Marcilly-sur-Seine

If you think of Champagne as vine-covered slopes and chalk cellars, Marcilly-sur-Seine will show you another side of the region: water, woodland and farmland. The commune has 622 inhabitants (as at 1 January 2023) and belongs to the Marne département in the Grand Est region. It has no cru classification, neither grand cru nor premier cru.

Where the rivers meet

Marcilly-sur-Seine lies about 39 kilometres north-west of Troyes, right where the Aube flows into the Seine. Administratively, the village belongs to the canton of Vertus-Plaine Champenoise and the arrondissement of Épernay. Its neighbouring communes include Romilly-sur-Seine to the south and Conflans-sur-Seine to the west. The Canal de la Haute-Seine also ends here: the canal is 38 kilometres long, no longer navigable, and joins the Aube within the commune's boundaries.

One curiosity for river enthusiasts: Marcilly is considered the first navigable village on the Seine. Below the village lock lies kilometre point 0 of the river.

Landscape rather than vine rows

Marcilly-sur-Seine does not figure as a wine village. The commune is shaped by fields (around 53 per cent of the land) and woodland (just over 31 per cent), with the remainder given over to housing. The climate is oceanic and moderately damp. At the nearest weather station, in Romilly-sur-Seine, rainfall between 1991 and 2020 averaged about 620 millimetres a year, with a mean temperature of 11.2 °C. If you are looking for the great champagne vineyards, you are better off in the Montagne de Reims or on the Côte des Blancs. Marcilly works better as a quiet stop on a journey through the south of the region.

“The commune has 622 inhabitants (as at 1 January 2023) and belongs to the Marne département in the Grand Est region.

History and sights

Marcilly was once a staging post for barges carrying timber. The towpath, which begins in Marcilly and ends in Barberey, is a reminder of that past. Today it is popular with walkers and cyclists.

Chartogne Taillet Champagne

• Church of Saint-Ferréol: very old, and set above the confluence of the Aube and the Seine
• Château de Barbanthall
• Ruins of the castle of Les Galliffet

Village life

The village has a handful of shops, a doctor's surgery and numerous trades, from bricklayers and joiners to a bicycle maker. It keeps itself lively with events, and its patron saint's festival is among the best attended in the canton. The share of second homes and holiday lets is also striking: according to the 2005 figures, just under 17 per cent of dwellings were used by occasional residents and tourists.

Who the detour is for

Marcilly-sur-Seine is not a destination for tastings, but it is a chance to get to know the south of the Marne away from the well-known champagne routes. A walk by the water, a look down over the river valley from the church and a visit to the two historic buildings make for a relaxed half day. The right champagne to go with it is best picked up in one of the region's growers' villages.