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Reims


Gardian

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We've visited Reims on a number of occasions over the years, either as a destination for a 'Champagne Trip', or as a stop-off en route to the south.

We had to return to the UK at the weekend and decided to stay there to break the journey.  Grim!  The pedestrianised area was scruffy, with (unusually for France) discarded fast food wrappers everywhere and the whole area had changed from one with a variety of competing restaurants, to one of a series of kebab houses etc.

Our restaurant experience was awful too - a gap of an hour from the entree to the plat and when I complained, was told that it was "Too many customers, too few staff, not my fault".

No offence to anybody living there, but was our experience unique?   

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Bits are still there, according to Motorsport and this blog

http://www.leblogauto.com/2006/04/le_circuit_reim.html

also

http://www.amis-du-circuit-de-gueux.fr/-Accueil-

Ian - that's a shame, I remember the little sanctuary area in front of the cathedral as being very attractive, and sitting in a café at the end of the road opposite, drinking in a coffee and the view of the cathedral front.

Mind you, there were several Dutch kids skateboarding in the nave of the cathedral...

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[quote user="Dick Smith"] I remember ................... [/quote]

Like me, I think that age may be catching up on you!!

Seriously though, someone needs to get a grip on the place.  The decline, over the space of the last 5 yrs or so, has been marked. 

Buyer beware.

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When we had our caravan, Reims used to be our overnight stop - an ideal position which allowed us to get from Calais in time for tea and onwards to Macon for the next stop.  The campsite was always crowded and very overpriced.  We wondered why, with all the revenue, the facilities looked as if they were in need of a complete refurbishment. (They were clean, but shabby).  Then, one year, the campsite had disappeared - gone without a trace.  That was the end of our association with Reims.

The campsite was located in the middle of an enterprise/industrial/business zone, so I guess that it was intended for redevelopment in the long term, hence the run-down facilities.

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I haven't been there for 2 years but when I did visit I found Reims to be a delightful (and clean) town.  Thinking about it though, I went for the 60th VE day celebrations so maybe they had made a special effort for that weekend.  I hope it hasn't gone downhill as I though it was a great place.
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Regrettably we didn't make it into Reims. The trip to France took 20 hours rather than the expected 8. Car breakdown added 5 hours, M25 closure added the rest. It was the grimmest trip yet.

However once we got to Epernay and had breakfast things looked up, a whizz round Mercier and tasting of 6 fizzes followed by lunch and then a nap brought us back into the land of the awake.Sunday was a gentle drive around the Montagne de Reims with occasional calls into a grower to taste his wares. We did feel obliged to buy some of course.

Have to say the Coop at Mailly was our favourite, a little more expensive than some but well worth it.

Reims will have to wait for another year.

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