Metz, the 3000 years old city

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On Sunday we went to the medieval Metz, which is the capital of the Lorraine region. As it was Sunday the streets were quite empty and it was a real journey back to the Middle Ages. The city has such a great history, for example in the Roman time it was more populous than Paris at that time and it was an important religious center too. In the 19th century the Lorraine region was captured by the German army, so that you can feel some the German influences too. The Cathédrale St-Étienne was really amazing with one of the highest naves in France. It has the largest expanse of stained glass windows in the word, some of them painted by Chagall. Besides I loved the new building of the Centre Pompidou Metz and the railway station, which is worth a visit too. The weather was beautiful, so we went on the ferris wheel to see the city from the top. Summing up this excursion it was a very different from Germany, but the mix of German, Mediterranean and French influences makes the atmosphere really unique in Lorraine.