- Département
- Marne
- Site
- Forêt de Vertus, south of Épernay (near the Côte des Blancs)
- Inhabitants
- 311 (2023)
- Source
- Wikipedia, eigene Zusammenfassung
Villers-aux-Bois is a small woodland village of 311 inhabitants, about 14 kilometres south of Épernay. It has no cru status, but lies close to Vertus and has a 17th-century château.
Location
Villers-aux-Bois lies about 14 kilometres south of Épernay in the wooded Forêt de Vertus area, in the Marne département. Neighbouring communes include Moslins, Chaltrait and Blancs-Coteaux. The commune belongs to the arrondissement of Épernay and the canton of Vertus-Plaine Champenoise. Statistically it sits within the Épernay catchment area and counts as a rural commune with scattered housing.
The landscape is shaped by forest: just under half of the land (49.1% in 2018) is wooded. Arable land makes up 33.1%, meadows 11.9% and built-up areas 5.9%. There is no river, only the Étang de Villers, a pond of 3.9 hectares.
Its place in Champagne
Villers-aux-Bois is neither grand cru nor premier cru. If you come here looking for champagne, you will not find a classic winegrowing site, but a village on the edge of the better-known wine villages. Nearby Vertus, around 6 kilometres away, belongs to the Côte des Blancs, home of Chardonnay wines. That makes the village a good, quiet base for trips into that region.
Climate
The climate is oceanic and classified as Cfb under Köppen-Geiger: temperate, with fresh summers and no dry season. The nearest Météo-France station is in Chouilly, 12 kilometres away. For 1991 to 2020 it records an annual mean temperature of 11.4 °C and average rainfall of 668.9 mm a year. The extremes recorded there: 40.3 °C on 25 July 2019 and minus 12.3 °C on 5 February 2012.
Name and sights
The place name goes back to the Gallo-Roman villare, derived from villa, meaning a large rural estate. The village is documented as early as 1170 as "Vilier". The present spelling "Villers-aux-Bois" appears in 1508.
- Church of Saint-Pierre, 19th century
- Château de Soulières, 17th and 19th centuries, with façades and roofs protected as a monument historique since 1980
The château is privately owned today, so the best way to see it is on a walk through the village.
Getting there
Villers-aux-Bois has a stop on line Z of the Mouvéo network to Épernay and Vertus. In 2025 there are two return journeys a day from Monday to Saturday, except on public holidays. A car gives you far more flexibility. In 2023 the commune had exactly 311 inhabitants.
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