Twenty or so years back my aunt and I had visited Reims. We had been to the cathedral and visited the city center. But we skipped on the hills where the Champagne houses are; it's not in walking distance from downtown and at the time it wasn't a tourist attraction.

This time we skipped past the city center and went directly up the hill. It's really impressive when you pull in. The Champagne houses are large estates, half factory, half palace.

It's interesting how the marketing influenced the architecture and the presentation. When you visit the Pommery cellars for instance, you will see plenty of art on exhibition. While this may seem like a fancy tick, this is part of the original marketing conceived by Ms Pommery back in the 19th century.

In Reims we managed to see the Pommery Cellar and the St Nicaise hill. We passed by Taittinger and Martel but both houses were closed on Sundays. In Epernay we visited Fort Chabrol and the stellar Avenue de Champagne.

If I had to pick between Reims and Epernay I would probably opt for Epernay as you are closer to the vineyards. In Reims I was really wondering if there is wine at all in the Champagne. Overall, this is a pretty great site for a wine site. The 19th century architecture really sets it apart from other vineyards.

Getting There

There are TGV trains to Champagne Ardeche on the outskirts of Reims connecting you to Paris, Strasbourg, Nancy and Brussels. To get to Epernay you are better served taking the direct local train from Paris.

Getting In

I wanted to see one of the champagne cellars. Most cellars are only open during the week. The safest bet seems to be Pommery where they run frequent tours even on Sundays. The tours costs 23€ and includes a glass of Champagne. I did not reserve and this was not necessary in March. In Epernay there was only one smaller House open. I am not sure if they offered tours.

While You Are There

Reims is itself a WHS. From the hills where the Champagne cellars are you have a great view of the cathedral. The WHS also has a location within walking distance: the Abbey of St Remy. It is just next door to the Caves Martel. I have to admit that I really enjoyed my visit to the Abbey and would encourage you to stop by.

In Chalons-en-Champage there are two components of the French Camino. The whole area of Northern France is dotted with World War I Memorials (T).