Châlons-en-Champagne

Location

Châlons-en-Champagne lies in the heart of the Marne département, with the river Marne flowing along the western edge of town. Reims, the largest city in the département, is about half an hour away by car to the north-west. With 42,971 inhabitants (as at 1 January 2023), Châlons is the prefecture of the Marne. Until 2015 it was also the capital of the Champagne-Ardenne region, which is now part of Grand Est. Until 1997 the town was called Châlons-sur-Marne.

Getting here is straightforward: by TGV the journey from Paris takes around an hour, by TER a good hour and a half. The Châlons-Vatry airport lies south of the town.

Viticulture and champagne

Anyone expecting rows of vines right up to the town limits will be disappointed. Arable land and buildings dominate the municipal area, and permanent crops make up only about 0.6 per cent of the surface according to Corine Land Cover. Historically, too, agriculture remained the focus: the rule of the bishops held back the middle classes, and agribusiness is still the most important branch of the economy today.

“With 42,971 inhabitants (as at 1 January 2023), Châlons is the prefecture of the Marne.

For lovers of champagne, though, Châlons is still of interest. The town is associated with the Montagne de Reims regional nature park as a gateway, and the famous vineyards of the Montagne de Reims and around Reims are within easy reach. That makes Châlons a quiet base for touring the Champagne region.

History

In Roman times the place was called Catalaunum or Durocatalaunum and was the main town of the Gallic Catalauni. The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, in which Attila's army was defeated by the Visigoths and Romans in 451, may have taken place near Châlons. In the Middle Ages the bishops administered the town, which gave it several important churches. In the 12th and 13th centuries Châlons was a significant trading centre. In 1671 Philippe d'Orléans married Liselotte of the Palatinate here.

Domaine Pommery, der Firmensitz von Vranken Champagner

In 1856 Napoleon III had the camp of Châlons set up north-east of the town, and it played an important role in the Franco-Prussian War.

Sights

• Saint-Étienne Cathedral
• Notre-Dame-en-Vaux church
• Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie
• Musée Schiller et Goethe
• Musée Garinet

Then there are the waterways: the Canal latéral à la Marne runs for 67 kilometres from Vitry-le-François to Mardeuil and shapes the landscape around the town. If you stay the night in Châlons, you can stroll through the church quarters in the evening and set off the next day to visit the growers of the Montagne de Reims.