Love champagne? Love Hundred Years War history? A fan of gothic cathedrals? Love champagne (can you see where I’m going with this)?
This guide covers where to stay and what to do if you’re a (tipsy) solo traveller wanting a short break in Reims
- Click here to check out my guide to Saint-Émilion, France
- Click here to check out my guide to Brantôme, France
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This post doesn’t actually contain affiliate links. If you book through them, I won’t earn a penny. They are my gift to you 
Table of Contents
About Reims
Reims is only a 2 and a half hour drive from Calais, or 45 mins by TGV from Paris Gare de l’Est.
It easier to get to than to pronounce tbh. Here’s a video in YouTube to show to how.
Most populous city in the Marne region, and smack bang at the heart of champagne producing country, Reims is home to a tonne of the worlds best know brands.
Lanson, Veuve Cliquot, Krug and others are based here (“ahhh so THAT’s why he spent the weekend here. Got it”).
And both Ay and Epinay are only about 30-45 minutes or so drive south if you’re contemplating checking out the home of Bollinger or Moet Chandon. Probably best to plan your visit well if you’re wanting to do a tasting tour… drunk driving is tres tres dangerous and NOT cool).
Courtesy of the gothic Notre-Dame de Reims, where French kings were crowned for centuries, it is also listed as a UNESCO cathedral city. (“He’s now just talking about the cheese isn’t he?”)
This guide covers where to stay and what to do if you’re a solo traveller on a short break in Reims
Guide to where to stay in Reims
You probably don’t need a car for your stay in Reims. Most of the town is within walking distance, or just a short cab ride if you’re lugging crates of bubbly back to your room (“I’m seeing a theme developing here…”).
Centre-Ville, Near the Cathedral
This is where you want to be if you’re here to walk everywhere, and only a 15 mins stroll (10 mins by tram to Opera-cathedral) to the cathedral.
Good choice for first-time visitor or if you’re travelling without a car, and home to most of the more upscale hotels and restaurants.
Near Reims-Centre station
Hotels clustered here tend to be a touch cheaper (important if you’re a sole occupant) and have better options for parking. Good for a one-night stopover en route to or from Paris, or if you’re picking up a hire car for the wider Champagne Route as most of the car hire chains have offices near the station
Contours district near Saint-Nicais church
The quieter south-eastern edge of the centre is home to several of the grandest champagne house. They are close enough for a sedate tottering walk back, or indeed a drunken “whose chicken is this, why am I on a rollerblades, and how on earth did I get another new tattoo??” drunken stagger after a few tasting tours. (“Do you think he’s OK? Is this a cry for help?”)
Staying here suits anyone whose main reason for visiting is cellar tours, hangovers, and channeling Ab Fab, rather than the city’s rich mediaeval history or its cathedral.
Reims hotel guide
Ok, cards on the table. Reims is not really a lux destination. You’ll struggle to find many boutique hotels that can compete with other French cities. However that does make it a much better value-for-money destination than many other destinations I’ve been to in France.
B&B HOTEL Reims Centre Erlon
This used to be an Ibis hotel (yeah, I know… mid-range utilitarian chain, blah blah blah. Wotever) and she ain’t much of a looker. But this 3-star hotel is well-run, down to earth, has accessible rooms, and is literally only moments from the train station. It’s an easy walk into the old town, and a good choice for a solo traveller if your budget is going toward champagne tastings rather than a hotel spa with stone therapies
- Book B&B HOTEL Reims Centre Erlon directly on the hotel website here
- Find Ibis Reims Centre Gare on Google Maps here
Inter-Hotel Grand Hôtel du Nord
This centrally located 3-star hotel with 5
0 rooms just off Place Drouet d’Erlon (Reims’ main strip for dining and cafés) has comfortably furnished rooms and is an easy walk to the cathedral.
- Book Grand Hotel du Nord directly on the hotel website here
- Find Grand Hotel du Nord on Google Maps here
Holiday Inn Reims Centre
Recently upgraded by parent company IHG, this 4-star hotel is about 10 minutes walk from both the train station and the cathedral. It boasts a new rooftop bar and free parking (across the street). Accessibly rooms available.
Things to do in Reims
For a short break, I’d recommend focussing on just 2 things:
- Champagne
- Gothic cathedrals
Visit the champagne houses
A tour round one or more of the champagne houses (“now you’re talking”) is the reason many people build Reims into a trip to France. But be warned – you’ll probably need to book ahead. Most of these cellars are UNESCO World Heritage listed, and generally no more than a 30 minute walk (or short cab ride that you can organise from your hotel) from town
- Veuve Clicquot’s cellars sit in 2,000-year-old Roman chalk pits and tell Madame Clicquot’s own story alongside the tasting.
- Taittinger’s tour winds through the remains of a Benedictine abbey before finishing with a glass of their Comtes de Champagne.
- Pommery’s cellars are probably the most theatrical of the lot. When I visited a few years ago, in their main entrance hall they’d installed a life size statue of an elephant doing a handstand on is trunk. (Yes, I know that sounds like 5 glasses of bubbles too many, but it’s true!) vast, gallery-like crayères hung with contemporary art alongside the ageing bottles — and it’s one of the few houses reliably open seven days a week.
Visit the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims
This was the coronation church for French kings for over a thousand years, despite the English siege of 1360 (“sounds like someone hasn’t gotten over losing hmm?”). It is breathtaking and one of the most spectacular Gothic cathedrals of Europe.
It was badly damaged in the First World War when the German occupying forces set fire to it, but has since been lovingly restored. Its rebuilding was long and complex.
Admission is free, but please do respect that this is a working place of worship. Choose your time carefully, and make sure you dress appropriately.
However if you want to visit the neighbouring Palace of Tau (where all those treacherous post-coronation banquets were held (“seriously, let it go….”) to see the collection of crown jewels, you’ll need to pay an entrance fee. Also, you’ll need to wait until 2027, because it’s *closed at the moment*
- Visit the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims website here **You can book a tour, but they are in French only
Photo credits:
- Photo by Claudio Poggio on Unsplash
- Photo by Oceane Picq on Unsplash
- Photo by Adlan on Unsplash