Top Things to Do in Reims — Complete Guide 2026

From the soaring Gothic cathedral where kings were crowned to the chalk cellars where champagne ages to perfection — the ultimate guide to Reims's unmissable attractions.

Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral — The Crown of French History

There is no building in France — not Notre-Dame de Paris, not Mont-Saint-Michel, not Versailles — that carries quite the symbolic weight of Reims Cathedral. For over a thousand years, from the baptism of Clovis by Saint Remi in 498 AD to the coronation of Charles X in 1825, this was where France made its kings. Henri IV converted to Catholicism here to secure his throne. Joan of Arc stood in this nave, banner in hand, having escorted Charles VII to his coronation in 1429 — a moment that turned the tide of the Hundred Years' War. When you walk through the great western portal, you're walking the same path as 25 crowned kings of France.

The cathedral itself is a masterpiece of High Gothic architecture, constructed largely between 1211 and 1275 on the site of an earlier basilica. Its façade is a soaring stone tapestry of 2,303 sculpted figures — more than any other Gothic cathedral in Europe. The famous Smiling Angel (L'Ange au Sourire) at the north portal has become the unofficial symbol of Reims: a serene, gently smiling angel that somehow survived the bombardments of the First World War, which reduced much of the cathedral's roof and interior to rubble. The cathedral was painstakingly restored and reopened in 1938, and its resilience only deepens its power.

Don't miss: the Marc Chagall stained-glass windows in the axial chapel (installed 1974, a glorious departure from the medieval glass); the reverse façade with its gallery of kings; the astronomical clock in the north transept; and, if your fitness allows, the 249-step climb to the tower terrace for a panoramic view across Reims to the vineyards beyond (€9, timed tickets). The cathedral is free to enter; tower access requires a ticket. Allow 90 minutes for a thorough visit, longer if you climb the tower.

Champagne Cellar Tours — The Underground Cathedrals

If the Gothic cathedral above ground is Reims's spiritual heart, the crayères are its liquid soul. These ancient chalk quarries, first excavated by the Romans to build Durocortorum, now form a 250-kilometre network of subterranean galleries where millions of champagne bottles age in perfect conditions: constant 10-12°C temperature, 90% humidity, and total darkness. Four of the world's greatest champagne houses offer public tours, and each provides a distinctly different experience.

Veuve Clicquot

1 Place des Droits de l'Homme · Tours from €30 · 1.5 hours

The grande dame of champagne tourism. Veuve Clicquot's yellow-label tours take you into the crayères that Madame Clicquot herself purchased in the early 19th century — the same cellars where she invented the riddling table (pupitre) that revolutionised champagne production. The tour is polished, professional, and deeply informative, telling the story of Barbe-Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin, the "Grande Dame of Champagne" who inherited the house at 27 and built it into a global icon. The tasting at the end includes the flagship Yellow Label Brut. The boutique sells everything from champagne sabres to silk scarves. Book 2-3 weeks ahead; English tours sell fastest.

Taittinger

9 Place Saint-Nicaise · Tours from €28 · 1.5 hours

For the most atmospheric cellar experience, Taittinger is hard to beat. The house occupies the former Saint-Nicaise Abbey, destroyed during the French Revolution, and the tour descends into 4th-century Gallo-Roman crayères — some of the oldest champagne cellars in existence — before exploring the 13th-century monastic cellars. The contrast between the ancient chalk walls (look for fossilised seashells from when this was a prehistoric seabed) and the rows of modern bottles is profoundly evocative. The tasting includes the Comtes de Champagne blanc de blancs on the premium tour. The welcome centre is a beautiful modern pavilion designed to complement the historic site.

Pommery

5 Place du Général Gouraud · Tours from €24 · 1 hour

Pommery offers the most unconventional champagne experience in Reims. Madame Louise Pommery, another formidable widow who transformed a champagne house, commissioned the construction of the vast Elizabethan-style estate above ground, but it's the cellars — 120 Gallo-Roman crayères connected by 18 kilometres of galleries — that steal the show. Since 2002, Pommery has integrated contemporary art installations throughout the cellars: a giant illuminated barrel by Nils-Udo, video projections, sound sculptures. The marriage of ancient limestone and avant-garde art isn't for purists, but it's undeniably memorable. The tasting room is in a soaring, barrel-vaulted space. Book a few days ahead; tours run frequently.

Ruinart

4 Rue des Crayères · Tours from €70 · 2 hours

Founded in 1729, Ruinart is the oldest champagne house in existence, and its tour reflects that heritage. This is the most intimate and historically rich of the major-house tours — smaller groups, deeper storytelling, and a focus on the artisanal traditions that persist even in an era of industrial-scale production. The crayères beneath Ruinart are classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site and have a cathedral-like stillness. The premium tour includes a tasting of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs and Rosé in a beautifully appointed salon. At €70, it's the priciest tour on this list, but for serious champagne enthusiasts, it's worth every centime. Book at least 2-3 weeks in advance; groups are intentionally small.

G.H. Mumm

34 Rue du Champ de Mars · Tours from €25 · 1.5 hours

Mumm offers the most central and accessible tour, right in the heart of Reims. The tour focuses on the production process — from pressing to disgorgement — with excellent educational displays and a genuinely fun, engaging guide style. The tasting room is spacious and modern, and the Cordon Rouge Brut, with its distinctive red sash, is a benchmark non-vintage champagne. Mumm also offers a sabrage experience (opening a bottle with a sabre) for an additional fee. Slightly easier to book than the other houses at short notice.

Palais du Tau — Where Kings Prepared for Coronation

Adjacent to the cathedral, the Palais du Tau served as the archbishop's residence and, crucially, as the robing and banqueting venue for French kings before and after their coronations. Today it's a museum of extraordinary richness. The Salle du Tau displays the cathedral's original statuary — including monumental kings' heads removed during the Revolution — at eye level, allowing an intimacy with the stonework that you can't achieve gazing up at the façade. The treasury holds the Talisman of Charlemagne (a 9th-century gold and sapphire reliquary), the Chalice of Saint Remi (12th century), and the Sainte-Ampoule — the holy vessel that held the oil used to anoint French kings. The coronation tapestries, woven in the 15th century, are a gallery of medieval storytelling in wool and silk. Allow 60-90 minutes. €8 entry, included in the Reims City Card.

Basilique Saint-Remi — The Cradle of Christian France

If the cathedral is the crown of Reims, the Basilique Saint-Remi is its root. This magnificent Romanesque-Gothic basilica, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was built from the 11th century onward to house the relics of Saint Remi — the bishop who baptised Clovis, King of the Franks, in 498 AD, converting him to Christianity and, in the process, creating the alliance between the French crown and the Catholic Church that would define a millennium of history. The basilica's proportions are breathtaking: a 126-metre-long nave of Romanesque severity that gives way to a soaring Gothic choir flooded with light. The tomb of Saint Remi, a Renaissance masterpiece in marble and alabaster, stands in the choir. There's a deep, contemplative silence here that the tourist-heavy cathedral sometimes lacks. Free entry. The adjacent Musée Saint-Remi (€5) traces the city's history from prehistory through the Renaissance in the former Benedictine abbey buildings. Allow 90 minutes combined.

Porte de Mars — Rome's Widest Arch

Reims keeps its Roman heritage remarkably accessible. The Porte de Mars, a triumphal arch dating from the 3rd century AD, stands in the middle of a public square just north of the train station. At 32 metres wide with three archways, it's the widest surviving Roman triumphal arch in the world. The relief carvings — Romulus and Remus with the she-wolf, Leda and the Swan, the four seasons — are weathered but still legible. The arch originally marked the eastern entrance to Durocortorum, the capital of Roman Gallia Belgica and the second-largest city in Roman Gaul (after Lugdunum/Lyon). Free, open 24/7, and dramatically lit at night. Ten minutes is plenty, but it's a powerful reminder that Reims was a major city long before the first champagne cork popped.

Carnegie Library — Art Deco Treasure

Reims's Carnegie Library, built in 1928 with a donation from American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, is one of the most beautiful libraries in France. The Art Deco reading room, with its green glass lamps, geometric woodwork, and soaring ceiling, is a temple to the book. The library was built as part of the city's post-WWI reconstruction — Carnegie funded libraries in several European cities devastated by the war — and it remains a working library today. Visitors are welcome to admire the main hall during opening hours; a small exhibition tells the story of its creation. Free entry. 20-30 minutes. A quiet, lovely counterpoint to the grandeur of the cathedral.

Villa Demoiselle — Art Nouveau and Art Deco Reborn

Directly opposite the Pommery estate stands Villa Demoiselle, a perfectly restored Belle Époque mansion that bridges the Art Nouveau and Art Deco eras. Built in 1908 for the Pommery family and recently restored by Vranken-Pommery Monopole, the villa is a jewel box of stained glass, marquetry, wrought iron, and period furniture. Guided tours (€20 including a glass of champagne, or €15 without) take you through rooms that feel suspended in time — the smoking room with its leather panelling, the dining room with its Baccarat crystal chandelier, the winter garden flooded with light. The tour is intimate (small groups), and the champagne tasting at the end is served in the villa's salon. Allow 60 minutes. Book a day or two ahead if visiting in summer.

Les Halles du Boulingrin — Market Morning

We covered this in detail in our Reims Food Guide, but it bears repeating: a Saturday morning at Les Halles du Boulingrin is one of the essential things to do in Reims. Even if you're not shopping, the 1929 Art Deco market hall — a vast concrete shell with soaring arched windows — is an architectural landmark. Come for the architecture, stay for the oysters and champagne at the stand-up bar, leave with armfuls of cheese, charcuterie, and biscuits roses. Market mornings: Wednesday, Friday, Saturday (Saturday is the big one). Arrive by 9am.

Musée de la Reddition — Where WWII Ended in Europe

On 7 May 1945, in a modest schoolroom at the Collège Moderne et Technique de Reims (now the Lycée Franklin Roosevelt), General Alfred Jodl signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces, ending the Second World War in Europe. The room has been preserved exactly as it was — the map table still covered with Allied disposition charts, the chairs arranged as they were when Eisenhower, Montgomery, and the Allied commanders accepted Jodl's signature. The accompanying museum tells the story of the war's end through documents, photographs, and film. It's a small, sobering, deeply moving site. €5 entry. Allow 45-60 minutes. A reminder that Reims has been at the centre of European history far beyond the Middle Ages.

Musée des Beaux-Arts — French Masters in a Former Abbey

Housed in the former Abbey of Saint-Denis, the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Reims punches above its weight. The collection spans French and European painting from the Renaissance to the 20th century, with particular strengths in 17th-century French painting (Philippe de Champaigne, the Le Nain brothers), 19th-century landscapes (Corot painted extensively in the Marne), and a superb group of Cranach portraits. The building itself — an 18th-century abbey converted into a museum — adds architectural interest. The collection of 20th-century works includes a striking Picasso portrait and pieces by the local-born artist Paul Jamot. €5 entry, included in the Reims City Card. Allow 90 minutes.

Musée-Hôtel Le Vergeur — A Merchant's Mansion Through Time

For a glimpse into Reims domestic life across centuries, the Musée-Hôtel Le Vergeur is a delight. This 16th-century mansion, expanded in the 19th century by collector Hugues Krafft, contains period rooms furnished from the Renaissance to the Belle Époque. The highlight is the series of 50 engravings by Albrecht Dürer — a world-class collection in an unexpected setting. The courtyard garden, planted with heritage roses, is a peaceful retreat in the city centre. €5 entry. Allow 45 minutes. It's a block from the cathedral, making it an easy add-on.

Place Drouet d'Erlon — The Social Heart of Reims

Sometimes the best thing to do in a city is simply to be in it. Place Drouet d'Erlon is Reims's living room — a long, tree-lined square stretching from the train station to the edge of the historic centre, lined with brasseries, cafés, and shops. The Subé fountain, crowned with a gilded Winged Victory statue, anchors the northern end; the Porte de Mars stands at the southern. Come for apéro (the French pre-dinner drink, typically 6-8pm) at Brasserie Excelsior or Café du Palais, watch Rémois life unfold, and let the champagne and the setting do the work. Free. Any time of day. The best zero-euro attraction in the city.

Day Trip to Épernay — Avenue de Champagne

No guide to Reims would be complete without mentioning Épernay, the other capital of Champagne, just 30 kilometres south. A 30-minute train ride (€8) or a 25-minute drive through the vineyards of the Montagne de Reims delivers you to the Avenue de Champagne — often called the most expensive street in the world, lined with the headquarters of Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët, Pol Roger, and Mercier. While Reims is the coronation city, Épernay is the commercial heart of Champagne, and its avenue — all grand 19th-century mansions above ground and kilometres of cellars below — is an essential complement to Reims's houses. Moët & Chandon's cellar tour (€30-45) is the headline act, descending into 28 kilometres of cellars that hold over 100 million bottles. Pol Roger, Winston Churchill's favourite champagne, offers a more intimate experience (€25). Allow a full day for the round trip. Trains run roughly hourly. If you're driving, the route through the vineyards via Hautvillers — the village where Dom Pérignon is buried in the abbey church — is one of the loveliest short drives in France.

A Suggested 2-Day Reims Itinerary

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