Europe’s ‘champagne capital’  named top alternative holiday hotspot for fewer crowds in 2025

A CITY in France has been named as an amazing holiday alternative to avoid the huge crowds.

Reims, in the northeastern part of France, is just two hours from Paris.

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Being so close to the capital, Expedia Group recently named the city as a ” trending Detour Destination” for 2025.

Along with Italy‘s Brescia and Girona in Spain, Reims was named as a great place to go as an “ideal day trip” where it is less crowded and less well-known.

It is known for its champagne, with many of the France‘s largest houses and vineyards.

Both Veuve Clicquot and Tattinger are made in Reims, both of which you can visit.

Another famous champagne house is The Domaine Vranken-Pommery which has welcomed visitors since 1878.

The famous Biscuits roses de Reims, a pink sweet covered in icing sugar meant to be had with champagne and said to have been served to Louis XVI.

But the city itself has enough for a weekend break, with a number of Gothic buildings.

Reims Cathedral, also called the Cathedral of Notre-Dame at Reims, is one of the most popular attractions.

Dating back for the 1200s, it was used to crowd more than 30 French kings, and even survived the bombings of WWI and WWII which destroyed most of the rest of the city.

It was even the inspiration for the Hunchback of Notre Dame, with Quasimodo’s character based on a bell ringer at the Abbey of Saint-Remi.

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You can see some Monet at the Musée des Beaux-Arts, or go to the Art Deco Bibliothèque Carnegie.

Or there is the Reddition Museum, the site where German soldiers surrendered, ending World War Two.

If you need to soak up the food from too much champagne, thankfully there are some amazing French restaurants to choose from including the highly rated L’Atelier.

Or go fancy with the three Michelin star L’Assiette Champenoise.

Want to stay? One of the highest rated hotels that’s good value is the Best Western Premier Hotel De La Paix although there are also Ibis, Novotel and Holiday Inns.

And one of the newest hotels to open was the Radisson Hotel Reims which welcomed guests this summer.

To get there, you can get the Eurotunnel from Folkestone, with it being about 2hr35 from Calais.

Or if you are already in Paris, you can get a direct train which takes around an hour.

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