Reims has one star attraction that pulls visitors from across the world: champagne. Most of it is hidden away in caves under the city’s streets. Many visitors head straight for the champagne houses, most of which offer tours of their cellars and tastings. But make time for Reims Cathedral, a striking French Gothic adventure with magificent rose windows (and even some stained glass by Marc Chagall). Three graceful squares make Reims a good town to just wander. But to really catch the flavours and sparkle of the Champagne region, make for the much smaller town of Épernay, just 30 kilometres south of Reims. In Épernay, there are no cathedrals to distract you; it is a pretty town devoted entirely to champagne.

The main railway station in the very centre of Reims is a delightful building. Would that more stations were as graceful as the Gare de Reims. Six to nine TGV trains leave each day for Paris, all taking under 50 minutes for the 147-kilometre journey.

For a more extensive range of long-distance services, local trains run from Reims to Champagne-Ardenne TGV station, which lies just south of Reims. This shuttle service takes just eight minutes, connecting at the TGV station with high-speed trains to Brussels, Lille, Paris CDG Airport, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Rennes and many other cities across France.