Reims Cathedral and the Sound & Light Show: Road Trip in France #3

The cathedral of Reims, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a major tourist attraction in the Champagne region. Badly damaged during the war, it was restored with the help of sponsorship. The restoration is based on numerous photographs taken in the 1880s.

This article is part of our series of articles covering our 4-week Road Trip in France. If you have not read the previous articles, I invite you to read the 1st part and the 2nd part here.

Part 1: Travel Diary
Part 2: Practical Tips

Part 1: Travel Diary

Day 1 (continuation and end)

After passing through Amiens and visiting the cellars of Veuve Clicquot, we leave our car and luggage at the hotel (ibis Centre, 67 euros, booking link) before walking to the cathedral. Our hotel is located next to the train station, usually train stations are a bit crappy in France, but the city of Reims does things well: green spaces and even small fountains that do a lot of good on this hot day, like today. Everyone meets there to refresh themselves a little.

Even the streetcar that passes next to the cathedral is nice. There is a small part of the path of the streetcar that has been transformed into a flowered lawn, it’s too pretty!

Because of the works, we enter the cathedral through a door on the side. A mass is held during our visit, the priests are masked, as well as the faithful.

The cathedral of Reims is especially known to have crowned almost all the kings of France from the 11th century.

Among them is Charles VII, in the presence of Joan of Arc. Moreover, a small chapel pays homage to her. It is here that JB’s grandmother got married.

To observe: the rosettes on the main façade, and the astronomical clock, quite simple but massive.

There used to be a labyrinth on the floor, like the one in Amiens and Chartres, but it disappeared in the 18th century. Before the Covid, one could visit the towers but at the moment, this part is closed and visits are temporarily suspended.

Outside, the statues have been very well restored and cleaned.

Reims City Hall

These huge letters remind us too much of Mexico. Our game was to take a picture of ourselves in front of the name of each Mexican city we visited.

Pickles

We dine at the restaurant “Les Cornichons” which serves dishes of impeccable quality! I really, really, really liked their marinated salmon as a starter. JB opted for a salad of pink Champagne lentils while I remain faithful to the tartars. Everything is delicious, and the decoration is super nice: JB sits on a recycled chair, from a theater, mounted on a rail system.

Sound & light show in front of the Cathedral

It rains intermittently but we are relieved to see that it no longer rains as we approach the sound and light show in front of the cathedral. Almost every evening, the cathedral is dressed in light, during a short but grandiose 15-minute show.

The show takes place every day except Monday, at 10:45 pm. But at 22:30, we already start with an interactive quiz. The idea is to connect to the site regalier-reims.fr using a smartphone and then the questions will scroll. The number of answers is displayed live on the cathedral in the form of bubbles and the answer is given directly on the cathedral. It’s very playful, it allows you to see more details about each part of the facade. It is translated into several languages it seems to me.

We are very well placed (just in front of the cathedral). The music is very well chosen and is perfectly in sync with the light. You can feel that they gave themselves the means because the 3D effects are hyper realistic, every detail counts. For a completely free show on top of that. I strongly advise you to attend. It seems to me that this project cost millions of euros. It doesn’t surprise me considering the interactive game & the quality of the show.

At the end of the show, the light remains a little bit more so that we can still enjoy the magic of the show. We will simply regret the lack of respect for the wearing of masks. Sound announcements before the show remind us that it is mandatory but nobody is there to enforce it (unlike in Rouen where it was very well organized).

Part 2: Practical Tips

Useful links

4 weeks Road Trip in France by car: program & detailed plans here
These points of interest are part of the +800 tourist places in France that we recommend. To access free Google Maps of the 800 places in question, click here
More info about our car rental at Leclerc here
Accommodation: ibis Centre, very good, link booking
Quiz before the Sound & Light Show: regalia-reims .fr at 10:30 pm. Show at 10:45 pm

Budget

Accommodation : ibis Centre, Well located, 67 euros per double room, booking link
Restaurant Les Cornichons : count 17 euros / dish
Show in front of the cathedral: free