palais de Justice in yellow stone. To the left, a gravel drive leads past the old arsenal, now converted into a prestigious concert hall by the postmodernist architect Riccardo Bofill. It continues to the church of St-Pi�rre-aux-Nonnains , not much to look at but claiming to be one of the oldest churches in France, with elements from the fourth century. Nearby is another historic church: the octagonal thirteenth-century Chapelle des Templiers .

From the north side of place de la R�publique, rue des Clercs cuts through the attractive, bustling and largely pedestrianized heart of the old city, where most of the shops are located. Past the place St-Jacques , with its numerous outdoor caf�s, you come to the eighteenth-century place d'Armes , where the lofty Gothic Cathedral of St-�tienne towers above the pedimented and colonnaded classical facade of the H�tel de Ville. It boasts the tallest nave in France after Beauvais and Amiens cathedrals, but its best feature is without doubt the stained glass, both medieval and modern, including windows by Chagall in the north transept and ambulatory.

From the cathedral a short walk up rue des Jardins brings you to the city's best museum, the Mus�e d'Art et d'Histoire , 2 rue du Haut-Poirier (daily 10am-noon & 2-6pm; 30F/?4.57), a treasure house of Gallo-Roman sculpture, but equally strong on mock-ups of vernacular architecture from the medieval and Renaissance periods. The art section is less impressive, although it includes works by Corot and Delacroix. When the museum was extended in the 1930s, the remains of Roman baths were discovered, and they are now one of the most interesting things about the museum.

For the city's most compelling townscape, as well as the most dramatic view of the cathedral, you have only to go down to the river bank and cross to the tiny �le de la Com�die , dominated by its classical eighteenth-century square and theatre (the oldest in France) and a rather striking Protestant church erected under the German occupation. An older and equally beautiful square is the place St-Louis with its Gothic arcades some ten minutes' walk to the east of the cathedral along the curiously named rue En-Fournirue. On the way, wander up into the Italianate streets climbing the hill of Ste-Croix to your left, the legacy of the Lombard bankers who came to run the city's finances in the thirteenth century. It's worth continuing east from the place des Paraiges, at the end of rue En-Fournirue, down the rue des Allemands to have a look at the Porte des Allemands - a massive, fortified double gate that once barred the eastern entrances to the medieval city.

After a long day, you'll have no trouble finding a nice caf� or bar to relax in. Rue des Jardins has some interesting shops - clothes, records and antiques/junk - and at night, the cathedral and other significant buildings are lit up, making for a pleasant late stroll.