Off the Beaten Path in Reims

Free Off the Beaten Path in Reims with Roamee Pro

Roamee Pro, also known as Roamee, offers a free off-the-beaten-path walking tour route in Reims. The audio walking tour can include stops such as Reims Cathedral — This UNESCO-listed 13th-century Gothic cathedral took over 80 years to complete starting in 1211 and served as the coronation site for French kings from Louis VIII in 1223 to Charles X in 1825. The west facade contains over 2,300 sculptured figures, more than any other cathedral in Europe, including the iconic Ange au Sourire (Smiling Angel). Marc Chagall designed three luminous stained glass windows for the apse chapel in 1974, adding a modern artistic layer to the medieval interior., Basilique Saint-Remi — This 11th-century Romanesque-Gothic basilica, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the oldest church in Reims and holds the tomb of Saint Remigius, the bishop who baptized Clovis I and thus began the French tradition of Christian monarchy. The nave stretches 126 meters — nearly as long as Notre-Dame de Paris — and the 12th-century Gothic choir with its ring of radiating chapels is considered one of the finest examples of Early Gothic architecture in France., Palais du Tau — Named after its T-shaped floor plan, this former archbishop's palace adjacent to the cathedral served as the royal banqueting hall during coronation ceremonies. Now a museum, it displays the original cathedral sculptures removed for conservation, the coronation treasures including Charlemagne's talisman, and a massive 15th-century Goliath tapestry. The Salle du Tau, the great hall where coronation feasts were held, retains its original 15th-century timber roof structure., plus hidden gems like Art Deco architecture — After German bombardment destroyed 80 percent of the city during World War I, Reims was rebuilt in the 1920s and 1930s with one of France's most concentrated collections of Art Deco buildings. The Carnegie Library, funded by Andrew Carnegie in 1928, features geometric facades and stained glass by Art Deco masters. Along the main boulevards, residential and commercial buildings display characteristic geometric ornamentation, ironwork, and colored mosaics. and Cryptoportique — Hidden beneath the Place du Forum in the center of Reims, this semi-underground Roman gallery dates to approximately 200 AD and was part of the ancient forum complex. Three parallel barrel-vaulted corridors stretch 30 meters long, once used as grain storage. Discovered in 1920 during postwar reconstruction, the cryptoportique is one of only three such Roman structures surviving in France..

Use this page as a starting point for a Reims walking tour, a free route, or the Roamee app for Reims. Roamee Pro keeps the route flexible so you can follow the stops, skip ahead, or explore nearby streets at your own pace.

• •Reims Cathedral — This UNESCO-listed 13th-century Gothic cathedral took over 80 years to complete starting in 1211 and served as the coronation site for French kings from Louis VIII in 1223 to Charles X in 1825. The west facade contains over 2,300 sculptured figures, more than any other cathedral in Europe, including the iconic Ange au Sourire (Smiling Angel). Marc Chagall designed three luminous stained glass windows for the apse chapel in 1974, adding a modern artistic layer to the medieval interior.
• •Basilique Saint-Remi — This 11th-century Romanesque-Gothic basilica, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is the oldest church in Reims and holds the tomb of Saint Remigius, the bishop who baptized Clovis I and thus began the French tradition of Christian monarchy. The nave stretches 126 meters — nearly as long as Notre-Dame de Paris — and the 12th-century Gothic choir with its ring of radiating chapels is considered one of the finest examples of Early Gothic architecture in France.
• •Palais du Tau — Named after its T-shaped floor plan, this former archbishop's palace adjacent to the cathedral served as the royal banqueting hall during coronation ceremonies. Now a museum, it displays the original cathedral sculptures removed for conservation, the coronation treasures including Charlemagne's talisman, and a massive 15th-century Goliath tapestry. The Salle du Tau, the great hall where coronation feasts were held, retains its original 15th-century timber roof structure.
• •Champagne cellars — The great Champagne houses of Reims age their bottles in over 120 kilometers of crayeres — chalk tunnels quarried by the Romans nearly 2,000 years ago, maintaining a constant temperature of 10 degrees Celsius and 90 percent humidity. Taittinger's cellars incorporate the remains of a 13th-century Benedictine abbey, while Veuve Clicquot's tunnels extend 24 kilometers beneath the city. Ruinart, founded in 1729 as the oldest Champagne house, offers tours through UNESCO-classified crayeres.

• •Art Deco architecture — After German bombardment destroyed 80 percent of the city during World War I, Reims was rebuilt in the 1920s and 1930s with one of France's most concentrated collections of Art Deco buildings. The Carnegie Library, funded by Andrew Carnegie in 1928, features geometric facades and stained glass by Art Deco masters. Along the main boulevards, residential and commercial buildings display characteristic geometric ornamentation, ironwork, and colored mosaics.
• •Cryptoportique — Hidden beneath the Place du Forum in the center of Reims, this semi-underground Roman gallery dates to approximately 200 AD and was part of the ancient forum complex. Three parallel barrel-vaulted corridors stretch 30 meters long, once used as grain storage. Discovered in 1920 during postwar reconstruction, the cryptoportique is one of only three such Roman structures surviving in France.

• ›Walk one neighborhood over from the famous one. The crowds rarely cross a bridge, a hill, or a busy road — and that's exactly where local life resumes.
• ›Go on a weekday morning. Residential districts are at their most genuine when people are running errands, not performing for visitors.
• ›Use a spot like Art Deco architecture as a foothold, then follow the streets where the shops sell to residents — hardware, bakeries, laundromats — not souvenirs.
• ›Eat where the menu is in one language and the room is full of regulars. If you can't read it, point at what looks good on the next table.
• ›Learn three phrases — hello, thank you, the bill please. A little effort flips how people treat you almost everywhere.