www.nancy-tourisme.fr. The capital of Lorraine, Nancy’s main attraction lies in its charm as an open-air showcase for two great periods of architecture and decorative arts.The first is credited to Stanislas Leszczynski, the ex-king of Poland and father-in-law of Louis XV, who created the elegant 18thC New Town in honour of Louis – and because he thoroughly enjoyed building, along with wine, women and song. The second is the Art Nouveau period, which saw the rise of the influential Ecole de Nancy.

To start, make for place Stanislas, the centrepiece of the 18thC ‘New Town’ designed by Emmanuel Héré. The Hôtel de Ville lines the entire west side of the place, with two square buildings apiece to the north and south, including the Théâtre and Musée des Beaux-Arts. To the east, two one-storey blocks flank rue Héré and a triumphal arch, while all around fancy balustrades conceal the roofs and playful stone cherubs threaten to tip monumental urns on to the heads of passers-by. At each comer, Jean Lamour’s magnificent gates tilt gilded decorations at the sunlight, backdrops in the eastern corners for Barthelémy Guibal’s Neptune and Amphitrite fountains. On the cobbled square, a statue of the stocky Stanislaus points helpfully to the S.I.

First stop is the Musée des Beaux-Arts (www.mban.nancy.fr), which includes a fine 19th-20thC section with works by Dufy, Matisse, Modigliani and Utrillo; also Daum glass from the renowned local verrehe. The Daum factory, at rue des Cristalleries, has its own museum-cum-gallery, and gives weekday morning glass-blowing demonstrations.

Between place Stanislas and the Old Town, place de la Carrière is another impressive piece of 18thC town planning leading to Grande Rue and the Old Town. The Palais Ducal, 64 Grande Rue, houses the excellent Musée Historique Lorrain (www.musee-lorrain.nancy.fr) with archaeological finds, medieval sculpture, paintings and pottery. The adjacent museum of art and local culture displays crafts treasures in a series of reconstructed 19thC interiors laid out in the former Couvent des Cordeliers. The convent’s Chapelle Ducale was the traditional burial place of the Dukes of Lorraine, whose tombs are works of art in their own right. A joint ticket to the two museums also covers entry to the 14th-15thC fortified city gate, Porte de la Craffe, which is at the end of the street.

Nancy’s legacy of artistic endeavour and skilled craftsmen made it a natural rallying point for the turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau movement. The master glassmaker and ceramicist Emile Gallé founded the Ecole de Nancy with the help of fellow verrier Antonin Daum, and the cabinetmaker Louis Majorelle; meanwhile a handful of architects enlivened the town with masterpieces including the Chamber of Commerce, 40 rue Henri-Poincaré; the superb Café Excelsior, 3 rue Mazagran; and Majorelle’s outstanding house at 1 rue Louis-Majorelle.

A splendid collection of Art Noveau arts and crafts can be found at the Musée de I’Ecole de Nancy, www.ecole-de-nancy.com, in a house built for a major patron, Eugène Corbin. Accompanied by a heady whiff of polish, the sculpted, curvelinear lines of a wooden desk take on the appearance of a ship’s prow tailor-made for a captain of industry; a cow-parsley motif is transformed into an elegant radiator cover; and Galle’s Aube et Crépuscule (dawn and dusk) bed becomes a magic carpet with its curtain-winged moth and shimmering butterfly head- and tailboards. This is a real treat, even for those who aren’t Art Nouveau fans. The tourist office has walking maps aimed at Art Nouveau enthusiasts.