The best traffic-free bike rides around Béchy

A spectacular building from 2010, the first branch of Paris's famous Centre Pompidou, a museum of contemporary art. A white, curved roof is stretched across many exposed wooden beams. Inside, the tube-like exhibition spaces are stacked one above the other in a star shape, with enormous panoramic windows at the ends offering views of the city and the surrounding area.

Memorial to the fallen of the two world wars and the Indochina War 🕊️.

Memorial to the fallen of the two world wars 🕊️

This beautiful rest area is located on the former railway line, at the old train station in Pange.

The Center Pompidou-Metz is a well-known contemporary art museum located in the Amphitheater district. Created in 2010 as part of a development project, it is one of the most visited museums in France outside of Paris. Its creation represented the first example of decentralization of a public cultural building, in this case the Center Georges Pompidou in Paris. The idea of creating a "branch" came to the now director Jean-Jacques Aillagon in 1997, when the Pompidou in Paris was closed for works (1997-2000). To continue exhibiting the various collections it was decided to create the “Outside the Walls” project, with exhibitions in various French cities. Given the success, concrete thought was given to a second location for the Pompidou Center. Input to the project was given by Aillagon himself when, in 2002, he was appointed Minister of Culture. Various cities showed interest, including Caen, Montpellier, Nancy and Lille, but in January 2003 the final choice was announced: Metz. The following March the tender for the project was launched, won by architects Shigeru Ban, Jean de Gastines and Philip Gumuchdjian. The construction was part of the urban redevelopment project of the Amphitheater district which, in addition to the Pompidou Centre, led to the construction of the Seille Park, the "Robert Schuman" conference centre, the Muse shopping center as well as various buildings of housing and green areas. The official inauguration took place on 11 May 2010 in the presence of President Sarkozy. The Pompidou Center in Metz has a hexagonal plan. The structure develops around a central body with a 77 meter high tower and is characterized by the presence of three self-supporting tunnels that cross each other transversally. The three galleries are oriented towards different points of the city, so as to provide the most complete overview possible. The cover, entirely made of wood, recalls the shape of a traditional Chinese hat owned by Shigeru Ban himself. In addition to the vast exhibition space, which extends over 5,000 m², the structure includes places to welcome the public, a studio for the presentation of shows and performances, gardens, an auditorium, a bookshop, a restaurant and a café. www.centrepompidou-metz.fr

The origin of “Pont-à-Domangeville is lost in the mists of time. The Roman road from Metz to the Rhine already passed through there. Under the old regime, it was a tiny separate lordship, with a toll bridge. Usually blocked and padlocked, to cross it you had to pay a fee, depending on the livestock and products passed through. The lordship belonged in the 13th century to the Saint-Vincent de Metz abbey, then to the successive lords of Domangeville; in 1716, to the Laubrussels, then to the Leuryses, finally to the Thomas de Pange. It included, in addition to the bridge, the road - 50 toises on this side, 18 beyond - the bed of the Nied on both sides and, on the south-east bank, land with a hostelry (current Mayot farm) . In 1789, the community of Bazoncourt declared in its list of grievances “the enlightenment of the State and the kindness of the King will undoubtedly eliminate a right of final injustice perceived at Pont-à-Domangeville. However poor a plowman he may be, he pays three does and several pay without passing through.” After the revolution, the bridge had to be repaired. Paradoxically, the general council had the expenditure entered in the 1814 and 1815 rolls of the localities which had subscribed to the bridge in 1766. On this ordeal is inscribed: “This monument of our redemption was erected by the care of MM. De Pange, de Courten, Devaux and Dauphin, Commissioners responsible for the reconstruction of this bridge, in the year of our Lord 1816. During the reconstruction work and near the bridge, Joseph GRANDIDIER de Hernicourt and François ANIEL perished in the waters on July 20 from Domangeville, both attached to the service of the neighboring farm »

Two people died during the reconstruction of the bridge over the Nied Française in Domangeville in 1816.

The Centre Pompidou-Metz in Metz is a centre for all forms of contemporary art and a branch of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, with which it shares collections and founding philosophy. It has existed since 2010 (Wikipedia).