fmkgb

Taking a driving trip this month to the above small towns (Grand is a small archeological site near Neufchateau). Any suggestions for any of these towns on restaurants or off-beat things to do that are not found in the guide books?
Thanks in advance.

nicolas75

Arras

Arras is a small lovely town, full of history (impressive Belfry) and arts.
The Fine arts museum, with a nice Flamish art collection, definitely worth the visit.

http://www.arras.fr/tourisme/arras-t...rt-museum.html

Reims

Despite being, with Epernay, the city of champagne, Reims is more gloomy than sparkling.

Still things are changing slowly.

Visit Ruinart and Veuve-Clicquot houses. The recently renovated Veuve Clicquot's Hotel du Marc is a superb mix of tradition and design
http://www.coolhunting.com/travel/hotel-du-marc.php

A visit to a champagne house will inevitably include a tour of its cellars, its bottling, fermentation and storage facilities and a session in its tasting room. As you will be in the region in late autumn (mid-September to mid-October), you may be fortunate enough to witness the harvest, conducted entirely by hand over a three-to-four week period.

Discover the Palace of Tau (chateau with Charlemagne's talisman among other collections).

Go contemporary at Frac Regional contemporary museum located in the Former Jesuit College..
http://www.frac-champagneardenne.org/

Have a champagne lunch at Les Crayères, which is a Relais & Châteaux property near the centre of Reims, just a stone's throw from several of the big champagne houses. It is a converted chateau, impeccably furnished, with lovely gardens (and pricey rooms).

http://www.lescrayeres.com

Remember that Reims is only 30 minutes to Paris by TGV train.

Vittel

Vittel is a very small town. I am afraid it will be hard to find some action in this thermal city (especially during the fall/winter season).

Still, you can visit Garnier's Etablissement Thermal, the Galerie Thermal, the Premier Casino, the Saint-Pierre Villas.

You may stay one night and relax at all inclusive Club Med Le Parc, which is a pleasant property (and very cheap in October), located in a leafy environment.

Nancy

At Nancy, you cannot miss the Place Stanislas, with its superb architecture and elegant cafés.

Nancy is the city of Art nouveau. Visit the villa Majorelle. Have a lunch at brasserie Flo.

The fine arts museum, recently renovated, is one of most interesting French regional museums for the quality of the collections and architecture. Don't miss the superb Daum crystal collection (why not visting the Daum or Baccarat manufactures? But you need a car)

Nancy is also the town of great architect and designer Jean Prouvé:
http://www.jeanprouvenancy2012.com/e...e-jean-prouve/

If you have time, go to Metz (50 km from Nancy) to visit the superb Georges Pompidou Museum (5 minutes walk from central station).
http://www.centrepompidou-metz.fr/en/welcome

Enjoy!

fmkgb

Thanks nicolas75 for your very detailed report. If anyone has off-beat suggestions of things to do or great bistros, brasseries or casual restaurants we would appreciate that, too.

YVR Cockroach

If you have a chance, Maginot line fortresses are fun to visit though some of the smaller ones are only open a few days a year. The fortress at .....e is also fun to visit. The audio tour is enhanced by scent!

tcook052

FWIW the Canadian National Vimy Memorial is near Arras and is the focal point of a large preserved WWI battlefield.

Agree it's great to tour one of the Reims champagne houses and I toured Taitinger on a recent trip. I'd suggest this one as they didn't require advance reservations and the house is within blocks of the UNESCO Heritage site Basilique St-Remi which goes as far back as the 11th century and I found a plesant and quiet sight to explore.

Antonio8069

Is Arras a good place to stay for a visit to Vimy?

tcook052

It is as The Vimy Ridge National Historic Site is only about 10 km north of Arras.

Antonio8069

Thanks, tcook052! Normandy is huge (200 kms across?) so its very helpful to have this kind of on the ground practical experience!
Do you per chance have a personal guide to recommend? (We did this in Belgium and loved it!) Or did you go self-guided?

tcook052

I did Reims as a day trip on my own from Paris in June '12 but haven't been to Vimy yet, though did do scads of research on it as I'd included it in an early version of that France trip itinerary before eventually deciding to stay in Paris for the whole visit and leave seeing the region to a future trip.

As I'm still planning to visit the area I'd be curious to hear your impressions should you decide to take in Arras & the memorial.

YVR Cockroach

A good guide book, if you're focussed on WW-I events (given the centenary coming up, I guess) is Rose Coombs' Before Endeavours Fade.

There are also the various Major and Mrs Holts' guide books.