FOR BUBBLES AND CLASSIC MENUS

Home to many of France’s largest champagne houses, the pretty medieval city of Reims is an ideal base for a fizz-fuelled visit to the Champagne-ardenne region. Tour the vast network of chalk cellars at the famous Taittinger champagne house (taittinger.com) and the small family-run Champagne Godme Sabine in Verzenay (champagne-godme-sabine.fr). It’s a short drive from Reims (stop on the way to admire the Windmill of Verzenay) and sip champagne six metres above ground at The Perching Bar ( perchingbar.eu) in a treehouse in the forest of Verzy. To soak up all that bubbly, head to Brasserie Excelsior (brasserieexcelsior-reims.fr) in Reims city centre. The menu features classic brasserie dishes, including oysters, steak-frites, beef tartare and crème brulee. Set dinner menus start at £24.60 for two courses. Travel from Dover-calais with DFDS ferries (dfds.co.uk) from £39 each way. Crossings take 90 minutes.

Anna Lawson