- The many champagne houses and the chalk caves that are used to store and age the champagne can in most cases be visited. Most of the houses have several guided tours throughout the day in a variety of languages for a small fee, which usually includes a sample at the end of the tour. It is a good idea to call ahead to ensure that you don't miss the tour you are interested in.
- Reims has a number of great museums, in particular the Musee de Beaux Arts and the War Museum, but as they all cost, visiting soon eats into your budget. The best thing about Reims is there is always something going on for free. The best by far is the Christmas Fair which fills the Place d'Erlon with a huge number of specialist stalls, great for pre-Christmas shopping.
If you like classic cars, this is a mecca.
For the kids in the summer, the traders set up a free, supervised area in the Place d'Erlon, it even has some English speaking guardians.
For a cheaper time, head down to the Place de la Republique early on a Saturday morning (07:00-13:00) to look around the market, fish, meat, cheese and bric a brac at reasonable prices, unless they realise you're a tourist! If you don't feel like shopping, just wander about and soak up the atmosphere.
- Football: Stade de Reims play soccer in Ligue 1, the top tier in France. Their home ground Stade Auguste-Delaune (capacity 21,000) is just south of town centre.
Reims has a vibrant theatre life. There is the main Theatre (Opera and Culture), La Comedie (20th-century drama and film art), and further out the centre, La Cartonnerie (alternative, performance and music acts). It also has the Opera cinema which plays English language films, which are marked "V.O." on the board outside.
There is a free listing guide available in most bars and supermarkets called 'Sortie' which comes out on Thursday, which lists all the live gigs and cinema times.
- La Vigne du Roy, ☏ +33 6 31 86 59 23. Private and semi-private tours of the Champagne region. They offer half-day, full-day or multi-day tours that focus on high quality boutique wineries in mostly Grand and Premier Cru Villages. They provide tours of the vineyards and wineries and offer comparative tastings of different styles of Champagnes that are made by these artistic wine makers. We present the entire process of creating Champagne and the culture and history behind it. They also host lunches with Champagne at a winery with traditional food from local farmers. Varies. (updated Dec 2015)
- Ballooning is big around here, for more information contact the tourist office.
