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Francofile<br />
Discover the Champagne area by train<br />
GETTING THERE<br />
By rail: The journey from<br />
London to Reims via Paris<br />
takes 4hr 45min, or<br />
4hr 15min if you go via Lille<br />
to Champagne-Ardennes<br />
TGV (just outside the city).<br />
Fares start from £86 return<br />
(tel: 0844 848 5848,<br />
voyages-sncf.com).<br />
Eurostar does not allow<br />
alcohol on its night trains.<br />
By air: The nearest airport<br />
is Paris Charles de Gaulle<br />
(1hr by car to Reims or<br />
30min by train to<br />
Champagne-Ardenne TGV).<br />
By road: Reims is<br />
a 2hr 40min drive from<br />
the northern ports.<br />
WHERE TO STAY<br />
Hôtel de la Paix<br />
9 Rue Buirette<br />
51100 Reims<br />
Tel: (Fr) 3 26 40 04 08<br />
bestwestern-lapaixreims.com<br />
Located on the edge of the<br />
Old Town, this hotel has<br />
been a city landmark for<br />
more than a century. It has<br />
a traditional brasserie<br />
(fruits de mer are the<br />
speciality) and a hip<br />
champagne bar, as well as<br />
an indoor pool and bicycles<br />
for hire (€12 a day).<br />
Doubles from €185.<br />
Hôtel Jean Moët<br />
7 Rue Jean Moët<br />
51200 Épernay<br />
Tel: (Fr) 3 26 32 19 22<br />
hoteljeanmoet.com<br />
Stylish, recently renovated<br />
hotel with spa, housed in<br />
an 18th-century mansion<br />
just a few minutes’ stroll<br />
from the Avenue de<br />
Champagne. Twelve rooms,<br />
from €130.<br />
Champagne Sacret<br />
3 Rue Billecart<br />
51160 Aÿ<br />
Tel: (Fr) 3 26 56 99 20<br />
champagne-sacret.com<br />
Chic four-roomed<br />
chambre d’hôte (two with<br />
freestanding bathtubs),<br />
owned by third-generation<br />
champagne-maker James<br />
Chevillet and his wife<br />
Stéphanie. Every evening<br />
the couple lead<br />
a champagne tasting (free<br />
for guests) in the hipster<br />
common room.<br />
Doubles from €160<br />
including breakfast.<br />
FOR AN APÉRO<br />
C Comme Champagne<br />
8 Rue Gambetta<br />
51200 Épernay<br />
Tel: (Fr) 3 26 32 09 55<br />
c-comme.fr<br />
Owned by champagne<br />
aficionado Frédéric Dricot,<br />
this bar stocks hundreds of<br />
tipples from big-name<br />
houses and independent<br />
producers, available by<br />
the bottle or the glass.<br />
Six-glass tastings<br />
from €34.50.<br />
WHERE TO EAT<br />
Pâtisserie Waïda<br />
3 Place Drouet d’Erlon<br />
51100 Reims<br />
Tel: (Fr) 3 26 47 44 49<br />
Traditional pâtisserie in<br />
the old town, ideal for<br />
breakfast (try the pistachio<br />
cream pastries),<br />
handcrafted chocolates or<br />
filling up a picnic hamper.<br />
Sit on the alfresco terrace<br />
in summer or soak up the<br />
ABOVE: Pâtisserie Waïda in Reims<br />
snug café’s art-deco<br />
ambiance in winter.<br />
Quiches from<br />
around €3.50.<br />
La Table de Kobus<br />
3 Rue Dr Rousseau<br />
51200 Épernay<br />
Tel: (Fr) 3 26 51 53 53<br />
la-table-kobus.fr<br />
Classic bistro delivering<br />
modern French flavours,<br />
from foie gras terrine with<br />
rosé champagne foam to<br />
cod and Monalisa potatoes<br />
in a pistachio crust.<br />
Oenophiles can bring their<br />
own prized bottles<br />
(lunchtime Tue-Fri), which<br />
staff will serve at no extra<br />
cost. Menus from €35.<br />
Restaurant<br />
le Vieux Puits<br />
7 Rue Jules Lobet<br />
51160 Aÿ-Champagne<br />
Tel: (Fr) 3 26 56 96 53<br />
levieuxpuits.com<br />
Set within a beautiful<br />
country-style manor<br />
alongside Aÿ’s pinot noir<br />
vineyards, this authentic<br />
eatery has a terrace and<br />
overlooks manicured<br />
gardens. Chef Eric Aubert<br />
serves classic creations,<br />
from confit de canard to<br />
veal terrine. The wine list’s<br />
local cuvées include nearby<br />
Champagne Lallier. Menus<br />
from €28.<br />
WHERE TO VISIT<br />
Cathédrale Notre-<br />
Dame de Reims<br />
3 Rue Guillaume<br />
de Machault<br />
51100 Reims<br />
Tel: (Fr) 3 26 47 55 34<br />
cathedrale-reims.com<br />
Work on this Gothic<br />
masterpiece began in the<br />
13th century, after the<br />
previous cathedral was<br />
destroyed in a fire. Badly<br />
damaged in World War I, it<br />
has since been restored.<br />
Veuve Clicquot<br />
1 Place des Droits<br />
de l’Homme<br />
51100 Reims<br />
Tel: (Fr) 3 26 89 53 90<br />
veuveclicquot.com<br />
TOURIST INFORMATION: Reims tourist office, tel: (Fr) 3 26 77 45 00, reimstourisme.com;<br />
Épernay tourist office, tel: (Fr) 3 26 53 33 00, ot-epernay.fr;<br />
Champagne-Ardenne tourist board, tourisme-champagne-ardenne.com<br />
Three guided cellar tours<br />
are offered: ‘Discovery’,<br />
€25, 1hr 30min, one<br />
tasting; ‘On the Footsteps<br />
of Madame Clicquot’, €50,<br />
2hr, two tastings;<br />
‘Aromatically Yours’, €120,<br />
2hr 30min, four tastings.<br />
Tours early April to<br />
mid-Nov, Tues-Sat<br />
(‘Aromatically Yours’<br />
Tue-Fri). Reservations<br />
necessary. Free for<br />
under-tens.<br />
Moët & Chandon<br />
20 Avenue de Champagne<br />
51200 Épernay<br />
Tel: (Fr) 3 26 51 20 20<br />
moet.com<br />
Four guided cellar tours<br />
are offered: ‘Traditional’,<br />
€24, 45min, single tasting;<br />
‘Impériale’, €30, ‘Grand<br />
Vintage’, €38, both 45min<br />
and two tastings;<br />
‘Private Grand Vintage’<br />
(reservations only), €76,<br />
1hr 30min tasting session.<br />
Tours weekdays Feb-Mar,<br />
daily April-mid-Nov. Free<br />
for under-tens.<br />
PHOTOGRAPH: PÄTISSERIE WAÏDA<br />
48 FRANCE MAGAZINE www.completefrance.com
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