Reims: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
For close to a thousand years the kings of France came to Reims to be anointed, because here, around the year 500, Bishop Remi baptised Clovis, king of the Franks. The ceremony began at the abbey of Saint-Remi, where the holy oil was kept, and ended at the cathedral and the archbishop’s palace, and this walk follows the same order. About two hours, flat; the stretch from Saint-Remi to the cathedral is twenty minutes on foot. Start in the morning and reach the cathedral in the afternoon, when the light comes in through the west rose.
The ten best sights in Reims
1Reims CathedralCome in the late afternoon, when the sun fills the west rose; the Smiling Angel is on the left-hand portal
2Palais du TauThe coronation treasure: Charlemagne’s talisman and what is left of the Holy Ampulla
3Basilica of Saint-RemiOlder and far quieter than the cathedral; the tomb of the bishop who baptised Clovis is behind the altar
4Musée Saint-RemiRoman Reims and the tapestries of Saint Remi’s life, in the abbey beside the basilica
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5Museum of the Surrender
The room where Germany surrendered, left as it was on 7 May 1945
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6Foujita Chapel
A small chapel painted by a Japanese artist at eighty; check the opening months before you go
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7Musée Le Vergeur
An old merchant’s house on the Forum square with Dürer’s Apocalypse woodcuts
8Carnegie LibraryAn Art Deco library you can just walk into; the mosaic entrance hall is the reason to go
9Église Saint-JacquesThe Gothic church of the shopping streets, with abstract windows from the 1960s and 70s
10Fort de la PompelleA First World War fort south-east of town that held out until 1918; by car or taxi
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Reims →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Reims:
Free walking tours in Reims
Holy oil and a crown
For close to a thousand years the kings of France came to Reims to be anointed, because here, around the year 500, Bishop Remi baptised Clovis, king of the Franks. The ceremony began at the abbey of Saint-Remi, where the holy oil was kept, and ended at the cathedral and the archbishop’s palace, and this walk follows the same order. About two hours, flat; the stretch from Saint-Remi to the cathedral is twenty minutes on foot. Start in the morning and reach the cathedral in the afternoon, when the light comes in through the west rose.
- Basilica of Saint-Remi · Remi, the bishop who baptised Clovis, is buried here, and the abbey kept the Holy Ampulla, the phial of oil that legend says a dove brought down from heaven for that baptism. Before each coronation the abbot carried it in procession to the cathedral. The Romanesque nave was consecrated by Pope Leo IX in 1049.
- Musée Saint-Remi · The abbey buildings beside the basilica now hold the city’s museum of archaeology and history, from the Roman town of Durocortorum onwards. Its great treasure is a series of tapestries woven in the sixteenth century that tell the life of Saint Remi scene by scene, the baptism of Clovis among them.
- Reims Cathedral · Work on the cathedral began in 1211, a year after fire destroyed the church before it, and in it the kings were anointed with oil from the ampulla. In September 1914 German shells set fire to the scaffolding and to the straw laid inside for wounded soldiers, and the burning cathedral became a symbol of the war. The restoration took decades and was helped by money from John D. Rockefeller.
- Statue of Joan of Arc · On 17 July 1429 Joan of Arc stood in the cathedral holding her banner while Charles VII was crowned, after she had led him here through land held by the English and the Burgundians. The equestrian statue on the square in front of the cathedral is by the sculptor Paul Dubois.
- Palais du Tau · The archbishop’s palace takes its name from its T-shaped plan, like the Greek letter tau, and after the coronation the new king dined here in the great hall. Its treasury holds the talisman of Charlemagne and a fragment of the Holy Ampulla, which a revolutionary representative smashed in public in 1793.
- Place Royale · The city laid out this square in the middle of the eighteenth century as a tribute to Louis XV, with his statue at its centre. The Revolution melted down the bronze king, and the statue standing there now was put up in the nineteenth century to replace it.
The front-line city
Reims sat on the front line from September 1914 to the autumn of 1918 and was shelled for nearly four years; by the armistice most of the city lay in ruins. It was rebuilt in the 1920s in the style of the day, which is why Reims is one of the great Art Deco cities of France. A generation later the war in Europe ended in a school building near the station. Ninety minutes, flat, all in the centre; the Museum of the Surrender keeps shorter hours, so start there.
- Museum of the Surrender · In the early hours of 7 May 1945, in a classroom of a technical school that served as Eisenhower’s headquarters, General Jodl signed Germany’s unconditional surrender. The room has been left as it was, with the operations maps still on the walls. Stalin demanded a second signing in Berlin the next day, which is why Russia marks Victory Day on 9 May.
- Halles du Boulingrin · The market hall was built at the end of the 1920s under a thin vault of reinforced concrete, one of the boldest buildings of the rebuilt city. It closed in 1988 and came close to being demolished, then reopened as a market in 2012, and the stalls are back under the same vault.
- Hôtel de Ville · The town hall was begun in 1627, and Louis XIII rides over its main door. In 1917 German shelling set it on fire and only the outer walls were left standing; what you see is the building rebuilt inside its own shell.
- Carnegie Library · The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace paid for a new city library after the war, and it opened in 1928. Everything in it was designed together, from the mosaic floor of the entrance to the light fittings and the furniture, and it is still a working public library.
- Église Saint-Jacques · A Gothic parish church in the middle of the shopping streets. In the 1960s and 70s the painters Maria Helena Vieira da Silva and Joseph Sima filled its windows with abstract glass, so the light inside is unlike any other church in town.
- Place Drouet-d’Erlon · The street is named after Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Count d’Erlon, one of Napoleon’s marshals, who was born in Reims in 1765. The fountain topped by a gilded winged Victory was paid for by the bequest of a local man named Subé and unveiled in 1906.
Under the chalk
Under the Saint-Nicaise hill in the south-east of Reims, the Romans quarried chalk for building in pits shaped like huge bottles underground. In the nineteenth century the champagne houses bought them, joined them with tunnels and filled them with bottles, because the chalk holds a steady, cool temperature all year round. Every visit has to be booked, often weeks ahead in summer, and the cellars are about ten degrees, so bring a sweater. Two houses are enough for one day; the walk between them is short.
- Ruinart · Founded on 1 September 1729, Ruinart is the oldest established champagne house. Its founder, the cloth merchant Nicolas Ruinart, was the nephew of Dom Thierry Ruinart, a Benedictine monk and scholar who had foreseen a future for the sparkling wine of the region.
- Taittinger · The Taittinger cellars lie under the site of the abbey of Saint-Nicaise, a great Gothic church demolished after the Revolution. Part of the visit goes through chalk pits dug in Roman times, and part through vaulted cellars the monks built in the Middle Ages.
- Veuve Clicquot · Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin was widowed in 1805 at twenty-seven and took over her husband’s wine business, which was rare for a woman then. In 1816 she and her cellar master devised the riddling table, which turns the bottles a little each day until they stand neck-down, so the yeast can be removed and the wine comes out clear. Every champagne house still uses the method.
- Pommery · Louise Pommery, also widowed, in 1858, bought some 120 chalk pits and joined them with about eighteen kilometres of galleries. In 1874 she launched one of the first dry champagnes, made for British taste at a time when champagne was drunk sweet. The buildings above ground were built in an English castle style to please the same buyers.
- Villa Demoiselle · The villa was built from 1904 for Henry Vasnier, Louise Pommery’s partner, and it mixes Art Nouveau with the first touches of Art Deco. It stood neglected for years until the champagne group that now owns Pommery bought it in the 2000s and restored it room by room.
- Parc de Champagne · The park was laid out before the First World War by the Marquis Melchior de Polignac, of the Pommery family, as a sports ground for the house’s workers. At its edge stands the monument to the heroes of the Black Army, for the African soldiers who defended Reims in 1918; the Germans tore down the first one in 1940, and the present copy was put up in 2013.
Getting to Reims and getting around
- Gare de Reims · TGVs from Paris Gare de l’Est in about forty-five minutes; the tram stops outside
- Champagne-Ardenne TGV · Out in Bezannes, south-west of town: direct TGVs from Charles de Gaulle airport, and the tram into the centre
- Opéra stop · Central stop by the opera house; one ticket covers trams and buses
Cheap eats in Reims
Reims eats like the rest of Champagne, with a few things of its own: the pink biscuit, baked twice so that it holds together when dipped in a glass; jambon de Reims, ham cooked with herbs and pressed into a mould under a crust of breadcrumbs; and Reims mustard. From the south of the region come the soft cheeses Chaource and Langres. A quick lunch is a sandwich from a bakery, a plate at a counter in the Boulingrin market, or a pastry on Place Drouet-d’Erlon. A glass of champagne in a bar costs about €8-12.
- Halles du Boulingrin · Cheese, ham and a glass at the market stalls; a plate about €10-15
- Maison Fossier · The biscuit maker’s shop at Cormontreuil, on the south edge of town; a box about €5-8
- Waïda · Pastry shop on the café street; a pastry about €4-6
- Le Bocal · Oysters at a fishmonger’s counter near the market, about €15-25
- Café du Palais · The old café by the law courts; a coffee about €3
- Deléans · Reims chocolates; a small bag about €8-12
- Place Drouet-d’Erlon · Crêpes and sandwiches along the square, about €5-9
- Place du Forum · Café terraces over the Roman gallery; a coffee about €2-3
Museums in Reims
The museums of Reims tell three stories: the Roman city, the coronations, and the two world wars, which both ended up here in their own way.
- Museum of the Surrender · The surrender room of May 1945
- Palais du Tau · The coronation treasure
- Musée Saint-Remi · Roman Reims and the tapestries of Saint Remi
- Musée Le Vergeur · Dürer prints in a merchant’s house
Holy places in Reims
Reims is where France says it began as a Christian kingdom, with the baptism of Clovis; its cathedral anointed the kings, and in the twentieth century a Japanese painter found his faith here.
- Reims Cathedral · The Smiling Angel and the Chagall windows of 1974
- Basilica of Saint-Remi · The tomb of Saint Remi
- Foujita Chapel · A chapel painted by Foujita at eighty
Nature and day trips near Reims
South of the city rises the Montagne de Reims, a forested hill ringed with grand cru vineyards and protected as a regional natural park; it is twenty minutes away by car.
- Faux de Verzy · Twisted beeches in the forest of Verzy
- Verzenay Lighthouse · A lighthouse among the vines
- Parc de Champagne · The big green park by the champagne hill
Things to do in Reims with kids
With children: a planetarium, old cars, a fort from the First World War, and a park with room to run.
- Planetarium · Shows under the dome, in French
- Reims-Champagne Automobile Museum · Old French cars and toy cars
- Fort de la Pompelle · Trenches and helmets of the Great War
- Parc de Champagne · Lawns and paths for running about
Where to eat in Reims
For dinner Reims has old brasseries in the centre and, at the top, some of the most celebrated tables in Champagne; book those weeks ahead.
- Brasserie du Boulingrin · A classic brasserie facing the market hall
- L’Assiette Champenoise · Arnaud Lallement’s table at the edge of town
Frequently asked questions about Reims
What is there to see in Reims?
The top sights in Reims are Reims Cathedral, Palais du Tau and Basilica of Saint-Remi. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Reims?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Reims without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Reims?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Reims, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: Holy oil and a crown.
How do you get to Reims and get around?
The main ways are Gare de Reims, Champagne-Ardenne TGV and Opéra stop. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Reims, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Reims that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Reims for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.