Page 223 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - France

A fountain and highly ornate
gilded gates adorning place
Stanislas in Nancy

4 Next door in the Parc de la Église et Couvent des
Cordeliers
Pépinière is Rodin’s statue of
Nancy Claude Lorrain, the landscape " ⌂ 64 & 66 Grande Rue
painter, born near Nancy. § 03 83 32 18 74 # 10am–
! F2 ⌂ Meurthe-et-
Moselle k £ @ n 14 pl Grande Rue provides a 12.30pm & 2–6pm Tue–Sun
Stanislas; www.nancy- glimpse of medieval Nancy. ¢ Pub hols
Of the original fortifications
tourisme.fr
the only one remaining is Musée des Beaux-Arts
Lorraine’s historic capital, the Porte de la Craffe, which "' ⌂ 3 pl Stanislas
Nancy backs on to the was used as a prison after # Wed–Mon 10am–6pm
Canal du Marne and the River the Revolution. The dukes ¢ Pub hols ∑ mban.nancy.fr
Meurthe. In the 18th century, of Lorraine are buried in the
Stanislas Leczinski, Duke of crypt of the Église et Couvent Musée de l’École de Nancy
Lorraine, transformed the city, des Cordeliers, and the adjoin- "' ⌂ 36–38 rue de Sergent
making it a model of 18th- ing converted monastery Blandan # Wed–Sun 10am–
century town planning. contains the Musée Lorrain 6pm ¢ Pub hols ∑ ecole-de-
Nancy’s second golden age (closed for renovation until nancy.com
was at the turn of the 20th 2023), with displays of folklore,
century, when glassmaker furniture, costumes and crafts.
Émile Gallé founded the A renovation and mod ern WHITE STORKS
École de Nancy, which was extension at the Musée des Long a symbol of
a forerunner of the Art Beaux-Arts have enabled Alsace, white storks
Nouveau movement in France. 40 per cent more of the were on the verge of
Nancy’s principal and most museum’s remarkable collec- local extinc tion in the
renowned landmark is place tion of 14th- to 20th-century mid-1970s, but due to
Stanislas. Laid out in the European art to be seen, an inten sive campaign
1750s, this elegantly propor- including superb works the region is now home
tioned square is enclosed by by Delacroix, Manet, Monet, to about 600 breeding
highly ornate gilded wrought- Utrillo and Modigliani. pairs. Today, storks can
iron gates and railings, which Particularly stunning is be seen soaring through
have been beautifully the Daum glassware. the sky – or standing in
restored. Lining the square The exhibits at the Musée rooftop nests clattering
are fine hôtels particuliers de l’École de Nancy are their bills – along the
(town houses) and there are displayed in reconstructed Alsace Wine Route.
several chic restaurants. Art Nouveau settings. Most You’re sure to see
An Arc de Triomphe leads noteworthy are the unique them in the areas of
to place de la Carrière, a gra- collections of furniture, fabrics Munster, Hunawihr
cious, tree-lined square. At and jewellery, as well as the and Eguisheim, as all
the far end, flanked by semi- extensive fanciful glassware three are home to stork
circular arcades, is the Gothic and ceramics of Émile Gallé, reintro duc tion centres.
Palais du Gouvernement. founder of the École de Nancy.
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