La Champagne et l'Ardenne
Champagne and Ardenne is, without a doubt, one of the most famous regions in France due to its prestigious name! But it's more than a name, it's a part of France that deserves to be explored and enjoyed even more!
Let's begin with its location — it's located northeast of the capital, between the Paris region and Belgium. This region is world-famous for its champagne, but it’s also full of many places to discover.
I spent a day and a half there in mid-December, invited by the regional tourism office and La Champagne Refined - art de vivre.
To be honest with you, I had never visited this region, even though it's really close to my home city of Paris. It was a lovely discovery, even though due to the season, it was perhaps not the best time of the year to visit it due to highly rainy weather. But December also offers other pleasant surprises, among them, delightful Christmas markets, so why not!
Come on, I take you with me!
My trip began with a visit to the city of Epernay, located only 1h15 from Paris by train .It’s incredibly fast!
This city is known for its famous street: the Avenue du Champagne! You can find all the biggest champagne houses there . It’s also called "the richest Avenue in the world,” because of its more than 110km of cellars where more than 200 million bottles of champagne are stored !
I was invited by the Maison Boizel, built in 1834, for a visit of the establishment, where I discovered the whole process of champagne elaboration after the harvest.
I also got a chance to visit the cellars, those for the public and the one for the private collection of the Boizel family.
After tasting some champagne, I made my way to the city of Reims.
It was only a 45min ride from Paris by TGV (fast trains). It’s really super fast ! So much so that it makes it incredibly easy for a return trip during the day!
I started with a short walk in the streets before heading towards the Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral!
In December you will discover the local Christmas market, the third largest in France by its attendance.
There is also the fabulous Regalia show on the facade of the cathedral.
I watched it a second time from a terrace of the most beautiful hotel in the city : La Cazerne Chanzy, which I’ll have the opportunity to tell you more about very soon.
The next morning, I went back to Notre-Dame de Reims to see it by day and visit it with natural light.
It's one of the most impressive and beautiful cathedrals in France! Achieved in the 14th century, it's one of the major achievements of Gothic art in France, due to its architecture and its statuary, which includes 2303 statues. Since Notre Dame de Paris is currently being renovated for the next few years,, Notre-Dame de Reims is a great alternative—it's actually the most beautiful Cathedral you can visit at close proximity to Paris.
I went back to La Cazerne Chanzy to enjoy the panoramic view of the city that the hotel offers.
It was then time to leave for a half day in the Ardenne, with a short walk in Charleville-Mézières on the program.
I discovered its International Marionette (Puppet) Institute and Museum, which comes alive every hour! Then I took a stroll on the Place Ducale, although unfortunately, the rain somewhat ruined the beauty of the square, which actually reminded me of the Place des Vosges in Paris. This one was built by the same family of architects : the Métezeau brothers.
Then I left to discover the Fortified Castle of Sedan!
It is the largest fortified castle in Europe! It was raining so hard that it was very difficult for me to take pictures of the outside as I did not wish to damage my photo equipment.
On the banks of the Meuse, you will find the largest fortress of medieval origin in Europe with 35000 m2 on seven floors and walls over 7 m wide (the thickest wall is around 27 m wide).
I couldn't resist the panoramic view of the town of Sedan from the top of the castle and so I took a few shots of it while sheltered from the flood that had affected that part of France that day.
It then became time for me to leave at the end of the afternoon, but this day and a half truly allowed me to discover more of the beautiful region that is Champagne-Ardenne. I honestly think about going back there next spring, staying longer in Reims and seeing a little more of the Ardennes, particularly its nature—there are so many forests !
Thanks to the Eastern France Tourist Board and Champagne Refined - art de vivre for this nice stay!
