Reims.

Notre-Dame de Reims: Royal Coronations and High Gothic Majesty

Notre-Dame de Reims stands as one of the quintessential masterpieces of High Gothic ecclesiastical architecture and a foundational sanctuary in French national identity. Constructed primarily during the thirteenth century following a devastating fire in 1210, the cathedral occupies the sacred site where Saint Remigius (Saint Remi), Bishop of Reims, baptized Clovis I, King of the Franks, on Christmas Day in 496 CE. This seminal event inaugurated the profound alliance between the French monarchy and the Catholic Church, establishing Reims as the definitive coronation sanctuary of France. Over eight centuries, thirty-three sovereign French monarchs—from Louis VIII in 1223 through Charles X in 1825—were anointed and crowned within these hallowed stone walls, most famously King Charles VII in July 1429, escorted by Joan of Arc following her lifting of the Siege of Orléans.

The cathedral's western facade is universally celebrated for its harmonious proportions and unprecedented sculptural exuberance, boasting over 2,300 individual stone figures. Among these, the smiling angel (*L'Ange au Sourire*) gracing the northern portal has become the civic emblem of Reims, famed for its enigmatic, subtle medieval expression. During World War I, the cathedral suffered catastrophic artillery bombardment from German forces, sustaining over 300 direct shell hits that melted the lead roof and scorched the limestone stonework. The meticulous postwar restoration, supported substantially by the Rockefeller Foundation, preserved its structural integrity while incorporating magnificent twentieth-century stained glass windows designed by Russian-French master Marc Chagall in 1974 and contemporary German artist Imi Knoebel in 2011 and 2015.

Underground Champagne Maisons and the UNESCO Crayères

Beneath the streets of Reims lies an extraordinary subterranean world recognized on the UNESCO World Heritage list: the *crayères* (chalk quarries). Originally excavated during the Gallo-Roman era from the second to fourth centuries CE to extract white chalk blocks for constructing ancient Durocortorum (Roman Reims), these cavernous chambers descend up to thirty-five meters below ground level. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, visionary Champagne producers discovered that these subterranean labyrinths maintained ideal conditions for the secondary fermentation and extended aging of sparkling wine—a naturally constant temperature of 10 to 12 degrees Celsius and approximately 90 percent ambient humidity.

Today, more than 200 kilometers of interconnected chalk tunnels wind beneath the city, housing hundreds of millions of aging bottles. Prominent Champagne houses offering immersive cellar tours include Maison Ruinart—the oldest established Champagne house, founded in 1729, whose monumental cathedral-like crayères are classified as a historic monument; Taittinger, where visitors navigate cellars underlying the thirteenth-century Saint-Nicaise Abbey ruins; Veuve Clicquot, which honors the pioneering viticultural innovations of Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin (the "Grande Dame of Champagne"); and Domaine Vranken-Pommery, famed for its grand Elizabethan-style neo-Gothic estate and modern subterranean art installations.

Palais du Tau, Saint-Remi Basilica and Gastronomic Heritage

Adjoining the cathedral is the Palais du Tau, the historic residence of the Archbishops of Reims. Built in the shape of a Greek letter tau (T), the palace served as the royal staging ground where French kings lodged prior to their coronation and hosted lavish post-coronation banquets in the Salle du Tau. The palace museum houses the royal treasury, displaying priceless historical artifacts including the Holy Ampulla (*Sainte Ampoule*) which contained the sacred chrism used for royal anointings, the Talisman of Charlemagne dating from the ninth century, and the twelfth-century coronation chalice of Saint Remi.

A short distance south stands the Romanesque-Gothic Basilica of Saint-Remi, an eleventh-century abbey church nearly equal in size to the cathedral, preserving the ornate marble tomb and relics of Bishop Saint Remigius. Reims is also celebrated for distinct gastronomic specialties: most notably the *Biscuits Roses de Reims*, light, vanilla-and-carmine double-baked sponge fingers created by Maison Fossier in 1691, traditionally dipped into a flute of Champagne without disintegrating; the savory *Jambon de Reims* (marinated and spiced ham cooked in broth); and artisan regional cheeses such as AOP Chaource and Langres.

Art Deco Rebirth, Carnegie Library and Montagne de Reims

Following the near-total destruction of Reims during World War I, where over sixty percent of the city was leveled by artillery fire, the municipality launched an ambitious urban reconstruction master plan overseen by French architect Marcel Oudin and American planner George B. Ford. The city was rebuilt in an exuberant Art Deco architectural style, characterized by stylized floral friezes, stepped pediments, and wrought-iron balconies. A radiant jewel of this epoch is the Carnegie Library of Reims (*Bibliothèque Carnegie*), funded by Scottish-American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie and inaugurated in 1928. Its breathtaking vestibule features a geometric stained-glass skylight by Jacques Simon, marble mosaics, and wrought ironwork by master blacksmith Raymond Subes.

Just south of the city, the Montagne de Reims Regional Natural Park provides exceptional excursions through Grand Cru Champagne villages such as Verzenay—famed for its nineteenth-century lighthouse (*Phare de Verzenay*) offering panoramic vistas over rolling vine slopes—and the mysterious forest of Verzy, home to the *Faux de Verzy*, the world's largest concentration of dwarf twisted beech trees with contorted, umbrella-like branches.