Normandy, Brittany & the Best of the North_ With Paris (Fodor's) - Fodor's [66]
Visitor Information
Reims Tourist Office (2 rue Guillaume-de-Machault | 51100 | 08–92–70–13–51[€0.34/min] | www.reims-tourisme.com).
EXPLORING IN REIMS
Although many of Reims’s historic buildings were flattened in World War I and replaced by drab, modern architecture, those that do remain are of royal magnitude. Top of the list goes to the city’s magnificent cathedral, in which the kings of France were crowned until 1825, while the Musée des Beaux-Arts has a stellar collection of paintings, and the Le Vergeur Museum is home to a complete edition of Dürer prints. The new tramway, set to open in 2012, will make it even easier to get around the compact town and its many sites from the train station. For a complete list of Champagne cellars, head to the tourist office (2 rue Guillaume-de-Machault | 51100 | 08–92–70–13–51 [€0.34/min]) near the cathedral. A handy Web site that can help with planning Champagne cellar visits throughout the region is: | www.tourisme-en-champagne.com.
TOP ATTRACTIONS IN REIMS
Basilique St-Rémi.
This 11th-century basilica honors the 5th-century saint who baptized Clovis, the first French king, and who gave his name to the city. Its interior seems to stretch into the endless distance, an impression created by its relative murk and lowness. The airy four-story Gothic choir contains some fine original 12th-century stained glass. There is also a museum (open daily 2–6:30, admission €3) in the Abbaye Royale alongside the basilica, housing some of its most precious relics. | 53 rue St-Rémi | 51100 | 03–26–85–23–26 | Daily 8–7.
Fodor’s Choice | Cathédrale Notre-Dame.
The age-old setting for the coronations of the French kings, this is one of the most magnificent Gothic cathedrals in the world. The great historical saga begins with Clovis, king of the Franks, who was baptized in an early structure on this site in the 6th century; Joan of Arc led her recalcitrant Dauphin here to be crowned King Charles VII; Charles X’s coronation, in 1825, was the last. The east-end windows have stained glass by Marc Chagall. Admire the vista toward the west end, with an interplay of narrow pointed arches. The glory of Reims’s cathedral is its facade: it’s so skillfully proportioned that initially you have little idea of its monumental size. Above the north (left) door hovers the Laughing Angel, a delightful statue whose famous smile threatens to melt into an acid-rain scowl; pollution has succeeded war as the ravager of the building’s fabric. With the exception of the 15th-century towers, most of the original building went up in the 100 years after 1211. You can climb to the top of the towers, and peek inside the breathtaking timber-and-concrete roof (reconstructed in the 1920s with Rockefeller money), for €7. A stroll around the outside reinforces the impression of harmony, discipline, and decorative richness. The east end presents an idyllic sight across well-tended lawns. An optical-fiber lighting system illuminates the cathedral exterior every day from dusk until midnight. | Pl. du Cardinal-Luçon | 51100 | cathedrale-reims.monuments-nationaux.fr | Cathedral daily 7:30–7:30. Towers May–Sept., Tues.–Sun. 10–noon and 2–5; Apr. and Oct., weekends 2–4.
Musée des Beaux-Arts (Museum of Fine Arts).
Located two blocks southwest of Reims’s massive cathedral, this noted museum has an outstanding collection of paintings: no fewer than 27 Corots are here, as well as Jacques-Louis David’s unforgettable “Death of Marat,” a portrait of the revolutionary polemicist Jean-Paul Marat shown stabbed to death in his bath, a deed done by Charlotte Corday, in 1793. One floor is devoted to 20th-century art, with significant collections in Art Deco, Surrealism, and post-1945 Abstraction. | 8 rue Chanzy | 51100 | 03–26–47–28–44 | www.ville-reims.fr | €3 | Wed.–Mon. 10–noon and 2–6.
WORTH NOTING IN REIMS
Cryptoportique.
A Gallo-Roman underground gallery and crypt, now a semisubterranean passageway, this was initially constructed aroundAD 200 under the forum of what was Reims’s predecessor, the Roman town of Durocortorum.