101 places to go – Champagne-Ardenne

Few locations are as infused with their regional produce as this week’s recommended place to visit. Then again, few places are as spectacular as the Champagne-Ardenne region of France.

Visit Champagne and you’ll discover how the delightfully temperate climate and lush vegetation helps to produce high levels of acidity in the grapes, which in turn informs the refreshingly inviting taste of champagne.

You’ll find the Champagne region itself is equally inviting, offering a wealth of things to see and do. We’ve listed a couple of recommended activities below but we’d love to hear yours too – please leave a comment below!

• With grapes like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grown in abundance, it’s not surprising to see wine-related activities feature so prominently in Champagne-Ardenne. There are tours for all parties and budgets, from lavish champagne experiences to more intimate tours of family-run vineyards.

• To call Notre-Dame Cathedral at Reims a 13th century masterpiece of Gothic architecture still seems like selling it short. Its unique stylings have often been imitated but never bettered. In fact, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery then Notre-Dame would still be blushing today!