Troyes: The Champagne Cork City

How to Complete

4 steps curated by Wine Memories

1. ⛰️ 1

   Walk the Champagne Cork

   adventure Free

   The entire old town center is shaped exactly like a champagne cork when viewed from above. Get a map from the tourism office showing the cork shape and follow the outline - it's not visible from ground level, only from above or on maps.

   🔄 BACKUP: Pull up Google Maps satellite view on your phone to see it.

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2. ⛰️ 2

   Find Ruelle des Chats (Cat's Alley)

   adventure Free

   The narrowest alley in Troyes sits near Place Alexandre Israël in the old town - the upper floors of houses lean toward each other and almost touch. Cats could (theoretically) jump between buildings. Hence the name. Ask at tourism office for exact location and photograph looking up - the houses nearly kiss at the top.

   🔄 BACKUP: Several alleys are narrow - but Ruelle des Chats is the most famous. Signs mark it.

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3. 📜 3

   Count Half-Timbered Houses

   history Free

   3,000 half-timbered houses survive throughout the old town - Rue Émile Zola, Rue Champaux, Place du Marché. They're everywhere. Look for the exposed wooden beams, the plaster between, the carvings on corner posts. Walk slowly and notice that many houses have dates carved into beams, with the oldest dating to the 15th century.

   🔄 BACKUP: The tourism office has a map marking the most significant houses.

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4. 📜 4

   Enter a Medieval Church

   Optional

   history Free

   The cathedral has remarkable stained glass while Sainte-Madeleine has the only stone rood screen in Champagne. Both Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul and Église Sainte-Madeleine are free to enter - Sainte-Madeleine is smaller and more intimate, the cathedral is grander.

   🔄 BACKUP: If both are closed, the exteriors are impressive. Try early morning or late afternoon.

   🍷 Log Memory