It might come as a surprise to you but in my opinion the best that ‘La Champagne’ has to offer certainly is ‘Le Champagne’. In La Champagne the bubbly stuff can be enjoyed at entirely reasonable prices with or without the luxury of a genuine French meal at one of the excellent restaurants of the region. When you find yourself in the cradle of Champagne you are certain to learn new things and meanwhile really enjoy life.

Though temperatures in the Champagne Ardennes cannot be called tropical; the overall temperature is often 5 degrees higher than in the Netherlands. This makes a trip to the Champagne region into a very pleasant passtime especially in late spring and autumn. In my view in summer ‘la Champagne ‘is too hot and too crowded to occupy oneself exquisitely with ‘Le Champagne’. Fortunately for people with children or folks that simply do not feel like busying themselves with bubbles all day there are sufficient means of entertainment in the neighbourhood. Winter (September- March) is not the ideal season to go there unless you have to collect some bottles or want to see the Christmas-markets in the larger cities.

The bulk of the visitors limit their trip to the Champagne region to the towns of Reims and Epernay. In Reims and Epernay the next objects of interest are worth a visit:

I do admit, Reims and Epernay are absolutely worth while but you would short-change yourself by only seeing these two cities. For those who have an eye for it, Troyes is a little gem full of historical houses and pleasant typical French sidewalk café’s. The little villages in the region are also attractive, certainly to the regular visitor who speaks a little French.
Here are a few of my favourite pastimes:

Some time ago a local friend took me on a roundtrip and showed me the places where the French themselves like to go.