I was traveling with my two college-aged children, and after touring the Memorial Museum we headed…read moreto the Fort to see more. First benefit - free parking! Yay! There was a fair amount of parking spaces, so that made things easy. When you enter the fort, you are given the option of paying for the headset audio guide, or getting a laminated handout for free that you return at the end of your tour. We decided on the handout, and it worked just fine for us. Occasionally we lost our place on the handout, but from an informational standpoint it presented lots of great information and allowed us to travel through the fort at probably a quicker pace than if we had to stand and listen to everything. This fort is very old, and quite frankly in disrepair. This is not a polished museum - you really see it as it was when it was used. The walls/floors are damp, and the ceiling does a fair share of dripping so be prepared! We really enjoyed exploring inside the fort and looking through all the gun vantage points, and then went outside and spent a fair amount of time climbing all over the fort exploring the outer areas as well. The landscape still shows the bomb craters from all the bombing, which makes the battle so much more real. It is definitely worth a stop!

This village northeast of Verdun in the Meuse is a "non-place", a former community of 422 farmers…read moreand woodsmen that was utterly destroyed during the World War I Battle of Verdun, from February through October, 1916. The hero of Verdun, Henri Pétain, was a hero in part because he favored artillery over human bodies as a defensive strategy. So for all the frightful casualties of this campaign - 100,000 bodies were later found littering the fields of this sector alone - things might have gone worse for the French poilus, if Pétain had not used artillery to hold the German advance. But the cost was the complete obliteration of nine villages, Fleury-devant-Douaumont among them. Today, you reach the village by a road through a forest where not one single tree pre-dates the battle. On the right, there is a restricted zone where tank crews train. Where the road peters out, you come upon a moonscape with markers for streets and houses and young trees sprouting out of shellholes. It is a sobering place, to say the least. After the war, the French Premier Henri Poincaré came through here and thanked the villages of "la Zone rouge" for their sacrifice. When you stand at the junction in this ghost village, Poincaré's gesture rings well-intentioned but a bit pointless.

Ok, so now you've been to the Cathedral go here...we were going to give it a miss but so glad we…read morewent There is so much to see, yes all the relics are amazing but the statues and tapestries are incredible...then there is all the info and pictures of the fire - that's why the church isn't symmetrical! Everywhere there were school parties, drawing, learning about the cathedral, touring - fantastic Plus there was a special exhibition re the Romanian royal family which was really interesting, lots of exhibits, fascinating Very enjoyable visit

From the owner: Un bain de verdure La maison du Bocage est installée dans une ancienne maison de maître de la fin…read moredu XIXème siècle et ses annexes agricoles (grange, étable). Elle présente le patrimoine naturel de l'Avesnois, et notamment le bocage, paysage né de la volonté des hommes.

This monument also known as The Battle of the Bulge Memorial is next door to the Bastogne War…read moreMuseum. It is an outside structure in the shape of a 5 pointed star. On the walls of the monument are the names of US States along with the names of the different US military units that were involved in the battle. During my visit the gates were locked due to some renovation going on inside so I was only able to observe from the outside. Surrounding the monument are many concrete benches for sitting and taking in the views of not only the impressive monument but also the beautiful Belgium countryside visible from that location. This monument is managed by the American Battle Monuments Commission who also manage all of the foreign based military cemetery's that include US war dead. There is no cost to visiting other than possibly having to pay for parking at the museum next door. Budget 20 minutes to visit here. Best time to visit is immediately before or after visiting the Bastogne War Museum next door.

Powerful monument to the Battle of the Bulge, marking the efforts of the American forces to hold…read moreoff the Germans later in the war. There's a sign with the full inscription in French, English, and German. There's an eagle statue for the 101st Airborne. The monument is imposing and dignified with the full story of the campaign etched in the internal facets. Each of the United States is engraved on the outer upper facets of the star. The monument is placed on the ridge, overlooking the surrounding hills, where the battle was fought. The crypt has a bright mural, a good space for reflection on the sacrifices of human kind during war.

October 2025: Our trip to France this year was 10 days long. We spent a few days in Paris and then…read morecame to Reims to finish our tour. While the whole trip was amazing, Merci France !, our two day tour with Alex of Sparkling Tours was my absolute highlight. Houses Sparkling Tours (ST) has cultivated true relationships with the local and family owned growers in the region. Yes, they can take you to the big names, but the small houses welcome you into their homes and show you their facilities that they use to make the excellent products. It was so sweet to see our guide, Alex, walk in and be welcomed everywhere we went. They invited him to engage with their tours and show us their spaces. It was delightful to hear about all of the generations of families that have been involved in making champagne, and how they continue their legacies. Language Our guide spoke English and made us feel so welcome. As well, all of the growers we visited helped us feel at home. It can be hard to want to speak more French but need English for understanding- everyone was kind and helpful. We never felt lost or confused. We were able to learn and respect everyone throughout the tour. If you're considering a trip like this, but you're unsure of the language barrier, don't be scared. It will be great. In fact, our guide, Alex, is an English teacher! Champagne The six houses we visited all had wonderful champagnes to share with us. In the States, we're used to some subpar bubbles: that is not the case here. It didn't matter the price of the bottle or the age of the grape, every glass was delicious. We learned among us who liked Chardonnay or Meunier more, but all three of us walked away from each glass with respect and admiration. And, the houses were regularly willing to entertain us asking about a specific type or bottle for more information. Driving Alex was a phenomenal driver. I've personally traveled through many countries with many styles of drivers. Alex was careful, attentive, and focused. I never felt unsafe, and he always knew the right route or place to park. The car was so comfortable, too! The trips never felt too long or tiresome between houses. Food ST arranged for our lunches. You can see the menu from day one in my pictures: a scrumptious lunch in Epernay. Everything was included, so it was easy to sit down and pick our options, but we were also and to purchase more wine with our lunch if we desired. Day 2, we ate in the cellar of the Julien Chopin champagne house. They had orchestrated a pairing for us where each course went with one of their champagnes. This experience was exquisite. History Alex was so informed about champagne, the geography, the techniques, the people, and all of the history that goes into making each bottle we enjoy. It never felt like "school", and I was always interested for more. I won't share all I've learned because you need to come and experience it for the first time yourself. Wow, wow! I'll never look at a bottle of champagne the same way. Cost I hope that if you're reading this review that you're considering a trip to Reims like us. I hope you're doing your research and comparing options. So I suspect that when I say this was the most cost effective option we considered, you understand that it was not "cheap" but it was also not expensive. Several other tour companies were more expensive or comparable, but a big part of the expense is how much the Big Houses charge you to visit their locations. If you add them to your tour, your costs will naturally rise. Valentin at ST suggested we do smaller, family owned houses and that saved us quite a few dollars. More importantly, though, it offered us so much value we did not expect. That value is seen in the rest of my review, above and below this category. We were guests in people's homes, not tourists. We were friends with our guide, not customers. We were exploring the tastes of champagne, not just quick sips. After our tour, the three of us agreed that we would readily pay the cost again for all that we experienced and enjoyed. Driver I've been so excited for this part: Alex, our driver and guide, was perfect. I've been taking guided tours with locals and professionals since 2009. I've never had a bad guide, but Alex is the first one whom I will truly miss. While we only spent two days together, his personality and approach were top notch. He was engaging, interesting, helpful, and considerate. We wish we could have had more time with him- we especially would have loved to share lunch with him. I've mentioned little specifics above about how he delivered an excellent tour for us, but just know that if he is the standard for how all of the ST tour team works, then you're in the best care. Alex, if you read this, know that you made a lasting impact on us! Thank you so much. -- Yes, I wrote all of this. No, AI was not involved. I care deeply about sharing good recommendations when they're deserved. I was not paid for this review.

Just finished a champagne tour with this company. Our guide was named Anna and I was blown away by…read moreall her knowledge and professionalism. You get picked up from your hotel and taken to champagne houses (you can request the ones you want - we went for the smaller independent houses and we're so glad we did). We did a half day tour and visited 2 independent houses. Both were amazing and even got to meet the owner of one! This company has a great relationship with many houses in Reims so you really get an outstanding tour. Will definitely be using them again!