Metz Transportation

This mini-train starts from Place d'Armes near the Cathedral and the tourism office. You can see the historical and architectual heritages of the city. You can listen in: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese and Russian. The cost of the train is 5,50 € per person.

2 more images

This large and somewhat pompous train station was built between 1905 and 1908 by a German architect named Kroeger during the period of German annexation. It was intended to symbolize the wealth and power of the German Empire, but also to be a functional building especially for the use of the German military. The neighborhood around the station is known as the Imperial Quarter because it was built in the same period in the same neo-Romanesque style.

At present there are three EuroCity trains per day in each direction between Frankfurt am Main and Paris, and they all stop in Metz, which is the last stop before or after Paris. These trains now take just under three hours to reach Paris non-stop, but that time will be reduced to one and a half hours when the new TGV line (train a grand vitesse) is opened in 2007. However, Metz and Frankfurt will be on different branches of this new line, so connections between these two cities will presumably get worse.

Between Frankfurt and Paris they say the travel times will be reduced from 6 hours 15 minutes to 3 hours 45 minutes, starting in December 2005, but these trains will not go by way of Metz.

For security reasons there are no longer any facilities for left luggage at the Metz station. So there is no longer any way you could leave your luggage at the station and have a look around the city between trains.

Second photo: Service and waiting area in the main station.

Third photo: A large poster showing what the station is supposed to look like by the time the new TGV line opens in 2007.

Metz does not have any streetcars or subways (that’s trams or underground lines to you), so for public transport they have to rely on buses.

The bus system is quite logical after you get the hang of it. The most useful lines for tourists are the two minibus lines that go by somewhat different routes from the main station to the Prefecture, which is right in front of the opera house on Place de la Comedie, and back again. A single fare is EUR 0.70, and you can get an all-day pass for all the buses for EUR 3.00.

All the bus lines come together at Place de la Republique, where there is also a ticket and information office called Espace Bus. (Have you noticed how everything in France is called an Espace nowadays? Rather nice, actually.)

There is almost no free parking in downtown Metz. If you are staying a short time, there is a parking lot behind the cathedral. For a longer visit, park in one of the underground parking garages. Cathedrale is closest to the tourist information office, and Theatre is across the Moselle by the theater. There are two parking garages at Place de la Republique on the fringe of the old town, Republique and Arsenal. Be prepared to pay around 1.15 euros an hour.

I've got a train from Nancy to Metz and it got an hour around and you may take train every 30 minutes. The train system is good between cities (ticket is EUR 18 to and back). So don't forget to punch your ticket and don't surprise if there will be different sorts of train on your way. I mean when I went to Metz the train has 2 floors and when I was coming back train had 1 floor and looked like metro wagon. Just want to add that the railway station building was built in 1905-1908 by Germans

I drove and think a car is best..I tried to get an organzied tour..but nothing was available so ventured out alone. I know that I missed a lot and wished that I had a guide or someone that could tell me about the area...

If you are in Luxembourg, Saarland (Germany), or Lorraine (France - in this area Metz is located) there is a joined train ticket that let you travel among these areas for 24 hours.
It is really cheap: 640 Flux = 100 FF = 30 DM for the first traveller and 320 additional Flux for each traveller for the second to the fifth if you are a group.
I used it and I achieved to go in the same day from Luxembourg to Metz and then Saarbrucken and back to Luxembourg! :-)
You can get the ticket in every train station of the region ask for: 'Voyager sous les Etoiles, Saar-Lor-Lux Ticket'

I went to Metz from Luxembourg by train. Travel takes about one hour only. Anyway early reservation may be necessary for finding a place to seat sometimes. Alternatively you can reach there via Strasbourg(air travel then train).