POMMERY

In planning a visit to Reims, I was thinking of the cathedral that was used for the coronation of french kings - when they had kings, that is.

But coming to Reims and not seeing a champagne house is like going to Sydney and not seeing the Bridge and Opera House, or going to Longreach and not seeing the Hall of Fame or Qantas museum.

You usually have to book a place, but the tourist bureau told us that Pommery were open all day and bookings were not needed.  So off we went.

View from outside.

Entrance to the caves - 116 steps to be precise. This was taken as we were leaving and had to climb up. Temperatures below were steady at about 10 degrees. We were warned to put on a "veste".

There are 18 kilometers of underground tunnels - or caves.  1.5km were open to the public. There were some bottles to be seen - all marked do not touch and very well locked down.

We declined the glass of champagne at the end - and saved 11 euros - each.  But we were offered a glass of sparkling grape juice instead!