The upper town of Bar-le-Duc — the Ville Haute — occupies a ridge above the Ornain river and contains one of the most intact Renaissance urban ensembles in France east of the Loire. The quarter was built up during the 15th and 16th centuries when Bar was the seat of the Dukes of Bar, and the wealth of that period shows in the quality of the stone facades that line the principal streets.
Walk the Rue des Ducs-de-Bar and the adjacent streets to see the range: elegant hôtels particuliers with mullioned windows, doorways framed by carved pilasters and medallion portraits, courtyards glimpsed through archways. The Place Saint-Pierre is the social centre, surrounded by patrician mansions. The Collège Gilles de Trèves, with its Renaissance courtyard, is the most celebrated single building — Montaigne called it "the most beautiful house in France" in 1580, and the courtyard retains real presence.
The whole quarter is walkable in a couple of hours. The tourism office on the main square runs guided tours in summer.