Reims · FR
Reims City Highlights
From the coronation cathedral to Roman stones and the city's liveliest square.
What's the walk about?
Welcome to Reims, the great coronation city of France, where more than thirty kings were crowned beneath soaring Gothic vaults. We begin at the magnificent Cathedrale Notre-Dame and the Palais du Tau beside it, then step into the glittering Art Deco Bibliotheque Carnegie. From the elegant Place Royale we drop below ground to Roman Durocortorum at the Cryptoportique, admire the grand Hotel de Ville, and stroll the lively Place Drouet d'Erlon with its Golden Angel and the Belle Epoque Fontaine Sube. We finish past the Opera de Reims at the city's Musee des Beaux-Arts. Comfortable shoes and an unhurried pace are all you need.
What you'll see
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1
Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Reims
Cathedral
The soaring Gothic cathedral where the kings of France were crowned for six centuries, from Louis VIII to Charles X. Its facade carries more than two thousand statues and the famous Smiling Angel.
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2
Palais du Tau
Palace
The former archbishops' palace beside the cathedral, where kings lodged, prayed and feasted on coronation day. Today it is a museum holding the cathedral's statues and the royal treasury.
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3
Bibliotheque Carnegie
Library
A dazzling Art Deco public library built with money donated by the American magnate Andrew Carnegie after the First World War. Its vestibule glows with mosaics, marble and stained glass.
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4
Place Royale
Square
An elegant 18th century royal square lined with classical arcades, built on the site of the ancient Roman forum. A statue of Louis XV presides over its center.
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5
Cryptoportique du Forum
Roman Site
A half-buried Gallo-Roman gallery on the old forum square, a rare survivor of the time when Reims was the great Roman city of Durocortorum.
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6
Hotel de Ville
Town Hall
The stately seventeenth-century city hall of Reims, its long facade crowned by a carved relief of Louis the Thirteenth on horseback.
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7
Place Drouet d'Erlon
Promenade
Reims's buzzing pedestrian promenade, a long avenue of cafe terraces and brasseries that the locals simply call Erlon.
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8
Fontaine Sube
Fountain
The glittering centrepiece of the Place Drouet d'Erlon, a seventeen metre column crowned by a gilded winged Victory. It is the most photographed landmark of the square and the social heart of the old town.
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9
Opera de Reims
Opera House
The city's municipal opera, first opened as the Grand Theatre in 1873 and rebuilt after the First World War. Its historic stone facade hides a jewel box Art Deco auditorium within.
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10
Musee des Beaux-Arts de Reims
Museum
The fine-arts museum of Reims, home to Cranach portraits, a wall of Corots and one of the four versions of David's Death of Marat.
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