Home, of course, to the designers of the “School of Nancy”, the city is also known for the beautiful Place Stanislas (mid-18th century), quiche Lorraine and bergamotes de Nancy candy. There are several fine museums and gardens, and with the recently-introduced TGV services running east from Paris, Nancy is just an hour and a half away – making it possible as a day trip from Paris, but it is well worth more time than that. The city publishes a free helpful brochure mapping out several art nouveau walks. The dates in the building titles below refer to its original construction; the photos were taken in August of 2009.
One of the gems of Nancy, the Villa Majorelle (named for its famous occupant, not its architects, Henri Sauvage and Lucien Weissenburger) was originally on a very large property. The travails of time have unfortunately reduced it to a spectacular house on a tiny, hemmed-in lot.
The front entry to the villa. Now owned by the city, the house is in a long-term process of stabilisation and restoration. Visits of the interior are available, by reservation
Located on the rue de Commanderie, this building is perhaps not well taken care of, but remains highly interesting. Architects: Georges Biet and Eugène Vallin.
This spectacular neighbourhood started out as a planned community, but financial realities got in the way. In spite of being the accumulation of several architects and styles over the years, it presents a quite unified appeal to the eye. Shame about the cars, though.
One of the more nouveau-ish houses, at the intersection of rue Général Clinchant and rue Maréchal Gérard
Émile André played a very important rôle in the development of art nouveau, and designed several buildings in Nancy.