Weekend Trip to Épernay and Reims

Every semester, we take a weekend trip to visit another region in France. This past weekend, we took the train to Épernay in the Champagne region where we visited the Mercier cellars, their vineyards, and of course tasted some champagne.

After an afternoon under the Épernay sun, we took the next train for Reims, where we had a delicious dinner in the center of the city. We ate garlic buttered escargots, magret de canard, fish, seasonal vegetables, and crème brûlée !

Sunday morning we had time to freely explore the city and cheer on the runners of the marathon taking place before having a local lunch. We then visited the Notre-Dame cathedral of Reims — bigger than the one in paris —and learned of the historical importance of the city.

While many students travel throughout their CUPA semester, not many have the chance to explore smaller French cities or towns, which offer an indispensable perspective on French culture and life outside of Paris. Our weekend and day trips allow students to travel differently and are some of the biggest highlights of the semester !