Nice meeting with the ‘Greeters en Champagne’

 Reims, Tourism  Commentaires fermés
juin 112013
 

Greeters en Champagne is member of a global network of greeters

A greeter is a person who volunteers to share his/her knoledge of his city or region to visitors.

They aren’t professionnal guides but more like a newly met friend that show you around a place that is important in their life.

Some of them speak English so it may ease communication if you only have notions of French. Website is in French language only; most of them will propose a visit in French.

It is a original and unique way to discover a city like Reims or explore Champagne area far from touristic places and crowd.

Conctact them using Greeters en Champagne

Stay also in a nice B&B rather than in an hotel  is also a great way discover Reims and meet its inhabitants.

Reims Cathedral

Reims Cathedral

Marc Chagall stainglass in Reims

Marc Chagall stainglass in Reims

Champagne tours guided along Champagne touristic route

 Champagne, Tourism  Commentaires fermés
juin 112013
 

Here is a list of Champagne tours proposed by private companies. They will pick you mainly in Reims and Epernay and tour you in the countryside, along Champagne route, make stops in the vineyards or spectacular sites.

They all speak English and have knowledge about Champagne, wine making and local history.

Tasting in vineyards with Geoffrey Orban

Tasting in vineyards with Geoffrey Orban

 

The heart of these tours are usually visit(s) of local Champagne makers, far from fastuous Champagne brands. Back to the roots, wine making and simple but nice meetings.

Forged iron label in Hautvillers

Forged iron label in Hautvillers

We have been in contact with 3 of them  (the ones below with comments) and all guests that attended a tour were highly pleased with it.

 

La vigne du roy  private tours, higly appreciated

Cris events our favourite of the moment, deep knowledge of area and wine making, nice value,

Raw France looks expensive but our guests enjoyed it so much

France Bubbles tours

Ay éco visite

Vini vizit

Fernand Lemaire cellar in hautvillers

Fernand Lemaire cellar in hautvillers

Even if you have a rental car in Reims, these tours will be appreciated as you ll enjoy a memorable day. ( you may also have a memorable night in ‘Les Telliers’ B&B )

My advice would be not to have a car in Reims  as the city is compact and has nice bus and tram system. ( TGV trains are so fast… 45 min from Paris and 30 min from CdG Airport)

Like in most major cities, having a car is sometimes worrying, so explore city by feet and bus and save money for a paying guided tour.

Reims tourist office also proposes  a bus tour in vineyards lasting 3 hours ( 35€ 1pers, 60€ for a couple ; rates for 2013)

 

A nice find: ‘Au bon manger’

 Champagne, Reims, Restaurants, Tourism  Commentaires fermés
nov 022011
 

A nice place to enjoy France and its gastronmy. ‘Au bon manger’ is a grocer of fine aliments, you ll find there only the best meat, cheese or wines.

Decoration and stalls recall good old times. They basically are a fine grocery but they are able to serve you a full plate for around 20 Euro and recommend a nice wine or Champagne that perfectly fits your meal.

Smoked salmon, foie gras, French and Italian cheeses, olive and anchovies specialties, meat or fish terrines, sausages, smoked ham ….

Au bon manger

Au bon manger

They post sometimes on their blog: Au bon manger

Why not try and  enjoy a cheese plate with a cup of  Champagne !

 

L’Epicerie Au Bon Manger

7 Rue Courmeaux, 51100

Reims +33 326 03 45 29 ‎

How to book a Champagne cellar tour in Reims

 Champagne, Reims, Tourism  Commentaires fermés
mar 242011
 

There are many Champagne brands represented in Reims.

Many of them have nice cellars to visit and delicate Champagne to taste.

All visits are paying guided tours. Price range is, as far as we know in 2011, from 10 to 26 Euro.

Visit may last from 30 minutes to more than one hour.

Most of them propose multiple tasting sometimes with an extra fee, but it is usually worth as you may taste old millesim or special ‘cuvée’

Here is a link to a map of Champagne brands in Reims , listing their websites and location.

Booking is possible by mail but answers come very slowly. Phone call is usually easier especially if they request a credit card number.

It is highly recommended to book Champagne cellar tours in advance!

We sometimes help out our clients at the guest house when time is running short.

 

Map of restaurants in Reims around the B&B ‘Les Telliers’

 Reims, Restaurants, Tourism  Commentaires fermés
jan 212011
 

It’s an old map I’ve started to create 2 years ago to help B&B guests, I have dusted it with fresh links.

Link to restaurant map in Reims
No comments on restaurants, just links for now, no sorting either.

There must be more than 200 restaurants in Reims, it is a short list of places I appreciate.

–

Carte des restaurants recommandés par la maison d’hôtes ‘Les Telliers’ à Reims.

Pas de commentaires pour l’instant juste des liens.

liens vers la carte restaurants à Reims

Restaurants in Reims

 Reims, Restaurants, Tourism  Commentaires fermés
jan 182011
 

As guest house owners we often recommend restaurants to our guests or are given restaurants suggestions by our clients.

Here is our short list of the moment of places that we like.

Things they have in common  are: price in the average for Reims, no Michelin stars or Gault Millau references but fine food for good value. They are all situated at foot distance from our B&B and by consequence in town centre.

‘Le café du Palais‘ , an old café stuffed of Antiques and oddities, tremendous ambiance, enjoy a glass of vine with local terrine as a snack in the afternoon. Full meals served at lunch time and some evenings.

‘Le Boulingrin‘ , a well known brasserie in Reims, typical Art Deco decoration, huge variety of meals, all the classics of the French gastronomy and also a nice seafood choice, merry ambiance

‘La table des Halles‘ , a cosy place, most of the courses are local specialities,we are fond of the ‘Ardenaise salad’ , nice price too !

‘Le Bocal‘ , a tiny restaurant inside the fish shop, dare to cross the inox stall and come inside. Buttery Bass or yummy creamy cooked oysters ! Champagne bottle are so cheap there, that added a bubbling touch to our meal.

‘Le V.O.‘ We love its decoration and ambiance, very nice Chef cuisine: modernity and tradition with touches of Asian style.

‘La table Anna‘  A reference in Reims, fine food for reasonable price. Nice and warm service and memorable courses.

There are plenty more restaurants that could be listed here, feel free to suggest us some more.

About tiping in France: Do I need to tip in restaurants or bars ?

 Restaurants, Tourism  Commentaires fermés
oct 082010
 

Champagne Ponson in 2010

In France, service is always included in the price.Your bill may mention it or not but it is included.

Sometimes you ‘ll see for example « Service compris 10% » ; it may go up to 20% in the very elegant or gastronomic restaurants in which there are more employees than customers!

The French usually tip only if they have appreciated the moment they have spent in the bar or the restaurant, or if the waiter was especially pleasant. Personally I prefer to leave some coins on the table rather than to round up the amount of the bill paid with credit card. Doing this,  I’m certain that it will go to the waitress.

For example in a restaurant, if I’ll leave tip 2 € for a meal for two if think the service was nice and the meal good value. Or in a café I’ll tip some yellow coins ( cents of euro) If I especially enjoy my cup of Champagne.

If you want to know more about France and French: please come and stay in our guest house in Reims . We are always glad to exchange with our guests, B&B is the way to meet a country and its inhabitants.