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Next time you plan a wine trip to Champagne – stocking up for the festive season, perhaps? – make Reims your destination. Culturally jewelled and easy to reach, it just pips Epernay, Champagne’s other wine town, which has a rather straitlaced vibe in comparison. The city has long ago outgrown its days as a one-night stopover by car en route to Burgundy or southern French sun. It’s now a destination in its own right for Champagne fans on long weekend breaks. The major Champagne houses are based here, and it has a very smart food scene. Its restaurants total eight Michelin stars – nine if you include Royal Champagne (see p110).
Long-running city-centre building works have