The Champagne Trail

The Routes Touristiques du Champagne are six itineraries developed by tourist offices to show motorists the best their region has to offer. From 70km up to 220km (45–136 miles), they wind their way through vineyards, villages, and sites of interest, clearly marked by black and white road signs. One of the shortest, and prettiest, is the route dedicated to the Montagne de Reims, which is not really a mountain at all but a forested plateau between Reims and Epernay.

Along this route, as with the others, you’ll pass dozens of small champagne producers. One of the loveliest villages to stop in is hilltop Hautvilliers (off the D951, along D386), where Benedictine monk, Dom Pérignon, perfected the champagne-making technique in the 17th-century. See his epitaph in the village church, then toast his memory at G. Tribaut champagne house (champagne-tribaut-hautvillers.com; tel. 03-26-59-40-57; bottles from 20€), which offers breathtaking views over the valley.

Then head west along the D1 to Champagne Telmont in Damery (champagne-telmont.com; tel. 03-26-58-40-33; bottles from 48.50€, which, hands down, makes some of the finest bubbly around. It even caught the eye—or taste buds—of movie star Leonardo Di Caprio, who is now an investor.  

If you’re with kids, don’t miss Champagne Charlier & Fils further west (off the D1, then D24; champagne-charlier.com; tel. 03-26-58-35-18; Bottles from 19.30€). It’s one of the only wineries to still ferment their champagnes inside foudres (huge oak barrels that can hold the equivalent of 50,000 bottles of wine) with a showpiece foudre to climb inside.

Tourist offices can give you a list of other wineries open to tastings; sometimes you’ll happen along one with a drop-in policy; others require reservations. Or for more information about the routes, visit tourisme-en-champagne.com/route-touristique-du-champagne.

Amiens

170km (105 miles) NW of Reims

Is it worth the drive from Reims Cathedral to see yet another one? If that cathedral is in Amiens, the answer is absolutely. Amiens, the capital of Picardy, has been a textile center since medieval days. Its old town is a warren of jumbled streets and canals, branching off from the south bank of the Somme River. The main draw is the boldly Gothic Cathédrale Notre-Dam’ d’Amiens, pl. Notre-Dame (www.cathedrale-amiens.fr; tel. 03-22-80-03-41), France’s largest cathedral. The dazzling, UNESCO-protected cathedral was started in 1220 to house the head of St. John the Baptist (still visible today), brought back from the Crusades in 1206. One of the biggest Gothic cathedrals ever constructed, it’s 113m (370 ft.) tall with a girth of 200,000 cubic meters (more than 7 million cubic feet). On its south side, hip bistro Big Ben, 12 rue Cormont (www.restaurant-bigben.fr; tel. 03-74-11-66-04; Tues noon–2:30pm, Wed–Sat noon–2:30pm and 7–10pm) is a good spot for lunch. 

From the cathedral, head to the city’s Quartier St-Leu. Just below the cathedral, across the water, the quarter used to be a thriving medieval craft center, bustling with water mills. Today its narrow streets contain art galleries, bookshops, and antiques boutiques, making the area a wonderful place to wander. During the Saturday morning market on the quayside, farmers from the nearby Hortillonnages—the 300 hectares (741 acres) of floating gardens in the town center—hawk their products. 

While in Amiens, be sure to also visit the Maison de Jules Verne, 2 rue Charles Dubois (tel. 03-22-45-45-75; 7.50€ adults, 4€ children ages 6–17, free for EU residents age 25 and under; mid-April to mid-Oct Mon and Wed–Fri 10am–12:30pm and 2–6:30pm, Sat and Sun 11am–6:30pm, Tues 2–6:30pm; mid-Oct to mid-April same as above, except closures are at 6pm and closed Tues), a stately townhouse where the author plunged himself into his imaginary worlds. Period rooms convey how the house would have looked in Verne’s day, and a collection of more than 700 objects reveals the author’s inspiration. 

To get to Amiens, the quickest and easiest option is by car. Take the A26 north to St. Quentin, and then head west on the A29 to Amiens (total about 1 hr., 45 min.). By train, you have to change in Paris and the journey takes around 2 hr., 30 min. The tourist office (www.visit-amiens.com; tel. 03-22-71-60-50) is on the north side of the square in front of the cathedral.

Sedan

106km (65 miles) NE of Reims

In the French Ardennes, the 16th-century Château Fort de Sedan (www.chateau-fort-sedan.fr; tel. 03-24-29-98-80; daily) is said to be the largest castle in Europe. Set over seven floors and with an area of 35,000 sq. meters (376,736 sq. ft.), the castle took over 150 years to build and in its heyday housed more than 4,000 men. You can take a tour and even stay here in the onsite four-star hotel, which has a very nice restaurant. The castle also hosts a medieval festival on the last weekend in May.

Several trains a day leave from Reims (trip time: 1 hr., 20 min.) or you can drive there in about 1 hr., 10 min. via the A34.

Provins
117km (72 miles) SW of Reims.

If Disney’s re-created medieval towns were real, they would undoubtedly look like Provins. Bridging the Greater Paris and Champagne regions, this quaint, fairy tale–like settlement of half-timbered houses, medieval ramparts, spooky underground passages, and cobbled streets was once the Count of Champagne’s capital, famed across medieval France for its foires, or fairs. Today it’s just over an hour and a half-drive from Reims (take the A4, then the D980, D18,  D11 and D403), and is a great place for a family-themed day out, with falconry and jousting shows, and pleasant strolls along age-old streets lined with UNESCO-protected medieval buildings like the vaulted Grange aux Dîmes and the Tour César, a 12th-century dungeon. For more information, visit the tourist website provins.net (tel. 01-64-60-26-26).

Battles of the Marne

World War I history buffs automatically think of Verdun and its trenches but the Marne Valley saw more than its share of bloody conflict. The German offensive got no further west than Château-Thierry (87km/54 miles NE of Paris, 51km/32 miles SW of Reims via A4) thanks to a ferocious standoff with U.S. forces in early June 1918. Today an imposing hilltop monument commemorates the battle. Two days later, fighting began at the Bois de Belleau (Belleau Wood). Control of the area switched sides six times before the Americans triumphed, having suffered more than 9,000 casualties. The American cemetery, also known as Le Cimetière de Belleau, contains 2,288 graves and a chapel damaged in World War II. You can learn more at the Musée de la Mémoire de Belleau (www.american-remembrance.com; tel. 03-23-82-03-63), in place du Général Pershing, which also offers guided tours. In a peaceful park in Dormans, the Mémorial des Batailles de la Marne, Parc du Château (www.memorialdormans14-18.com; tel. 03-26-53-35-86) honors all soldiers killed in the summers of 1914 and 1918. The site houses a chapel and ossuary containing the bones of a thousand soldiers from the U.S. and Europe.

Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.