Reims

Reims is the most populous city in the Marne and the twelfth most populous in France, 129 kilometres north-east of Paris on the Vesle, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city of the Roman Empire, and then took on the ceremonial role that defines it: the traditional site of the coronation of the kings of France, where the royal anointing was performed. The cathedral is the reason to come. The other reason is underneath the city, the chalk cellars of the champagne houses run for kilometres.