When living in the hustle and bustle city of Paris, you need to get away every so often. Our little Christmas get away was a two day trip to Reims: the heart of the Champagne region. Email marketing at it's finest (yes even the French have figured this out): a couple of weeks ago I got the typical email from SNCF advertising super low ticket prices for the next couple of weeks. As usual I was skeptical because as with most travel 'deals' they are never at the times that you want to go, or the one way price is fine, but the get you on the return ticket. Not this time though, 2 round trip tickets to Reims, €66 (and the outbound trip is in 1st class). Tickets booked: now time for a hotel. I found a good deal for Hôtel la Paix, a nice modern hotel with a pool and hot tub; perfect to recharging ourselves. A couple of weeks ago at a Chamber of Commerce function I met someone from Reims, so he emailed me a list of restaurants and places to go. So we were all set!
We arrived in Reims at 8am (yes we were on the 7am train from Paris). I knew we could at least drop off our bag at the hotel, so I figured it we might as well ask if we could actually check in. Ask and you shall receive! Yes, we could have our room right away, so we were able to get a bit more shut eye before exploring the town. It's still quite dark and cold here, even at 8 in the morning so this was excellent news.After our power nap we hit the town, with cameras in tow. First up was the beautiful Notre Dame de Reims cathedral. If you have been to Notre Dame in Paris, the Reims cathedral is very similar, a bit smaller and not quite as detailed on the sides and in the back. However the great thing is that it is nearly empty, especially at this time of year.
A quick stop in at the centre de tourisme de see which Champagne houses were open, a great light little lunch in the center of town and we were on our way again.On our way to the southern part of Reims where 5 of the champagne houses are, we walked passed the Saint Rémi museum. We noted it for the next day, but unfortunately didn't make it (next time I suppose). Next to the Saint Rémi museum is the Basilique de St. Rémi: another large church, but this time even quieter and more empty than Notre Dame de Reims. A truly amazing feeling to be nearly alone in such an amazing place.
Note to everyone going to any Champagne tours: phone ahead and reserve your place. The tours only accept groups of a limited size, and times are not always consistent as they run as needed. Also, in typical French fashion, information on the web sites might not be up to date.
{- 72,000 bottles of Champagne
Dinner list in hand we head out after a fantastic first day in Reims. We had a list of 5 places to try all recommended by a local. L'Apostrophe was right near the hotel on the main drag, so it's the back up plan if everything else fails. Le Millenaire was on the top of the list, but they were closed on this Monday, merde. The menu looked amazing, so if we make it back to Reims we will definitely go there. Two other places around the corner (Le Bistrot du Forum and Edgar Bistro) look decent enough but we decide to try one more place, Le Boulingrin, a typical old school brasserie. Since the town was quite quiet all day and into the evening we didn't think it would be a problem getting in around 8:30 for dinner. We ask the bar lady if she has room for 2 and she says they are all full until the next seating at 10pm. I've eaten in enough restaurants to know that it isn't always that simple, so we hang around for a few more minutes. The manager walks up and says can I help you. I said we were two but that you were all full so we were just trying to decide what to do. He said, "Pour deux ? Pas de probème." So, in another typically French fashion, you have to ask multiple times until you get what you want. These old school brasseries, for the most part, don't disappoint and neither does Le Boulingrin. A dozen oysters to start? Why not! It had been a while since we had oysters, even though you see them everywhere in Paris. Entrées, main courses and wine were good, although I was expecting something a bit different for my 7 hour roasted lamb. A pair of excellent deserts to finish off a great day in Reims. €75 all in, and were were stuffed.
We soon found ourselves back at Le Boulingrin and noticed that right across the street was a huge hall, called Les Halles. It was built in the 1920's and was setup as the market for the town. It was very modern for it's time and even though it has been out of commission since 1988, it was named a historic site in 1990. Now there is a plan to recondition it but it is going to be an immense amount of work since this building is in terrible condition, however it provides for some great photos to contrast with the (near) mint condition of the the rest of the 17th and 18th century buildings that you find in most French towns.
Just north of Les Halles is another Roman ruin, this time in the center of a round-about, and across from that another champagne house. Lunch time, and we are just on the outskirts of Reims, so we decide to take a look around and see what we find. A stones throw from the Roman ruin, at the start of the road that leads to a chapel that Kim wanted to see, we find a modern little bistro called: 2 F (2 frères). It looks good, it has starting to rain and we are hungry. This was a truly excellent little find on our trip. We shared the starter of paté, then had the daily special which was pork shoulder with paprika sauce, potatoes and long beans: fantastic, and better than my main dish at Le Boulingrin the night before. Desert was a nice slice of pear tart and then a post dinner drink of their house specialty alcohol which was a mixture of vodka, apple something, and some other stuff. They mix it in house and won't give you the recipe, but damn it was good. A double coffee for Kim to finish up, and all for €28 euros. If you go to Reims we definitely recommend this place.
Other restaurants that were recommended to us were:
- Le Millenaire: 4 Rue Bertin, 51100 Reims, 03 26 08 26 62
A quick stop in at the centre de tourisme de see which Champagne houses were open, a great light little lunch in the center of town and we were on our way again.
Note to everyone going to any Champagne tours: phone ahead and reserve your place. The tours only accept groups of a limited size, and times are not always consistent as they run as needed. Also, in typical French fashion, information on the web sites might not be up to date.
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