Son et Lumiere

We were now making our way home, through France and then Belgium. Our return journey started with a long drive to take us to the city of Nancy, where we had a couple of nights to explore the city. 

Our drive, counterintuitively, took us back into Switzerland, along the sides of Lakes Geneva and Neuchatel before we left the dual carriageway and headed up into the Jura mountains. A road climbed higher and higher with a succession of hair pin bends before dropping down into a valley before climbing up again. We drove through a heavily wooded landscape that gave us glimpse of cliff faces and gorges. It was a beautiful landscape, but most of the time my attention was on the road. 

By mid afternoon we arrived in Nancy which was baking in 32°c heat. The parking gods were being kind, I managed to nab a spot just opposite our apart-hotel. a rather quirky new building.

Our quirky apart hotel

Once checked in and rested we headed out to explore the centre of the city. The centre of Nancy is Place Stanislas, a large square of pale stone paving, with a statue of Stanilas, an exiled Polish king who was the Duke of Lorraine who commissioned the creation of the new space The south side is dominated by the Hotel de Ville and on the east and west sides are other elegant buildings, one housing the opera and on the opposite side is the Fine Arts Museum. On the north side are lower buildings but also a grand triumpphal arch, Arc Héré. The square and the buildings were built in the 1750's to link to the older part of Nancy to the new town.

Place Stanislas

Its a beautiful space. All the buildings are dressed in a cream stone giving a sense of space and elegance to the square.

We wandered through a park and then grabbed a drink in a bar opposite the 19th century Basilica of Saint Epvre.

Refreshments in Nancy

Refreshed we headed back to our room for a bite to eat before venturing out again to see Nancy in the fading light. Each summer Nancy hosts a sound and light show called La Belle Saison. The buildings in Place Stanislas are transformed into a giant backdrop for this spectacle which runs (after sunset) from mid June until September. We made our way towards the centre. It wasn't fully dark yet but the buildings around Place Stanislas had been lit. 

Once it was fully dark the light show began. The Hotel de Ville was transformed into a giant screen onto which images were projected, colours and shapes changing. There was an underlying concept related to time and change but to be honest the constantly changing scenes, accompanied by music were so spectacular that the theme rather passed us by. We were content to watch and listen to an amazing display of creativity and technical wizardry.

When we arrived in Nancy it had been very warm. By contrast the next morning the temperature had dropped by 10 degrees - a more comfortable temperature for exploring but showers were forecast all day.

Undeterred we set off to explore a bit more of the city. As the weather was damp our first port of call was the Museum of Fine Arts. The museum has a large collection of paintings and artwork dating back to the 13th and 14th century right up to the present day. Our favourite part was the extensive collection of Daum glassware which orginates from Nancy. The studio was first established in 1878 and became associated with the Art Nouveau movement. The museum has accumulated an impressive collection of glass pieces some old but some quite new and all handmade.

Daum glassware

Once we had toured every floor of the museum we ventured out - it was still a bit damp but fortunately not cold. Wandering through the old quarter we came across the Cordeliers church which was constructed in the 15th century and became a necropolis for the Dukes of Lorraine. 

The Cordeliers Church

Nancy is known for its Art Nouveau buildings and the most famous is Villa Majorelle. It was a good 40 minute walk to the part of the city where this house is located but we enjoyed seeing some of the other Art Nouveau buildings en route.

Art Nouveau in Nancy

There weren't many places open to eat in this part of the city. A small bistro seemed a good bet - but was full. We eventually found a cafe in a park, another 10 minutes walk away, and discovered it was a social enterprise providing employment for people with various disabilities. They provided a decent lunch - by this time we were pretty hungry - and we sat outside under cover. After paying the bill I thought we could walk around the park before we made our way to Villa Majorelle. I'd booked timed admission tickets online. Just as we'd crossed the path the heavens opened and we took shelter under trees - getting dripped on even through the thick foliage. The rain was so heavy that within minutes the path had been transformed into a stream. Almost as quickly as it had started the rain ended and we made our slightly damp way to Villa Majorelle. Designed in the Art Nouveau style, its a very beautiful building.

It was built between 1901-1902 as a family home for a wealthy industrialist. Its been perfectly preserved. A guided route takes visitors up a beautiful staircase, through various rooms.

Interiors of Villa Majorelle

The tour doesn't take very long but we liked it so much we went around twice. 

We then made the long trek back to our hotel, slightly footsore after a day of pounding the streets. We had another drive the next day which would take us to our final destination, Belgian Flanders, starting in Leuven, near Brussels, before finishing at the coast in De Haan.