The very name Champagne conjures up images of celebration and the world-famous cathedral of its capital city Reims. Yet beyond the glamour lies an unspoiled rural idyll of two strikingly contrasting landscapes: the rolling plains of Champagne, giving way to lakes and water meadows to the south, and the dense forests and hills of the Ardennes in the north.

The Ardennes may offer appealing countryside, but Champagne is culturally superior, with impressive towns that have painstakingly restored historic centres. It has some striking churches, from the Gothic majesty of Reims cathedral to the rustic charm of its typical wooden champenois churches. These feature vivid stained-glass windows by the famous School of Troyes, whose subtle craftsmanship seems to typify the appeal of this quiet region.

The Champagne Ardennes region benefits from fertile plains and forests full of game, but the area has been the subject of many invasions over the centuries, most of them halting on the banks of the Meuse, Marne or Aube. There are many battlegrounds from the two World Wars as well as the last fortress on the Maginot Line. The area is justly popular with hikers, ramblers and bird watchers can see over 40,000 cranes at migratory seasons in the Bocage Champenois. Other popular pastimes are horse riding, cycling, sailing and watersports at the many lakes, canal cruises and hot air ballooning. There are 108 villages and towns with the ‘flower’ award and many Châteaux and historic buildings including those of Troyes, the Château de la Motte-Tilly, the half timbered houses and canals in Châlons-en-Champagne amongst many others. The Champagne-Ardennes region of France is sometimes also known as the Champagne region.

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