Reims

This royal city of Northern France has seen the coronation of almost every king of France, from conquering Frankish Clovis (who was baptized by St Remi here in 498) to Charles X, crowned in 1825. The glorious statues of Reims’ magnificent thirteenth century Gothic Cathedral, where coronations took place, suffered damage in WWI and many are now copies. The Cathedral is a must visit for its huge statues of French kings above the rose window, smiling ‘Angel of Reims’ and interior flooded with colour from wonderful stained glass by Marc Chagall. The bishop’s Palais du Tau next door displays coronation regalia and original damaged statues of winged angels. A short walk to the south, the vast eleventh century Romanesque Basilique St-Remi, last resting place of many early French kings and also St Remi, presents a free music and light show from July toSeptember. All 3 buildings have UNESCO World Heritage status and are open to visitors.

Equally ‘royal’ amongst wines, champagne is celebrated in Reims where the cellars of its most famous houses also hold UNESCO World Heritage ranking. See Champagne Ardenne Activities for more. The limestone galleries where champagne now matures originally produced building materials for Gallo-Roman architecture like the Porte de Mars on place de la Republic.

You’ll also find fascinating museums in Reims, a Jesuit college founded in 1606, the underground remains of a Gaulish settlement at Cryptocorticus and excellent local cuisine.

Troyes

Champagne’s historic capital is known for its half-timbered sixteenth century houses leaning across a labyrinth of narrow cobbled streets in the town’s old quarter. The town’s 9 beautiful churches are a feast of fine architecture, statuary and stained glass. Henry V of England married Princess Catherine of France in the church of St-Jean. Be sure your tour includes the thirteenth century Gothic and Medieval Cathedral St-Pierre-et-St-Paul, Ste-Madeline, and St-Urbain home to the sculptural masterpiece of the Virgin of the Grapes. Many buildings were destroyed by fire in 1524 and some of the replacement Renaissance mansions now serve as museums. Amongst them Hotel Mauroy, originally an orphanage and hosiery factory, has an absorbing display of ancient craft tools. Hotel Vauluisant is both a history museum and exhibition site for over 100 machines traditionally used in stocking and garment manufacture.

The former bishop’s palace across the Canal de la Haute Seine is Troyes’ Museum of Modern Art. See work by Bonnard, Matisse, Picasso and more, an African art collection and sculpture garden. Sample andouillette - the tasty chitterling sausage for which Troyes is famous - and don’t miss the town’s medieval apothecary shop.

If you’ve energy left, bargain hunters can have a field day in Troyes’ 200 factory outlets selling major brands atprices guaranteed to make the holiday money go further.

Epernay

In the heart of Champagne country 26km south of Reims, the small town of Epernay makes an ideal base for exploring the champagne villages and vineyards of the Montagne de Reims, Cote des Blancs and Marne Valley. This attractive town is the main centre for bottling, storing and selling champagne. Start your visit in the Avenue de Champagne where grand nineteenth century town houses are headquarters for world famous champagne producers like Moet & Chandon, Pol Roger and Mercier. Bottled champagne matures in 110km of ancient cellars carved in the limestone beneath Epernay’s tree-lined streets. In 1950, the grandson of Eugene Mercier organized a car rally through their cellars without a single broken bottle. The town museum in Chateau Perrier includes a display on champagne production and ninth century manuscripts, and there’s more to learn at Maison de Castellane.

Attractive Epernay, bright with flowers, holds markets every day but Monday and Saturday in squares around the town. Ask at Epernay’s Tourist Office for details on tours and tastings.

Chalons-en-Champagne/Chalons-sur-Marne

Confusingly, Chalons has been known as both ‘sur-Marne’ and ‘en-Champagne’ over its 2000 year history. The capital of both the department of Marne and the Champagne Ardenne region, Chalons-en-Champagne was officially reassigned its original name in 1998.

Chalons is part of the Route Touristique du Champagne triangle and tours and tastings in town can be organized at the Joseph Perrier cellars. Enjoy Chalons’ parks and gardens, known as the Jards, and walk beside the River Marne. Half-timbered houses line pretty canals which cross the town. Admire the beautiful stained glass in Chalons’ historic thirteenth century Cathedral St-Etienne and visit many towered Notre-Dame-en-Vaux. The latter was a twelfth century place of pilgrimage and its cloister museum has a wealth of interesting carvings. Porte Sainte-Croix gateway, built in 1770, was dedicated to the arrival in France of the Archduchess Marie-Antoinette as she travelled to marry Louis XIV.

Chalons holds a festival of musical concerts over 7 weeks in summer and sometimes visitors are able to watch training sessions at France’s National Centre for Circus Arts in the old Cirque built in 1899. Ask at the Tourist Office for details.

Langres

Hilltop Langres is sometimes called the ‘Carcassonne of the North’. Its impressively intact fortifications, first developed by the Romans, contain 12 towers and 7 gateways including the remarkable Porte des Moulins. Walk the 3.5km encircling ramparts for breathtaking views of the Lac de la Liez, Marne Valley and wooded hillsides of the Langres Plateau. Non-walkers can see these sights from a little tourist train. Within the walls, fine buildings dating from the second century through to the Middle Ages and Renaissance, ensure Langres’ richly deserved label of ‘town of art and history’. Take a step back in time along narrow streets - much less crowded in high season than southern Carcassonne. Of interest are the statue of Langres-born eighteenth century philosopher Denis Diderot of encyclopedia fame, twelfth century Cathedrale St-Mammes and beautiful Hotel du Breuil de St-Germain. The Art and History Museum, in a modern building in the heart of the old town, has exhibits ranging from a second century Baccus mosaic to Art Deco faience china and Langres cutlery.

Langres also gives its name to an AOC protected cow’s cheese which fittingly has its rind washed in champagne!

Chaumont-en-Bassigny

Set above the meeting of the Marne and Suize rivers, one of the most striking features of this capital of Haute-Marne is its 52m high viaduct built in the mid-nineteenth century to connect the railway to the upper town. Construction of the 50 arches took 2,500 workers just 15 months, toiling day and night. A stroll along the viaduct’s 600m offers great views over the Suize Valley. The present law courts and Chaumont’s eleventh century Tour Hautefeuille keep were once the residence of the Counts of Champagne. A museum at the base of the tower is devoted to art and history and includes ninth century bronze armour, religious sculptures and a section on Chaumont’s past glove making industry. There’s much of architectural interest within the town’s sixteenth century ramparts. Renaissance houses present unusual towers protecting their spiral staircases, the thirteenth century Basilique St-Jean has fine later balconies, stairways and sculptures and seventeenth century Chapelle des Jesuites displays a particular Jesuit style. Take a trip to Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises close by to visit the memorial to Charles de Gaulle at La Boisserie.

Sedan

Sedan on the River Meuse is a border town dominated by its vast Chateau Fort - one of the largest in Europe. Unsurprisingly, the town’s history is linked to military events. The Franco-Prussian War of 1870 ended here when Napoleon III capitulated, the vast castle was a forced-labour camp in WWI and in WWII Sedan was where French lines were broken by German invaders. The Chateau Fort on 7 floors is now a hotel, tourist office and museum. The guided tour includes representations of life in the Middle Ages and a room dedicated to the 1870 conflict. Take a trip to Forte la-Ferte, about 25km south of Sedan, which was the most northerly fort on the Maginot Line captured in 1940. Enjoy walking beside the River Meuse and visit the small Point de Sedan carpet factory, established in 1878. The factory has made carpets for the famous using workshop traditions based in the sixteenth century and still has spectacular nineteenth century working looms. Tel: (00 33) 3 24 27 73 73 for visits.