We only spent a day around the lovely town of Reims. We visited the grand cathedral, said hi to the folks at a nearby international psychology conference, and wondered around the old town. But, most importantly for Champagne province, we did the mandatory Champagne tour to hear more about the history of this highly popular drink and the its making process. Lots of cellars all over Reims and Champagne province, but since most of our party was not big on alcohol, we did the most basic tour in one of the oldest wineries in the area – the Ruinart. The Tripadvisor folks gave it raving reviews, and it was very close to town.
We’ll start off from our little tour of the town, after the grand Notre Dame Reims cathedral…
Ruinart winery
The grand highlight for most people with this tour is toasting Champagne (while your nephew is trying to play foosball in the background).
But I was honestly far more impressed with the underground cellars…
And the lovely British accented guide who narrated the well rehearsed story of the abbey that was there before and how it was turned into a highly efficient Champagne cellar.
Storing…. yes, bottles of Champagne.
There are still the occasional reminders of the religious underground life with various blocked passage doors etc.
And then, at the end… we all got our glass of wine.
Location:
A nice (even if somewhat expensive) way to open your day in Champagne province. Make sure you go visit atleast one of those Champagne wineries in the area.