Strolling through Reims of yesterday and today

Starting point and access: Gare Centre tram station.
- Tram - Line A or B.
- Train - TER or TGV - Take the main exit, Cour de la Gare. Cross the Esplanade François Miterrand and you will come to a circular lawn with a statue of Colbert in the centre. Go around the lawn on the left, take the^second alley on the left, towards the Halles de Boulingrin, and you will immediately reach the tram station.

(S/E) Head towards Les Halles de Boulingrin (away from the circular lawn). Walk along or across the water mirror, depending on whether the water jets are working or not. Pass the monument to the martyrs of the Resistance and walk along a lawn on your right. At the end, at the traffic lights, cross the boulevard in two stages and you will arrive at the foot of the war memorial.

(1) Turn right, then left towards the market halls. Cross the boulevard at the pedestrian crossing and turn right to cross the perpendicular boulevard. Continue along the square and walk alongside the Porte de Mars (under construction and completely covered in September 2023).

Turn left at the corner of the monument, cross Boulevard Desaubeau and continue straight ahead into Rue du Général Sarail. Continue straight ahead, cross Rue de la Renfermerie on the right-hand side and walk along the town hall on your left. At the corner, turn left and you will reach the entrance to the town hall.

(2) With your back to the entrance, cross Esplanade Simone Veil and continue along Rue Colbert. Continue straight ahead, cross Place du Forum (fountain) and reach Place Royale (statue of Louis XV as Roman emperor). Then turn right into Rue Carnot.

Between numbers 13 and 15, pass under the Porte du Chapitre. Continue along the passage of the same name until you reach the north gate of the cathedral. Then turn right, walk along the cathedral on your left and continue until you reach the equestrian statue of Joan of Arc. Then turn left to reach the entrance to the cathedral.

(3) With your back to the entrance, turn left and walk past the entrance to the Palais du Tau. At the end of the square, turn left onto Rue du Cardinal de Lorraine and walk to the Carnegie Library. With your back to the library entrance, take Rue Voltaire, diagonally opposite on the left. Take the^first right, Rue Saint-Symphorien. Continue straight ahead until you reach Place Godinot (fountain). Then turn right and walk along a small car park.

(4) At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue de l'Université. Cross Rue des Murs on the left and continue along Rue du Barbâtre. Keep going straight ahead. After crossing Rue des Carmes on the right and Rue Montlaurent on the left, turn right onto Rue Saint-Maurice. Walk past the church of the same name on your left, then cross a pretty square (fountains).

(5) Come out onto Rue Gambetta and follow it to the left. Cross Rue Eugène Wiet, turn right immediately to cross Rue Gambetta at the pedestrian crossing and follow it to the left. Take the^first right and walk past the Rectorat on your left. Pass a sculpture of a book and walk between two buildings. Come out onto a street and follow it to the left.

After about 100 metres, turn left, go through a wooden gate and enter Parc Saint-Rémi. Cross the park and climb a flight of steps. At the obelisk, turn right and walk past the remains of a chapel on your left. Pass the chevet of the Basilica of Saint-Rémi, turn right, leaving the sculpture of the baptism of Clovis on your left, and arrive at the entrance to the basilica, which is located on the side.

(6) Continue, walk along the basilica on your right and cross the forecourt. Go down the steps and follow a street on your right to the entrance of the Saint-Rémi Museum. Cross the street at the pedestrian crossing and follow it to the left. At the corner of a restaurant, turn right onto Esplanade Fléchambeau. At the end, cross a street and then cross a quay in two stages. Take the bridge over the Canal de l'Aisne à la Marne.

(7) At the end of the bridge, turn right, go through a metal barrier and reach the edge of the canal. Take a shaded, stabilised path (it is also possible to follow the tarmac path closest to the canal, but this is a cycle path). At the foot of^{the first} bridge, climb the stairs on the left.

(8) At the top, take the bridge to cross the canal again. Cross the quay in two stages and continue straight ahead along Rue de Venise. Take the^first left, Rue Clovis. At the crossroads, turn right into Rue du Jard. Cross Rue Abbé de l'Épée on the right-hand side and, at the next crossroads, turn left into Rue des Capucins. At the traffic lights, turn right into Rue Boulard.

(9) At the stop sign, turn left into Square des Capucins. Leave the square via the opposite exit, pass under a porch and emerge into a small courtyard. Then turn left and pass under another porch. Go through a gate, find Rue des Capucins and follow it to the right. Cross Rue Hincmar and continue straight ahead.

At the next intersection, turn right onto Rue Libergier with the cathedral façade in your line of sight. Take the^first left and, at the end, turn left onto Rue Henri Jadart. At the next intersection, turn right onto Rue des Capucins again. Carefully cross the tram tracks and Rue de Vesle.

(10) Follow Rue de Vesle to the right and cross Rue Marx Dormoy on the left-hand side. Shortly afterwards, turn left into Passage Saint-Jacques (gate) and go under a porch. You will come out into a small courtyard at the foot of Saint-Jacques Church. Turn right and go through another gate.

Then turn right and take a shopping passage. Return to Rue de la Vesle and follow it to the left. Cross Rue de Talleyrand on the left-hand side and pass the tram station, noting the Reims Opera House on the opposite side.

(11) Then turn left onto Rue du Clou dans le Fer. At the crossroads, turn left onto Rue des Élus. At the next crossroads, turn right onto Rue de Talleyrand. Take the^first left, Passage Talleyrand (covered shopping arcade). At the crossroads, turn left. You will come out onto Rue Condorcet. Follow it to the right until you reach a square (with a modern fountain in the centre).

(12) Turn left and you will soon reach the entrance to Saint-Jacques Church. Retrace your steps to the middle of the square.

(12) Then turn left onto Rue de Thillois. Pass in front of the old Art Deco-style "Opéra" cinema. At the crossroads, turn right onto Rue Jeanne d'Arc and pass in front of Square des Victimes de la Gestapo. At the next crossroads, turn right onto Rue Duirette.

At the crossroads (central fountain), follow a wide pedestrian path to the left. At the end, cross Boulevard Foch and turn right onto a cement path that leads to the circular lawn with the statue of Colbert. Go around the lawn on the left and take the path towards Les Halles de Boulingrin to reach the Gare Centre tram station (S/E).

Map and timetables for tram lines: see the Citura website.

Alternative starting point: Opéra-Cathédrale tram station (11).

Good trainers are sufficient for this urban route.

Bars, restaurants and shops line the route, with a significantly higher concentration in the Gare/Cathédrale/Opéra/Église Saint-Jacques neighbourhood.

A detailed map is useful (at least the one accompanying this description).

Hike completed by the author on 16 September 2023.

- War memorial (1).
- Town hall (2).
- Statue of Louis XV, Place Royale, and Porte du Châpitre, between (1) and (2).
- Notre-Dame Cathedral (13th-14th century) (3).
- Carnegie Library (1925), Art Deco style, between (3) and (4).
- Ruins near Saint-Rémi Basilica, just before (6).
- Sculpture of the baptism of Clovis, before (6).
- Saint-Rémi Basilica (11th-14th centuries) (6).
- Saint-Rémi Museum, shortly after (6), which is well worth a visit.
- Reims Opera House (11).
- Saint-Jacques Church (13th century) with superb contemporary stained glass windows (12).
- Former Art Deco-style Opéra cinema, shortly afterwards (12).
- Statue of Colbert, born in Reims in 1619, just before (S/E).