And here we were in Ardennes with several free days, when an idea to visit Champagne dawned on us. After all, Champagne and Ardennes used to be two parts of the same region, which now is united with several others into Grand Est. Champagne is one of the world’s most famous French words, due to the sparkling wine, which according to the laws of origin appellation can be produced strictly from the grapes grown in this region.

So when you plan to visit Champagne, prepare to the endless vineyards, Maisons de Champagne and numerous tastings. All this makes Champagne a particular destination, where you won’t find an excitement, but authenticity, taste of an ancient tradition and tranquillity of a rural but bourgeois area.

As our trip in Champagne was 100% spontaneous, we had no time whatsoever to plan it even roughly, but we didn’t have to worry, as the official site of the Tourism in Champagne as well as the Tourism Office provided all necessary information including the itineraries of various distances with brochure-guidebooks. Thus, it was somewhat a self-guided tour where we were step by step discovering the region from the scratch. Unfortunately, the site’s English version doesn’t have all pages translated, so be ready to use the automatic translator to display all the itineraries and spots to see.

Our trip didn’t include any visits of Maison de Champagne, which we both regret, but there are cons of spontaneous trips that we need to assume: in advance booking of accommodation and activities.

For this little road-trip we rented a car in Reims, and we regretted this decision bitterly, as we would have preferred a scooter or a bicycle (for a longer stay, naturally). Getting off the car every 2 kilometres after spending ages on finding a suitable parking spot was tiring, boring and slightly nauseating. Probably this is simply our general attitude towards the car speaking, but in our opinion, Champagne deserves a slower kind of exploration. And a more thorough one, of course.

As always, think of your lunch meal in advance by booking at the restaurant you want! Don’t forget, that having a meal in provincial France after a certain hour (usually around 13:30) is next to impossible!

We took a map with several itineraries in Reims Tourism Office and followed it before setting off to Troyes.

Don’ forget to use the “full screen button” to open the map in a separate window.

The capital of the region, Reims is a beautiful and pleasant town. In fact, it looks like a small copy of Paris with the Art Déco architecture and colour. The major sightseeing place in Reims is the gorgeous Gothic Cathedral. Just think of it – all Kings of France were crowned in this very place, including those from the darkest Middle Age. Goosebumps!

Unfortunately, we missed the evening light show which gets projected on the Cathedral’s façade, but make sure you don’t miss it too!

We liked Reims. It’s a quiet but bourgeois town with some truly beautiful pieces of architecture. The history amateurs will definitely love the Reims Cathedral both for its significance and for its reasonable visitors number, which, unlike in Parisian Notre-Dame doesn’t make you move as if you were stuck in the subway during the rush hour.

It was in Reims that we rented a small car and off we went, following the vineyards itinerary through the strikingly beautiful fields and twisted roads with peculiar tractors and villages, which sole activity is the Champagne wine production. Stop wherever you want, get in any Maison de Champagne you want and enjoy the ultimate drink along with the detailed story of each of the owners. As an alternative, In the same Reims Tourism Office you can take the contacts of the Champagne producers and arrange a meeting and tasting.

We were surprised to discover, how little these villages are thought for the visitors or inhabitants, some of them even don’t have a pavement. However, considering how quiet they are, there is no danger whatsoever.

We made one major stop in Verzenay, where we visited the lighthouse – Phare de Verzenay. What does a Lighthouse do in the middle of the vineyards? – you will ask. In fact, it was one of the Champagne trader’s marketing step in order to attract people’s attention to his Maison de Champagne. Today the lighthouse is used as a museum dedicated to…. Champagne production. :D

A view from the Lighthouse entrance

Climb the 101 steps up to the lighthouse to get an amazing view on the fields and numerous villages. Count 9€ for the museum & lighthouse visit, 8€ – for just a museum and 3€ – just for the lighthouse.

A view from drone

A mill close to the lighthouse

Three kilometres further there is another interesting place which is worth a stop – Les Faux de Verzy. In the forest of 29 Ha close to Verzy live rather peculiar species – the dwarf oak or chestnut trees. If you are interested even for a bit in how nature works, a stop there is a must. And even if you are not, an hour walk in a forest – who could say no to that?

Epernay was a town we both were looking forward to, mainly due to its Avenue de Champagne – 1500 meters avenue with the biggest Maisons de Champagne like Moët & Chandon and Perrier. Palace after Palace, strolling along the Champagne Avenue is a truly unique experience.

The majority of Maison de Champagne have a bar, where one can taste this true sparkling wine in every shape and colour, exactly what we did. For 20€ we had 4 different types of Champagne in one of them just to confirm the sad truth: we are total dummies in the Champagne matter as the only difference we could make was the taste of the biscuits served as a snack. 😃

Do climb the Tour de Castellane for a splendid view over the city and the Marne Valley.

Troyes is a large city situated in a different department of the Champagne region, but we wanted to see it badly enough to go so far. That’s why we stopped for a night close to Troyes after enjoying a stunning sunset over the vineyards…

As our guidebook said, Troyes deserves a separated trip to Aube and we couldn’t agree more. A historic capital of Champagne, Troyes has the biggest number of half-timbered houses in France, the majority of them dating back to the 16th century.

It also has a peculiar record – the biggest number of religious monuments per inhabitant. The Old Town of Troyes is truly impressive, all those details and colours, little yards and signs. Make sure to get there early enough before the crowds of tourists.

We left Champagne with a huge feeling of dissatisfaction. We had a good preview by visiting and trying the major points of the region, but, as usually, we discovered how much stays undiscovered: towns and parks, natural reserves, the World Wars monuments, sport and cultural activities.

The weekend was full of impressions, but our wanderlust couldn’t put up with all those possibilities and a total lack of time. At least three days more and a different transport solution, and then it would have been perfect!