Reims and the Champagne region offer a multitude of assets.
Discover an exceptional heritage, including several UNESCO sites and its rich local culture.
Must-SeeVisitNotre-Dame Cathedral
Jewel of the Gothic art
Any visit to Reims includes the Notre-Dame cathedral. Its beauty is unanimous. And for good reason, it is an architectural jewel inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.
Larger than Notre-Dame de Paris, it also presents an exceptional statuary. 2,303 sculpted figures adorn its facades. Biblical scenes, a gallery of kings, a bestiary, gargoyles, so many stories to tell for the guides who make you discover it.
Your options for discovering it :
Admission to the cathedral is free. You can enter freely during the monument’s opening hours.
Be careful to respect the offices.
Learn more from our tour guides. Spend 1h30 deciphering its history, architecture, statuary and stained glass windows.
The cathedral towers are accessible via the Palais du Tau. Guided tours are available at an additional cost. It is only available in fine weather.
During the school vacations, the Tourist Office offers families a special children’s tour of the cathedral, ideal for combining learning with fun.
Focus on the guided tour of the cathedral
For 1h30, your enthusiastic guide will tell you all about the cathedral’s history, the specific features of its architecture and decoration, and its central role in French history.
Adult price: €9
Free with Reims Epernay Pass
Visit the cellars of
great Champagne houses
How to talk about Reims without mentioning the most prestigious wine in the world, champagne. A symbol of celebration, success and sharing, champagne is omnipresent in Reims.
The Coteaux, Maisons et Caves de Champagne have been on UNESCO’s World Heritage list since 2015.
In Reims, this applies to the houses on the Saint-Nicaise hill: Pommery, Veuve Clicquot, Taittinger, Ruinart, G.H. Martel. Their cellars are unique in that they are made up of crayères, impressive galleries dug into the chalk, some of which date back to the Middle Ages.
Other houses, each with its own style and tour, are open to the public in Reims, the vineyards or in Epernay and its famous Avenue de Champagne.
All the Great Champagne Houses
Take a trip to
Champagne vineyards
Vineyards are everywhere around Reims. Just a few kilometers from the city, you’re already in the heart of the vineyards.
There are several ways to discover it:
- Book a small-group excursion with one of the operators offering vineyard tours
- Take the “ligne des bulles” train from Reims to Epernay, with several stops in the vineyards. Ideal for hiking in the heart of the Reims Mountain Regional Nature Park.
- By car or road bike for the more sporty, discover other areas, in particular towards Verzenay, to admire the view from an unusual site: the Verzenay Lighthouse.
Criss-crossing the vineyards will also give you the opportunity to meet the winemakers, who welcome you to their estates for tastings, cellar tours and direct sales at prices that are generally much more attractive than in traditional stores.
Explore an exceptional museum
Le Palais du Tau
The treasure of the cathedral
Currently closed for renovation
The Palais du Tau is a must-see not only for its historical and architectural aspects, but also for its incredible collection linked to the history of France.
When the kings of France went to Reims for their coronation, they stayed there for several days. It was in the Tau Palace, the archbishop’s residence located next to the cathedral, that they settled. It is also where the post-consecration festivities were celebrated.
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991, the palace now houses an exceptional museum whose collections trace the history of the cathedral and the royal coronations.
Visit the other UNESCO jewel
L’Ancienne Abbaye Saint-Remi
An unknown splendor
The former Abbey of Saint-Remi, also a UNESCO World Heritage site, comprises 2 visitor attractions: the basilica and the historical museum. Both are worth a visit, about 20 minutes walk from the cathedral. Several bus lines also allow you to get there in less than 5 minutes.
The basilica is sumptuous. Its interior, mixing Gothic and Romanesque styles, is full of spirituality.
The museum, whose rich collections are installed in different rooms of the Benedictine abbey, traces the history of Man from prehistory to the Renaissance.
Note: admission to the museum and guided tour of the basilica are free for holders of the Reims Epernay pass.
Book your
Guided tour of the Basilique Saint-Remi
Discover this surprising building on a 1h30 guided tour. Decipher its unique architecture and learn more about Saint-Remi, which baptized Clovis in the 5th century.
Adult price: €9
Free with Reims Epernay Pass
Plunge into the Reims of the Roaring Twenties
The First World War devastated Reims. Throughout the conflict, the city was bombed, the cathedral was burned and its houses almost completely destroyed.
It was then necessary to rebuild everything. Thus, in the 1920s and 1930s, architects were able to give free rein to their imagination to create a new city.
The downtown area is full of buildings from this period which give it a special charm.
It’s hard to know where to look to discover the nuggets. That’s why, every Sunday, the Tourist Office offers a guided tour of the city center, with commentary by a professional guide.
Book your
Art Deco guided tour
Follow your guide through the streets of downtown Reims to discover the most beautiful facades and their history. Look up to admire the superb details that adorn certain buildings, and which are only available to the most curious.
Adult price: €9
Free with Reims Epernay Pass
See also
Emblematic monuments :
Taste
local flavours
Gastronomy is part of the soul of Reims. From the Halles du Boulingrin, where the largest market in the city is held, to the cobbled streets of the city center, there is no shortage of good addresses.
Chocolate makers, restaurant owners, butchers, cheese makers… Many craftsmen allow Reims to represent the French gastronomy with dignity.
The emblem of local gastronomy: the pink Reims cookie.
With its pink color and its white coating, the pink cookie of Reims is recognizable of all. It has been the pride of the people of Rémois for centuries and can be enjoyed without moderation, with a glass of Champagne or cooked in desserts, from charlotte to verrines.
Today, Fossier is the representative of this cookie tradition, which has taken on this atypical color simply to mask the black vanilla particles that perfume it.
Discover the many facets of Reims gastronomy on the reimsatable.fr website .
Book your
Guided tour of the Fossier cookie factory
Take a behind-the-scenes look at how the Reims pink cookie is made, and discover the history of Fossier, the oldest cookie factory in France. The tour ends with a tasting of some of their products.
Adult price: €5
Free with Reims Epernay Pass
Taste excellence
Top restaurants
Reims boasts 5 Michelin-starred restaurants:
Le Grand Cerf and its chef Dominique Giraudeau and Le Foch and its chef Jacky Louaze, each have 1 star in the prestigious guide.
The Domaine Les Crayères restaurant, a symbol of French elegance and art de vivre, holds 2 stars thanks to its refined cuisine rooted in the excellence of the Reims region.
The restaurant Racine and its chef Kazuyuki Tanaka also holds 2 stars thanks to its innovative cuisine that brilliantly mixes Asian inspirations and French haute cuisine.
Finally, Arnaud Lallement, chef of the Assiette Champenoise, was honored in 2014 with his third star. The previous year, he had been voted “Chef of the Year” by the Gault et Millau guide.
In 2022, his restaurant ranks in the top 5 best restaurants in the world.
Gourmet restaurants
listed in the Michelin and Gault&Millau guides
from 150€
from 145€
from 160€
Escape to nature
Hiking
In addition to its hundred or so parks and gardens, Reims enjoys close proximity to the surrounding countryside, the Champagne vineyards and the Reims Mountain Regional Nature Park, all of which can be reached without a car, by train or by bike.
The Coulée verte, a vast green strip crossing the city from northwest to southeast, follows the course of the Vesle and the Aisne-Marne canal. It is a very popular recreational area for walkers, joggers and cyclists.
The Montagne de Reims Regional Nature Park, a mecca for hikers located at the gates of the city, was created in 1976. It includes the spectacular Faux de Verzy site.
Visiting places of remembrance
A major city in the history of France, Reims has also been marked by world conflicts.
During the First World War, the city was heavily bombed and the surroundings of Reims were the scene of confrontations of which the numerous military cemeteries preserve the trace.
Among the military cemeteries of the First World War, the “Bois du Puits” site, which includes the French national necropolis, the German military cemetery and the Polish military cemetery at Aubérive, and the Italian Cemetery of Bligny at Chambrecy, are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites within the framework of the First World War (Western Front) funerary and memorial sites.
Later, it was in Reims that the German capitulation was signed, which put an end to the Second World War, on May 7, 1945. The surrender room is still visible today.
Browse the places of memory
from 5.5€
from 6.5€
