Orbais-l'Abbaye

Between Épernay and Château-Thierry

Orbais-l'Abbaye lies in the west of the Marne département, in the arrondissement of Épernay. The commune belongs to the canton of Dormans-Paysages de Champagne. It is about 25 kilometres by road to Épernay and roughly 27 kilometres to Château-Thierry. The D11 runs towards Épernay and Montmirail, the D42 towards Château-Thierry and Champaubert. The nearest railway stations are in Épernay, Dormans and Château-Thierry.

The commune covers 1,603 hectares and ranges in altitude from 122 to 235 metres. The Surmelin, a tributary of the Marne, flows north of the village. Besides the village centre, the commune includes many hamlets, among them Coupigny, Saint-Prix, Champdonnant and Montlibault.

Landscape and viticulture

Orbais-l'Abbaye is neither a grand cru nor a premier cru village. It sits in the Brie champenoise, a landscape shaped mainly by farming. Around three quarters of the land is agricultural, with arable fields making up the largest share at a good 62 per cent. Woodland covers a little over 21 per cent, permanent crops just under 3 per cent. If you are looking for champagne hillsides here, you will not find them. The climate is oceanic, with an average annual temperature of about 10 to 11 °C and around 700 millimetres of rain a year.

“It is about 25 kilometres by road to Épernay and roughly 27 kilometres to Château-Thierry.

That makes the village more of a quiet stop away from the better-known wine towns. Parts of the woods around Orbais are protected natural areas, partly because of their birdlife.

The abbey and its history

The village owes its name to the monastery. It was founded around 680 by Rieul of Reims, who is also venerated as Saint-Réole. The abbey church of Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul dates from the end of the 12th century. Its master builder is thought to be Jean d'Orbais, the same architect who worked on Reims Cathedral. If you know the coronation cathedral, you will find a building here with a shared hand, only on a rural scale. The church has been listed as a Monument historique since 1840.

Charles Heidsieck Champagner

What to see

• Abbey church of Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul, built at the end of the 12th century
• Tour Saint-Réole
• Château d'Orbais

According to figures from 1 January 2023, Orbais-l'Abbaye has 505 inhabitants. It is twinned with the Belgian village of Orbais in the municipality of Perwez in Wallonia.

For food and wine lovers

Plan Orbais as a cultural stop on a drive from Épernay into the Marne valley or towards Château-Thierry. You will find the champagne houses and growers in the surrounding wine villages, and the abbey church makes a fitting contrast to a day of cellar visits.