Another side to Champagne

It’s not just the chance to drink this world famous wine on location that makes Champagne worth a visit. For those who want to get back to nature, the region’s forests, meadows and lakes provide endless opportunities for outdoor activities. Here’s our pick from the Marne and Aube departments…

Make your way around the Marne

The Marne department, home to the capital of Champagne (Reims) has 2,000km of signposted paths offering 100 pedestrian walking tours. Now you can also rediscover the thrill of a childhood treasure hunt with geocaching – a novel way to discover the area using GPS with hidden ‘geocaches’ containing messages and objects left by other geocacheurs on the Champagne Tourist Trail.

You can also explore the varied landscape of Reims Mountain Regional Nature Park. Its forests are an ideal destination for walking or hiking, biking and orienteering. Along the way, you will see Faux de Verzy, a particular type of tree that grows here, appearing twisted for no apparent reason.

At the borders of the plains of Champagne, the region of Argonne boasts immense forests, lush meadows and unspoilt villages. The forest was developed by local monks in the early Middle Ages, resulting in the abbeys of Beaulieu, Moiremont, Châtrices and La Chalade.

The forest provided wood in abundance, which was used as fuel to power the local glassworks and earthenware factories, best known for the C18th Islettes plates that are still highly prized by collectors.

History also remembers Argonne as the place where King Louis XVI was arrested, the Battle of Valmy was fought and confl icts were waged in 1915, the scars of which the forest still bears. Today the area is a popular destination for mountain-bikers and walkers – there are 12 hiking trails in the Argonne.

In the Pays de Der is Lake Der – the largest artificial lake in Europe, an ideal spot for those who enjoy water sports and the great outdoors. It attracts thousands of visitors each year with leisure activities in all seasons. Each autumn, the arrival of some 70,000 cranes makes for an unforgettable sight.

Located little over an hour from Reims and just 45 minutes from the charming town of Châlons-en- Champagne, there are many ways to discover the lake and the surrounding area as a family or with friends.

You could, for example, hire a boat, take a bike ride, a trip on the tourist train or set off on foot – there are more than 250km of marked paths.

Horseriding is another popular pursuit in the Der Forest, but you could instead take a donkey for a walk and stop for lunch in one of the picnic areas.

With six sandy beaches to choose from, visitors can enjoy swimming and sunbathing too. It’s also possible to take pedalo tours, practise sailing and water-skiing. Alternatively, segway around the lake or explore the treetop adventure park in the forest.

Close by, Vitry-le-François, where rivers, railways and roads converge, are worth a detour, or why not visit Trois-Fontaines Abbey and its magnificent grounds, or Le Fion Valley where visitors can admire the traditional timberframed homes.

Finally, take a tour of the Pays du Der Museum and its story of a village that disappeared when the inhabitants were moved to fi ll the lake. There’s a church, timber framed houses, blacksmith, kitchen garden, medicinal garden, washerwomen and sawyers…

Whilst over in the Aube…

The harvesting of Champagne grapes will take place around 20 September this year. Help comes from all over and the workers show great care for the task in hand while having a good time doing it. The winemakers are passionate about what they do and offer a warm welcome at their domaines, only too pleased to share the magic in the run up to the birth of this king of wines…

In 2013 there are six Champagne houses in the Aube set up to welcome those who want to spend a few hours, a half day or a whole day discovering Champagne in this way. The experience begins with a welcome from the winemaker, followed by a tour of the vineyard and winery. You will discover thepressoir and taste the juice of the freshly picked grapes. Then around midday, everyone comes back to thedomaine for lunch – the quality of the cooking is paramount for the moral of the grape pickers! The aim of these harvest days is to allow visitors to discover the friendly atmosphere as well as the vineyards themselves, not to mention the techniques and flavours that differ from one area to another.

The same department is also home to the Regional Natural Park of the Orient Forest – a mysterious land of 70,000ha where water, earth and forest have between them created a remarkable territory that extends to the east of Troyes. This Regional Natural Park and its lakes offer opportunities for numerous outdoor activities, including: fishing, bird watching, swimming, family bike rides on the lakes’ cycle paths (42km of greenways from Troyes to Port Dienville), walking, horseriding and golf.

The information centre, Maison du Parc, houses an exhibition gallery that is not to be missed. It can offer advice on activities and accommodation, plus an educational booklet (M’ton Parc) for children, allowing them to discover the richness of their surroundings in a fun way with games to play.

Throughout the year, events are organised at the Maison du Parc to introduce visitors to various aspects of its natural heritage, such as botany, birdsong mushroom identification and migratory birds, which make use of the lakes to rest before continuing their flight south for the winter. Around 267 different species have been spotted.

The wildlife area of the Orient Forest is found on a peninsula of the Orient Lake, complete with observation equipment to offer visitors a privileged view of rare and endangered animals like the auroch cattle, wild tarpan horses and elk that once populated the forests.

The park is also home to Nigoland amusement park, boats and touristic train, timber framed churches, Dosches windmill, Brienne-La Vieille ecomuseum and Napoleon Museum in Brienne le Château.

For more information, please visit Champagne-Adenne tourism