Landmark · Reims

Reims Cathedral: Where Kings Were Crowned

Reims Cathedral crowned 25 French kings from Louis VIII (1223) to Charles X (1825)—Clovis baptised by St. Remi (498-499), Joan of Arc witnessed Charles VII's coronation (1429)—Gothic transept reserved for sacred anointing with the Holy Ampulla's myrrh.

What to do there

CulturalReims Cathedral: Where Kings Were Crowned31 French kings crowned here. Joan of Arc stood here. The building took 300 years. After WWI, it was ruins. Champagne money rebuilt it. The 'Smiling Angel' statue is Champagne's spiritual symbol.

Wineries nearby

Winery The Cristal Story: Assassination Champagne Tsar Alexander II feared assassination, so 1867 Louis Roederer commissioned clear lead-crystal bottles (flat-bottomed, no hiding bomb beneath)—transparent Cristal saved his wine's prestige when assassins killed him by hand-thrown bomb in 1881, the ironic legacy endures.
Winery Cryptoporticus of Reims - Underground Roman Galleries Beneath Reims' Place du Forum lies one of five cryptoporticus remaining in the Roman world: three U-shaped galleries from the 3rd century AD, vaulted in stone, decorated with colored bands.
Winery Louis Roederer The 1876 Cristal, created for paranoid Tsar Alexander II, remains the world's most famous prestige Champagne—sourced from 45 exceptional vineyards across Reims' three Grand Cru zones.