In the city of Reims, in the Marne department of the Grand Est region, northeastern France

 "Four be the things I am wiser to know: Idleness, sorrow, a friend, and a foe. Four be the things I'd been better without: Love, curiosity, freckles, and doubt. Three be the things I shall never attain: Envy, content, and sufficient champagne...."

-- Dorothy Parker
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(in northeastern France) The city of Reims, in the Marne department of the Grand Est region, lies east-northeast of Paris. On the Vesle River, a tributary of the Aisne, and the Marne–Aisne canal, the city is in vine-growing country where champagne is produced. (It is overlooked by the Montagne de Reims.)

+ The Gallic tribe of the Remi (from which Reims derives its name) was conquered by the Romans, and the town flourished under their occupation. In the 5th century, Clovis, the Frankish king, was baptized at Reims by Bishop Remigius (Rémi), and in memory of this occasion most French kings were subsequently consecrated here. (Charles VII, for example, was crowned here in 1429 in the presence of Joan of Arc.) The traditional wool industry was stimulated in the 17th century by King Louis XIV’s finance minister, Jean-Baptiste Colbert (a native of Reims). During WWI, the city was occupied briefly by the Germans in their offensive of September 1914; after evacuating it they held the surrounding heights, from which they bombarded the city during the next four years. In WWII Reims was again nearly destroyed, though the cathedral escaped damage. (The act of Germany’s capitulation in WWII was signed at Reims in May 1945.)

+ The 13th-century cathedral of Notre-Dame, which was greatly damaged during World War I but admirably restored, ranks as one of the most beautiful Gothic churches in France. Although its building took more than a century, it has a remarkable unity of style -- with a harmonious facade's graceful and expressive statues, fine 13th-century stained-glass windows, and a collection of reliquaries. The basilica and abbey of Saint-Rémi, begun in the 11th century, was also damaged in World War I, but its interior, with a narrow nave, an early Gothic choir, and 12th-century windows, is still striking. An imposing 3rd-century triumphal arch is one of the city’s few remains dating from Roman times. (The cathedral of Notre-Dame and the abbey were collectively designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1991.)

+ Reims is an administrative and commercial center. Together with Épernay, it forms the industrial center of the champagne wine district. Engineering, chemical, and packaging industries are also important. The city is home to the University of Reims, Champagne-Ardenne, and a large conference center.

+ Rising golden and imperious above the city, the cathedral is where, over the course of a millennium (from 816-to-1825), some 34 sovereigns (among them two dozen kings) began their reigns. Reims is endowed with attractive pedestrian boulevards, with Roman remains, art-deco cafes, and a flourishing fine-dining scene that counts among it, four Michelin-starred restaurants.