- Sacred kings, smiling saints
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 - A saint on the facade of Reims's cathedral
For the first time in European art, saints smile as if asking Man to join them.
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As well, being anointed at Reims made kings rulers by divine right.
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- Joan of Arc became a national figure when the king was anointed at Reims, practically at her command
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 - Statue of Joan, Reims cathedral
Are we talking about the same girl?
"Witch and whore" (Shakespeare), "sweet and pious" (a conservative 19th-century French historian), exuberant iconoclast (Shaw), the means by which "the supernatural enters History" (the 19th-century republican historian Michelet, a surprising comment!)...
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We present images and short texts to show how historians use the past to reveal their own times, and describe current reseach on France's best-loved heroine.
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- We continue in a famed establishment's vineyards with its hundreds of thousands of bottles
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 - One of France's first businesswomen
Over a glass of champagne in her salon, or by her tomb, we learn how this discreet 19th-century woman transformed the wine's production.
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 - Gallo-Roman wine cellar
Both sites are opened by special permission, as are the immense wine cellars.
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- A vineyard "déjeuner" comes next
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 - The establishments "country home"
Members of the Reims Automobile Club may join us...
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- ... and take us through the paradisical countryside with cars of other epochs
- Or we discover a small producer
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 - Village mayors (our host is on the right)
We explore his 18th-century cellars and taste several kinds of his wine.
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It is a pleasure to find an establishment where joie de vivre counts much more than commerce.
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- Supper can be in this 1920's home
Our guide and hostess redecorated her 18th-century townhouse in art déco style. The choice was personal, but it fits the look of the town.
World War 1's destruction meant 1920's rebuilding, often in the art déco spirit. The style is now part of Reims's patrimony.
Danielle Brissaud was an executive at Veuve Cliquot champagne for 20 years and regularly received us there.
 - With us at Veuve Cliquot
Now she presides over Reims's Automobile Club.
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 - Eighteenth-century façade, 1920's décor
 - and now
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•Costs: Please CLICK
° For the remuneration of our local guide, please ask us.
° The cost of the day described here depends upon the number of people and context. Please ask us.
Credits: cellar, portrait, bottles / Veuve Cliquot Champagne; townhouse / our hostess ; early reception at Veuve Cliquot / Karin Liebe; other photos / Claude Abron
