The Best Places to Stay and Do in Reims

The cellars here run 18 metres underground through fourth-century chalk quarries beneath the ruins of a Benedictine abbey, which sets a certain tone before you've opened anything. Taittinger is one of the few grand Champagne houses still family-run and open to visitors, and the guided tour winds past WWI graffiti and riddlers hand-rotating bottles by the old method. Sommeliers lead the tasting at the end. It ranks on the World's 50 Best Vineyards list.

A château hotel in the heart of Champagne country, once the private estate of the Pommery family, with formal parkland, historical portraits lining the halls, and bedrooms decorated as if no one told the 19th century to stop. The Michelin Guide awarded it 3 Keys. Champagne flows freely, the dining room sits under soaring chandeliers, and in summer tables spill into the garden. The Pommery cellars next door will take your call.

A champagne house that decided thirteen rooms and a suite made more sense than a tasting room alone, Le N3 is a boutique hotel in a period townhouse a short walk from Reims Cathedral. The family-designed interiors run to soft tones and classical detail, and house champagne appears at every reasonable opportunity. Staying here is essentially a polite excuse to drink from the cellar without driving home.

The old fire-department headquarters turned luxury boutique hotel sits directly across from Notre-Dame Cathedral, so many of the 89 rooms effectively have a window into the 14th century. Inside, everything is contemporary, champagne-toned, and comfortable in the way Marriott's Autograph Collection tends to manage. There's a spa, a fitness center, and an all-day bistro on the ground floor. Reims has the cathedral, the art museum, and more champagne cellars than you'll get through.

A stately mansion on the Reims outskirts that looks conventional from the road and quietly modern once you're inside, with geometric interiors, moody color palettes, and a glass-walled pool that looks onto the gardens. This is a luxury hotel in Champagne country, where that last detail matters more than most. Rooms come with Champagne included, as they should. Arnaud Lallement's celebrated restaurant is one floor down.