A Weekend Exploring Reims, France

April is here! Woot woot! Spring has arrived here in Germany and I am one happy chica. We just had our daylight savings last week aka more sunshine time. We have some exciting trips this month that I can't wait to bring you all along with, starting with this past weekends' trip to Reims, France!

Rob and I joined two of our friends on a 4 and ½ hour road trip from Düsseldorf to Reims, France aka the Capital of the Champagne Region. I’ll be totally honest, I had never even heard of Reims until a month or two ago when it was brought up by a friend who is very well traveled. All she had to tell me was, “it’s in the Champagne Region” and I said okay, I’m in. I started to do a little research on Reims, France and for some of you who may not know about it either, it is about an hour and ½ east of Paris. It is the unofficial capital of the Champagne Region and is known for being the headquarter for many Champagne Houses, famous Vineyards and Caves of Champagne, UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and have I mentioned they have bubbly? Lots of bubbly.

Reims, France

We stayed at the cutest Airbnb near the Université de Reims Champagne-Adrenne, our flat was stylish and very clean. The location is great because it is near many restaurants and walking distance to the champagne houses. Not to mention our Airbnb was directly across the street from a small restaurant that turns into a bar at night called "Le Grisbi" with the most friendly people I have ever met. It was an intimate crowd, but we had the best night where we shared lots of laughs, enjoyed music and drinks. We may not have spoken the same language but with the help of Google translate we were able to meet some of the best locals in Reims.

Saturday was spent exploring all that Reims had to offer. We grabbed breakfast at Case à Pain, a local bakery and enjoyed some Quiche and bread before we made our walk over to our tour at the Taittinger Champagne House.

Entrance of the Taittinger Champagne House

Taittinger Champagne House:

The Taittinger tour began with a 10-minute intro video and then we proceeded down into the cellars for a 40 minute tour. This was so exciting to be able to experience the cellars and learn about the history of the family that created Taittinger and learn more about the process of how Champagne is made. At one point, we were 18 meters below ground level. After the tour came the main event- taste testing! We tried the Brut and Rosé and they did not disappoint. It was so tasty we even purchased a bottle of the Rosé for keepsake. We haven't decided which special occasion we are going to pop that one open for yet.

Taittinger Cellars

Taittinger Cellars

Group Photo in the Taittinger

Veuve Cliquot Champagne House:

Afterwards we walked 5 minutes or so to the Veuve Cliquot House. We were able to purchase Champagne without going on a tour so we grabbed some drinks and sat outside in their Garden area and enjoyed the nice weather for a few hours. The whole interior and exterior design at the Veuve Cliquot was goals. I mean everything was yellow, pink, girly and just SO cute. I don't think I could've asked for a better day.

Entrance to the Veuve Cliquot Champagne House

Veuve Cliquot Outdoor Garden Area

Veuve Cliquot "Brut" Taste Testing

Where We Dined:

Le Bistrot Du Forum- we stopped here in the afternoon to share a delicious French Charcuterie board and drinks. They have a large outdoor seating section with beautiful views of the city. This restaurant is just a few steps away from the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims.

Coté Cuisine- our dinner Saturday evening was delicious! This restaurant had a beautiful vibe and good food. I kept it simple with pasta [of course] but there was a lot of French cuisines to choose from.

Le Clos- if you ever find yourself in the beautiful city of Reims, you have to stop here just for the atmosphere. Their outdoor garden area was everything. We came here for drinks after dinner and sat outside and enjoyed each other's company; the outdoor heaters, stringed lights dangling above us, and all of the greenery throughout the bar. It felt like we stepped into our own little oasis.

Le Lion de Belfort- we had a tasty breakfast here on Sunday morning. This restaurant is centrally located and they have awesome outdoor seating that a beautiful views of Fountain Subé. See below for a photo of the fountain.

If you ever have any questions about Reims or the Champagne Region feel free to send leave a comment below or send me a message. I hope you an awesome rest of your week!

Chat soon!
Tor

Reims, France

Reims, France

Fountain Subé in Reims, France

Cathedral of Nortre-Dame in Reims

Rob and I in front of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame Reims 

For outfit details click here for my OOTD in Reims, France Blog Post!