North East

Emmanuel Macron hosted the signing of an agreement involving a special lottery to benefit France's architectural heritage.

The Story of the Eponymous Rabbi and the Deep Roots of Jewish Culture in Medieval France

DIJON – www.destinationdijon.com

MULHOUSE – www.tourisme-mulhouse.com

STRASBOURG – www.otstrasbourg.fr

METZ – www.inspire-metz.com

NANCY – www.nancy-tourisme.fr

REIMS – www.reims-tourism.com

For more information, visit the Nancy Tourism Office at www.nancy-tourisme.fr.

City region: Lorraine / Grand Est

Population & what they are called: 104,321 inhabitants (2014 census), called Nancéiens

Access from Paris:

• by road: about 4 hours (240 miles) via the A4 autoroute de l'Est

• by train: about 1 h 30 min by TGV from the Gare de l'Est

Famous native daughters & sons:

• Emile Gallé, Art Nouveau artist

• Eric Rohmer, film director

• Charlélie Couture, musician, painter, photographer

Most distinctive and/or unique fact or trait (or little known fact):

• Nancy is where Art Nouveau got its start thanks to internationally renowned artists part of the École de Nancy, such as Emile Gallé (famed for his glasswork), Louis Majorelle (a furniture genius) and the celebrated Daum crystal maker.

• Three large plazas – Stanislas, Alliance and Carrière – form a unique ensemble of 18th-century architecture that was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.

Notable sites:

• Vieille Ville – the old town that was once capital of the Dukes of Lorraine and is now a labyrinth of narrow streets lined with sculpted façades and transom windows

• Place Stanislas – the 18th-century pedestrian square that is considered one the most beautiful in Europe and the symbol of the city

• Palais des Ducs de Lorraine – former Renaissance residence of the rulers, now also the Musée Lorrain, which is closing for several years of important renovation

Top annual events:

• Fête de Saint Nicolas – a traditional saint's-day festival celebrated on the first weekend of December with more pomp and revelry in Nancy than anywhere else (saint-nicolas.nancy.fr)

• Rendez-Vous Place Stanislas – in summer, an impressionist voyage through original sound and light projected around the square (rendez-vous.nancy.fr)

• Nancy Jazz Pulsations – large-scale jazz event with an eclectic program (nancyjazzpulsations.com)

Most notable museums:

• Musée de l'Ecole de Nancy – a museum and garden with a collection demonstrating the diversity of techniques developed by Art Nouveau artists (ecole-de-nancy.com)

• Musée des Beaux-Arts – fine arts from the 15th to 20th centuries and a collection of Daum crystal displayed in old city fortifications (mban.nancy.fr)

• Muséum-Aquarium de Nancy – an aquarium and natural history museum (museumaquariumdenancy.eu)

Culinary specialties:

• bergamote de Nancy – a translucent, gold-colored candy with a flavor of bergamote, a southern Italian citrus fruit

• macaron de Nancy – an almond-flour cookie whose recipe has been a carefully guarded secret since 1793

• baba au rhum – a small yeast cake saturated in a syrup-liquor, usually rum, and very often filled with whipped cream

Local wines & spirits:

• beer – with both a large brewery near town and a growing number of micro-breweries, Nancy's beer culture is thriving (nancybiere.com)

• Côtes de Toul AOC wines – produced on hillsides close to the town of Toul, to the west of Nancy, its most important wine is the Vin Gris de Toul

Shopping:

• Marché Central – the principal market with more than 75 vendors, set in a covered hall on place Charles III

• Art Nouveau antiques – for the best pieces, stop by Denis Rugat, or for glass and crystal by Daum, the factory outlet is Magasin d’Usine Daum

• Nancy-style sweets – for traditional macarons, Maison des Sœurs Macarons follows the original recipe; for bergamote and other sweets, Lefèvre Lemoine

Most popular night spots:

• Vieille Ville and Place Stanislas – the streets of the old town and around Place Stanislas are notable for the high concentration of bars and restaurants

• Le Ch'timi – where many students start their evening, given the 150 beers to choose from

• Les Caves du Roy – the most popular dance club in town, set on Place Stanislas

Local population’s favorite activities (or hangouts):

• gardens – the Jardin de la Citadelle in the old town, Parc de la Pépinière in the center of town and Parc Sainte-Marie are just three of the parks that are an important part of life in Nancy

• Maison de la Nature – an early 20th-century half-timbered house located in the Parc Sainte-Marie and dedicated to nature and the environment

• L’Autre Canal – a contemporary music venue in the redeveloped Rives de Meurthe district, which is a lovely place for a stroll or a bike ride (lautrecanalnancy.fr)

Local industries:

• Nancy-Brabois – one of France’s first and most important technopoles, home to more than 300 businesses

• medicine – about 30 laboratories and 800 researchers make up an outstanding center of university study and research, and the biggest hospital in eastern France

In Pop Culture:

• I’ve Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t’aime) – a 2008 drama film about a woman struggling to reintegrate society after 15 years in prison

• A French Woman (Une femme française) – a 1995 movie starring Emmanuelle Béart and Daniel Auteuil about troubled love during wartime

• “Nancy” – a ballad by C. Jérôme, a notable French singer from the 1970s to 90s

For more information, visit the Reims Tourism Office at www.reims-tourism.com.

City region: Champagne / Grand Est

Population & what they are called: 186,971 inhabitants (2014 census), called Rémois

Access from Paris:

• by road: about 1 h 30 min (90 miles) via the A4 autoroute de l'Est

• by train: about 45 minutes by TGV from the Gare de l'Est

Famous native daughters & sons:

• Patrick Poivre d’Arvor, television journalist and writer

• Kyan Khojandi, actor

• Pauline Ferrand-Prévot, world champion cyclist

Most distinctive and/or unique fact or trait (or little known fact):

• Reims was more than 80% destroyed in World War I, but rebuilt in less than 10 years by more than 400 architects.

• A bottle of champagne is opened every 10 seconds.

Notable sites:

• Cathédrale de Notre-Dame de Reims – for more than 1,200 years the place where the kings of France were coronated

• Porte Mars – a beautifully preserved Roman gate

• Fort de la Pompelle – tells the story of how the Great War fashioned today's Reims

Top annual events:

• La Magnifique Society Festival – electro-pop music festival (lamagnifiquesociety.com)

• Les Flâneries Musicales – a month-long series of classical concerts (flaneriesreims.com)

• Les Fêtes Johanniques – two days of public holiday in the atmosphere of the Middle Ages to celebrate Joan of Arc (reims-fetes.com/fetes_johaniques.php)

Most notable museums:

• Palais du Tau – a palace used as the residence of the kings during their coronations (palais-du-tau.fr/en/)

• Musée des Beaux-Arts – five centuries of painting, sculpture, furniture and art objects

• Musée Saint-Rémi – set in the royal abbey of Saint-Remi with historic objects from the city's past

Culinary specialties:

• jambon de Reims – made from pork shoulder that is brined, cooked in stock, seasoned, pressed into molds and then coated in breadcrumbs

• gingerbread – baked out of rye flour and buckwheat honey

• biscuits roses – the famous pink biscuit, one of the oldest in France

Local wines & spirits:

• champagne – Reims is a center of champagne production, home to the headquarters of large champagne-producing houses, many open for tasting and tours

• Bouzy rouge – light red wine that gives pink champagne its color

• ratafia – a fortified wine made from leftover champagne pressings

Shopping:

• Rue de Vesle – the main commercial street

• Grande Boutique du Vin – a comprehensive inventory of more than 150 types of champagne (vinscph.com/en/)

• Maison Fossier – has produced the famous pink biscuit for more than 260 years (fossier.fr/en/)

Most popular night spots:

• La Loge – food and relaxing dinner music that gives way to a full-blown night club

• Le Clos – excellent wine bar with a sizable courtyard

• Le Wine Bar – a relaxing bar with more than 500 wines and champagnes

Local population’s favorite activities (or hangouts):

• Coulée Verte – a green corridor for jogging and cycling

• Parc de la Patte d’Oie or Parc Léo Lagrange – green spaces that lend themselves to relaxation

• Montagne de Reims – the vineyard-covered hill south of town, a hiker's paradise of gorgeous forests and numerous wine villages, like Verzenay and its Vine Museum

Local industries:

• champagne – it is impossible to separate Reims from its champagne heritage

• bioeconomy – agriculture and its ancillary industries, including the industrial development of agricultural resources

In Pop Culture:

• local musicians – Reims natives include Yuksek, an electronic music producer, remixer and DJ; and The Shoes, an electro-rock duo

• Expérience Pommery – modern art exhibitions in the chalk galleries and cellars of the prestigious