Reims

Feel our top 5 sensory experiences in Reims…

See the monumental Notre-Dame cathedral, recognised internationally as a model of Gothic architecture. It played a central role in France’s history for 800 years as the venue for the coronations of 25 sovereigns.

Hear free classical and jazz concerts. Reims’ musical highlight of the summer is Les Flâneries Musicales from mid-June to mid-July, with concerts held in the city’s most beautiful venues.

Smell champagne cellars. The sweet, musty aroma of wood and stone deep underground combined with the sour tang of barrel-aged alcohol… it’s one of the Champagne region’s most unmistakeable and trademark smells.All the city’s champagne houses offer guided tours; the oldest is Ruinart, founded in 1729.

Taste pink biscuits. Les biscuits roses de Reims are light, crunchy, vanilla-flavoured biscuits dating from the 17th century, typically dipped into a glass of champagne.

Touch the handlebars of a bike to explore. The Champagne region boasts over 5,000km of tracks and trails for cyclists, wending their way through miles of vineyards punctuated by picturesque villages.

Capital of the Champagne region, Reims (External link) is a listed Town of Art and History offering the culture of a big city with the charm of a smaller town. Stroll along its handsome boulevards lined with striking Art-Déco façades and prepare to be bowled over by its architectural features. There are nine champagne houses to visit in Reims (some of whose cellars have Gallo-Roman origins) plus five Michelin-starred restaurants – and as December approaches, the city sparkles with the lights of its Christmas market, the third largest of its kind in France.

Getting to ReimsBy train: 45m from Paris and 1h55m from Lille by TGVBy road: A4/E50 from Paris or Germany; A26/E17 from the UK; A34/E46 from Belgium

Further information:Reims Tourist Office6, rue Rockefeller51100 ReimsTel. +33 (0)3 26 77 45 00http://www.reims-tourism.com/ (External link)

reims