Where every French king was crowned — the coronation city of France and capital of Champagne, whose Gothic cathedral's 2,000 statues watched over 25 royal anointings across a millennium
Reims is a city of 180,000 in the Grand Est region, 130km northeast of Paris in the heart of the Champagne wine appellation. The Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Reims (UNESCO World Heritage), completed in the 13th century, served as the coronation site for 25 French kings from 816 to 1825 — including Charles VII crowned with Joan of Arc at his side in 1429. Veuve Clicquot, Taittinger, Mumm, Pommery, and Piper-Heidsieck all have champagne cellars with chalk cave tours beneath the city's streets.
Reims was the Roman city of Durocortorum, capital of Belgica province and one of the largest cities in Roman Gaul. The city's sacred status derives from the baptism of Clovis I, king of the Franks, at Reims in 496 CE — a conversion that established France as 'the eldest daughter of the Church' and the tradition of royal coronation here. The Cathedral was nearly destroyed by German shelling in September 1914 (the first act of WWI cultural destruction to shock international opinion) and required 23 years of restoration, partially funded by John D. Rockefeller Jr. The German surrender in WWII wa…