Current Time in Nancy, France

Nancy is the capital of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in the Lorraine region of northeastern France, situated on the Meurthe River approximately 300 kilometers east of Paris. The city is internationally celebrated for the Place Stanislas, one of the most magnificent examples of 18th-century urban design in Europe and the centerpiece of a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 1983. Nancy is also renowned as the birthplace and greatest center of Art Nouveau design in France, a legacy associated with the Nancy School of decorative arts that flourished at the turn of the 20th century.

With a population of approximately 105,000, Nancy is a mid-sized city with a cultural weight that exceeds its demographic proportions. The University of Lorraine, with campuses in Nancy and Metz, contributes significantly to the city's intellectual life and youthful population. Nancy has historically been one of the most refined provincial capitals in France, a reputation rooted in its history as the seat of the Dukes of Lorraine whose cultural patronage created the extraordinary artistic heritage that visitors encounter today.

The history of Nancy as a great city is inseparable from Stanisław Leszczyński, twice-exiled king of Poland and father-in-law of Louis XV of France. After the definitive loss of the Polish throne, Stanisław was granted the Duchy of Lorraine as a consolation in 1737, which he ruled until his death in 1766. During his benevolent rule, Stanisław undertook a massive program of urban beautification, commissioning the architect Emmanuel Héré de Corny to design and build the extraordinary suite of linked public spaces that constitute the UNESCO World Heritage ensemble of Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière, and Place d'Alliance.

The Place Stanislas is universally regarded as one of the finest royal squares in Europe, its perfect proportions, harmonious facades, and extraordinary wrought-iron gilded gates and railings by Jean Lamour creating an ensemble of baroque urban design of unsurpassed elegance. The gilded ironwork gates at the corners of the square, with their elaborate rococo decoration, are among the finest examples of ornamental metalwork in the world. The square connects via a triumphal arch to the elongated Place de la Carrière and the Arc de Triomphe, creating a processional axis of great grandeur. The Musée des Beaux-Arts occupies one of the square's flanking buildings and houses important collections of European painting and decorative arts.

The Nancy School of Art Nouveau, active from approximately 1895 to 1914, gathered around the glassmaker and designer Émile Gallé and created some of the most extraordinary objects of the Art Nouveau movement: glass vases of extraordinary delicacy with layered colored glass etched into natural forms, furniture with marquetry of exceptional artistry, and decorative ceramics of great originality. The Musée de l'École de Nancy, housed in a magnificent Art Nouveau villa, displays the finest collection of Nancy School works in the world and is essential viewing for anyone interested in the history of design and decorative arts.

The old town of Nancy, the medieval quarter known as the Vieille Ville, lies adjacent to the ducal palace and preserves the character of a significant medieval city with the excellent Musée Lorrain presenting the history and culture of the region. The city's bouchées à la reine pastry shells, the bergamot candy, and the macarons associated with local Carmelite nuns are among the celebrated culinary specialties.

Nancy is connected to Paris Est by TGV in approximately ninety minutes and to Strasbourg by regional services. The city's extraordinary baroque heritage, world-class Art Nouveau collections, excellent fine arts museum, and authentic Lorrain provincial character make it one of the most rewarding and often underestimated heritage cities in France.