h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I'm thinking :
- a champagne house
- the cathedral
Any other ideas?

Also, I'm part of a group (mostly French people, few/no native English speakers) who meet up once a week and have a drink while practising our English.
So, would any of you be interested in a joint h2g2 - "Let's speak English group" meeting? (That could be a meal, or just an afternoon/morning in a café / a park).
I do realise a weekend is pretty short, though, so I'm also asking whether you think it would even be feasible.

Oh yes - that would be a new one: fraternising with the natives.

If the meet turns out to be quite big, though, it might make us a rather large group, which would take some extra organising and needs thinking through.

My French is passable schoolboy, I believe,as long as it is present tense, but have never experienced a problem 'talking' with non-English speaking French speakers.

Would thoroughly enjoy that. I am not your typical Englishman and prefer to meet the locals.



MMF

I'd like to go to the Musée des Beaux-Arts. I've heard they have some good things on show, but that it's not so vast it would use up the whole day.

(I also think meeting the language group's a great idea! )

Do you know, I've lived in Reims for almost 10 years in all, and I've never yet been to the Musée des Beaux Arts.

Tut tut!

MMF

How about Saturday afternoon for something like the Musee, food somewhere, then Saturday evening for the main meet in a bar including champagne and pink biscuits, and either Saturday or Sunday morning breakfast/brunch with the language group?

That sounds like the best use of the time, Coelecanth.

I've been reading up about Reims, but most of it seems very cultural. The place is amazingly historical. The name is even alleged to come from the fact that it was founded by Remus, of Romulus and Remus fame!

There is a Surrender Museum, I notice.

A private guided tour, if I am reading this right, is €8 per head. It may cost extra in a foreign language, though.

There are also guided tours with the art-deco theme and night-time tours.

From my experience in Mannheim, I don't think these will be needed, though, for several reasons.

I'm afraid we won't be able to fit every interesting thing into one week end...

There is also the possibility of splitting up if some want to visit a museum and others prefer visiting a champagne cellar.


So far we have :

- a champagne cellar ? (guided tour : 7 to 10€, and that will require some advance booking).

- the Musée des Beaux Arts ? (entry : 4€; guided tour : add 4€, not sure if they do it in English)

- the Surrender Museum ? (entry : 4€; guided tour : add 4€, not sure if they do it in English - the explanations panels are in English as well as French, though)

- the Cathedral ? (free; maybe guided tour possible, but not sure; audioguided tours definitely possible at a fee)
Could be coupled with the Palais du Tau, just next door, which contains interesting bits of history (entry 7.50€).

- a bar that serves champagne. (I'll have to enquire whether any of them actually serve pink biscuits, or if I'll need to bring my own)

- meeting the locals - we have one or two places that do brunch on Sunday mornings, so that might be our best bet. Or we could go just about anywhere big enough.

I'll probably be staying for a bit longer than the weekend, so If people don't fancy something I'd like to see, I can do it myself before or after the official meet.

So I'm happy enough to go along with the group, really.

Let me know if you need a personal guide.

I think the museum and the champagne cellar are musts for everyone. Maybe tastes vary on which museum and we could split up for that, but I can't imagine anyone would want to miss out on the champagne. Even for those who don't drink, it is surely interesting to find out about the history and techniques involved.

Looking forward to it!

I went to the Mumm caves many ago and really enjoyed it. Just a shame I can't bring any back.

I'll go with the .



MMF

Thanks for the offer, Superfrenchie - I have no real plans made yet, but it's much appreciated!

This bar claims to serve 14 different varieties of champagne! http://uk.eurostar.com/uk/travel-to-france/travel-to-champagne/travel-to-reims/restaurants/l-apostrophe-idp-3671819

And this one says it has "a wide selection of beers and beer-based cocktails", but is listed as a champagne bar too. http://uk.eurostar.com/uk/travel-to-france/travel-to-champagne/travel-to-reims/restaurants/les-trois-brasseurs-idp-11118554

How busy does Reims get on a Saturday night superfrenchie?

I definitely like the idea of as much champagne as possible - it is my favourite beverage bar none.

I'm generally happy to follow the crowd too - I liked the idea of brunch with the language group too.

If we decide as a group not to do art, I may tag another day on, because being in the same place as a lovely art deco collection and not seeing it will make my head explode.

Mmmmh, looks like I'm going to have to go out on Saturday nights, to check how busy it is.
I'd say, being a student town, it can be pretty busy, but mid-June means the University year is almost over; it'll also depend on the weather, though.

Apostrophe is where we've been having our language group meetings every week for almost 3 years now, so I'm fairly well-known there.
I'm pretty sure that if I ask nicely, they will be able to find us a corner somewhere so we don't inconvenience the normal people (and they don't inconvenience us).

You'll have to go to pubs on Saturday nights? I'm impressed by the sacrifices you make for hootoo!