Regions of France: Champagne and Ardennes
Sparkling Wine is usually the main reason for choosing a champagne as a rest. The cultivation of the grape vine was well developed here already in Roman times when Reims was the capital of Belgae region (Belgium), and to the seventeenth century, the wines of this region had already had an excellent reputation. However, the fame of the region brought the technology of making from excellent, but still quite ordinary for the knowledgeable sense in the winemaking of the France of local white wines of the sparkling drink. Contrary to legend, the French monk House Perignon, the owner of the monastic basements of diligence near Epernay (Epernay), is not at all the inventor of champagne, but he made a lot of improvements to the technology of this drink, by that time already well-known. But it was precisely the winemakers champagne made sparkling wine what it is today, worked out technology and offered the world the best grade of champagne wines, which from 1891 officially can only be done here.
Another myth lies in the fact that the champagne is supposedly covered with vineyards and nothing but wine here do not. The fallacy of this belief is visible by the naked eye, since any vineyards immediately rush to any visiting, but the whole fields of wheat and cabbage (they are growing more here than in any other area of France), as well as many cozy historical towns, whose pearl is undoubtedly Ancient Reims.
In the town Schomon (CHAUMONT-EN-BASSIGNY, 93 km to the east of Troi) deserve the attention of the Basilica Saint-Jean-Batist (XV-XVII centuries.) And the old barracks of Les-Silo near the SNCF train station – a kind of graphic art museum and the traditional venue of the International Poster Festival (Festival de L’Affiche, annually, from mid-May to mid-June).
V Colombeye-Les-Die-Egliz (Colombey-Les-Deux-Eglises, 27 km west of Schomon) is the grave of Charles de Gaulle, General House-Museum in La Baazen mansion (open from February to November daily, except Thursday, from 10.00 to 12.00 and from 14.00 to 17.thirty; entrance – 4 euros) and an impressive memorial "Cross Lorarden" – Symbol of French Resistance Movement, standing on a high hill to the west of the town.
Ardennes
Northeast of Reims Landscapes of the Green Valley of Mesa (Maas) are replaced by low (up to 650 m) wooded slopes Ardennes and Argon. Once it was the most direct road for any invasion army, seeking to break through to Paris, did not exception and world wars. Rustling hilly landscape and dense forests (at one time they scared even Legionnaires Julia Caesar) make these edges almost unsuitable for agriculture, and once famous metallurgical plants, which were the main source of jobs, closed in the 1980s. Therefore, these beautiful and small areas have recently develop intensively as an active and ecological tourism zone. Even the proximity of Belgium and the nuclear power plant in SHO, the construction of the locals "noted" Installation on a high climbing cliff "Reset the atomic bomb to the Elysees Palace", only emphasize the calm of these places.
Cities-Twin Charleville (Chaleville) and Mezieres in 1966 merged into one enough extensive city Charleville Mesiere, Saddling mouth of the Ardennes Canal and River Mes. And only about 55 thousand people live here, of which a third is busy in tourism and in transport, which makes the city of a good starting point for the study of Ardennes and just a pleasant holiday destination. Of the historical monuments of the city, the Live Square Ducale, the Museum of Artur Rambo in the old stone mill and the Ardennes Museum (open from Thursday, from Thursday, on Sunday, from 10.00 to 12.00 and from 14.00 to 18.00; The joint ticket in both museum costs 4 euros), the grave Rambo in the cemetery in the western end of Avenue Charles Boutet, as well as the city school and the Institute of Puppet Art, which is the organizer of the world famous WWW.marionnette.COM Festival of Puppets Theaters.
North of Charleville Mezer, you can find the most beautiful rock formations Ardennes, having all sorts of poetic names, like "Castle Devil", or rock de la tour, famous "city hundred battle" Sedan, a beautiful winding valley of Semua, a memorial of resistance fighters around Reven (Revin), as well as a great Museum of De La Form, located 2 km north of Renuez (Renwez), on the very edge of the famous Ardennes forest, famous for its berries, mushrooms and excellent conditions for hunting.
