Best Things To Do in Nancy, France

Are you looking for what to do in Nancy?

PLACES TO SEE

  • Place Stanislas: An 18th century town square built by Stanislas, the Duke of Poland. It has grand fountains, wrought iron gates and a statue of Stanislas. It is one of the most beautiful places to visit in the French territory.
  • Ville-Vielle: The old town of Nancy, where St-Epvre basilique is located.
  • Musee Historique Lorrain: The most important art gallery and museum in Lorraine region.
  • Musee de l'Ecole de Nancy: Art-nouveau Nancy school of architecture, exhibiting many painting and art collections.
  • Place de la Carriere: A tree-lined square located near Place Stanislas.
  • Place d'Alliance: Another square near Place stan, with a central fountain inspired by Piazza Navona in Rome.

GUIDED TOUR

  • Art Nouveau Guided Tour: A walking tour from rue des Dominicains to the brasserie Excelsiorthis while the tour guide explains about various buildings, banks and shops built during the movement.
  • Audio Guided Tour: Tour of the city with audio guides in English, French and German.
  • Tourist Trains: Little trains to tour around the historic city.

Below we have a list of things to do in Nancy and the places where you want to spend the best moments of your trip. At the same time, the city offers you the best neighborhoods to explore and new foods to try.

This list should help you in deciding and prioritizing what you should plan on your Nancy getaway. Find a mix of must-see tourist spots, underrated local hangouts, and maybe even a few new experiences you can try out.

Make the most of your trip to Nancy with confidence.

Tourist Attractions in Nancy

Here is the list of things to do in Nancy and tourist attractions in city.

  1. Place Stanislas

    4.8 (376 Votes)
    Place Stanislas
    This is only a square, and yet the reactions it breeds in the hearts of visitors is overwhelming. They say it could be the most beautiful and grandest public squares in the world. It’s not one square – it’s three - Place de la Carrière and Place d'Alliance are extensions to the original square. Stanislaw I came up with it as a way to link Nancy’s Old Town to its n...Read more
  2. Pepiniere Park

    Park

    This city park, the largest in Nancy (23 hectares), is right in the centre of the city. It’s a favourite with locals and tourists alike. It’s lovely green spaces have led it to being called the ‘lungs of the city’. The locals affectionately call it ‘La Pep’. Originally built to serve as a nursery for Stanislas, today the park is open to the public. You’...Read more
  3. Musee De I'ecole De Nancy

    4.5 (243 Votes)
    Musee De I'ecole De Nancy

    Museum

    Ecole de Nancy was an Art Noveau movement started in Nancy in 1901 by Emile Galle, Victor Prouve, Louis Majorelle, Antonin Daum and Eugene Vallin. This museum exhibits the works of all the major artists of that movement of Nancy. So what can you find here? Glassware, furniture, stained glass and ceramic part make up a large part of the collection, but some pieces definitely stand out more than ...Read more
  4. Musee Des Beaux-arts

    4.5 (227 Votes)
    Musee Des Beaux-arts

    Museum

    This institution was founded way back in 1793, and since then has become an important exhibition space. Practically all major European art movements from the 14th to the 21st centuries are represented within these halls, and the works of many masters. These include paintings, drawings, engravings, sculptures, glassworks. There is also a beautiful collection of crystals that trace 100 years of g...Read more
  5. Museum Aquarium De Nancy

    4.3 (205 Votes)
    Museum Aquarium De Nancy

    Natural History Museum

    On the ground floor, with 57 aquariums containing 600 animals ranging from the small to the huge covering the aquatic life of the tropical waters of the Red Sea, the Amazon River and Lake Tanganyika, this museum makes for a very educational tour. One of their special exhibits is of electric fish. They even have coral from the Red Sea, Caribbean Sea and the Indo-Pacific ocean. On the first floor...Read more
  6. Musee Historique Lorrain

    4.2 (214 Votes)
    Musee Historique Lorrain

    Museum

    On sheer architectural merits alone, the building is of great tourist value, and its gatehouse is an elegant combo of Gothic and Italian Renaissance architecture. In 1937, though, the Lorraine Museum was established there. As a history museum, the Lorraine’s exhibits cover objects from prehistory to antiquity to the 19th century. These include: The Paleolithic, Neolithic, Bronze Age and ...Read more
  7. Montsec American Monument
    This beautiful circular colonnade on top of Montsec Hill (375 metres high) was built by the Americans in 1932 to commemorate the battalions that fought here during the First World War. The view from here is gorgeous, and looks over Madine Lake and the banks of the Meuse River. It’s only about an hours drive from Nancy, and so is well worth checking out when you’re exploring the coun...Read more
  8. Basilique Saint-epvre

    4.4 (324 Votes)
    Basilique Saint-epvre
    Though architecturally Gothic, the basilica you see today was built only in the 19th century. However, a church has stood in this location since the 10th century. It has a 24 metre high nave, lovely stained glass windows, and a great staircase gifted by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. There is also an excellent organ, a Grand Merklin-Schutze. The square right outside the city is one of the c...Read more
  9. Le Marche Vandoeuvre-les-nancy-the Vandoeuvre Market
    This great market, one of the biggest in Eastern France, sets all of Nancy abuzz on Friday evenings and Sunday mornings. Over 120 vendors serve a daily average of 6000 visitors with more varieties of organic food than you would guess even existed. But there are also baked goods, crafts, confectionaries, leather goods and meats.
  10. Le Marche Central
    This is one of the best spots in the city for lunch, though you can also shop here. There are about 65 vendors in this U-shaped, glass-ceilinged building. The atmosphere is always lively, and most of the food here is locally produced. You’ll find cuisine from around the world too though. Even if you’re not eating, it’s worth visiting just to see the presentation of the food he...Read more
  11. Eglise Des Cordeliers

    Church, Religious Site

    The Gothic and Renaissance church is most famous as resting place for the Dukes of Lorraine. It was built in the 15th century, next to the Duke's Palace (which now houses the Lorraine Musuem). The highlights of the church are: The frescoes at the choir. The polychrome altarpiece. Funeral chapel of the Princes of Lorraine. Wooden choir stalls from Salivel Abbey. Chapel of Our Lady of Loreto. To...Read more
  12. Notre-dame De Bonsecours Church

    Church, Religious Site

    This church is a beautiful, and an unexpected surprise to most people who stumble across it. Originally, a small chapel was built here to commemorate the victory of Duke Rene II of Lorraine, and in thanks to the Virgin Mary. Eventually, Duke Stanislas had it razed and commissioned Emmanuelle Here to build the Baroque Church you see today. Why? So that the Duke and his wife could be put to rest ...Read more
  13. Villa Majorelle

    4.3 (115 Votes)
    Villa Majorelle
    This magnificent villa, built in 1902, was one of the first examples of Art Noveau architecture in the city, and certainly one of the best! It was designed almost entirely by members of Ecole de Nancy (School of Nancy) and artists from Paris. It’s a residence fit for a prince! Its highlights are: Lovely furniture Beautiful ironwork A beautiful staircase A ceramic chimney Stained glass wi...Read more
  14. Musee De L'histoire Du Fer
    This fascinating museum follows the evolution of man’s relationship with the metal iron right from the Iron Age to the twentieth century. This covers mining, ore enrichment, alloys, the creation of blast furnaces and the industrial revolution. There is also an exhibition space dedicated to Jean Prouvé and his principles of metal construction. A surprising artefact housed here is a ...Read more
  15. Cathedrale Notre-dame-de-l'annonciation

    Religious Site, Cathedral

    This Roman Catholic basilica was built in the early 18th century after the Dukes of Lorraine managed to get the rank of their capital elevated to a primatial see in the early 17th century. Its highlights are: A 60 metre long nave. Polychrome marble altar. Interior décor that is surprisingly restrained. A number of chapels. A beautiful Great Organ. The remains of Sigebert III. A dome pai...Read more