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Champagne region or?

We will driving from Massangis ( near Vezelay) to Frankfurt. I currently have a reservation at a B n B near Colmar but we have been to this Alsace region twice before, so I'd love a stop somewhere new. We prefer old medieval villages, but we do have 3 nights so we want to see interesting things nearby. We are not into big cities.

We are basically trying to break up the 6 hour drive to Frankfurt. I see Reims, Epernay, Champagne, Nancy, and Metz, France. Any experience with any of these or other you might recommend?

Thanks!

Posted by
11056 posts

I have been to all but Metz. Reims and Epernay are in the Champagne region, and it’s interesting to take some Champagne house tours there. Nancy is in Lorraine and has a beautiful large city square. The US Army liberated Nancy in WWII.

Posted by
1954 posts

Agree with Suki about the city square in Nancy. Didn't visit Metz too, but heard good things about it, so worth checking out. Not in France but Luxembourg City has a nice historic centre and if the Roman history is of interest Trier just across the border in Germany is certainly worth considering too. This are not villages but this is what I know.

Posted by
6783 posts

Troyes is a bit too close to Massangis to really break the drive BUT it has an amazingly well-preserved medieval town center, really quite large too! And there is champagne there too.
Otherwise, both Metz and Nancy make for interesting visits for a few hours or a day (not more, though). I personally prefer Metz, and from there you can easily visit Verdun too.
Reims is a little bit out of your way, and so is Épernay, but if you are really interested in champagne (the wine, not the region), why not!

Posted by
1912 posts

Thank you for the responses!

The Champagne region looked like something different but hubby doesn't drink at all and my interest would probably be minimal. But, we love the medieval villages. I had looked at Troyes as well and it looks very cool! I think we have decided to keep our trip the same and just try to see if there are other places nearby we haven't seen yet.

Posted by
3586 posts

Nancy is a very pretty town. In addition to the elegant city square, there are examples of Art Nouveau buildings all around, capped by the Musee de l’Ecole de Nancy. There is a restaurant, where we had a nice meal, whose interior was designed by one of the practicioners of that style, Brasserie L’Excelsior.

Posted by
10178 posts

Have you been to the Black Forest? Easy drive from the Colmar area. Monte might like the excellent car museum in Mulhouse. I enjoyed it almost as much as Jim did.

Posted by
10178 posts

It’s old cars and pretty cool. Just saying… We went on a cold and rainy day and wanted something indoors. I’m hoping your weather conditions are better. 😉