Reims with kids:
18 ideas for an unforgettable family trip
Museums, underground chalk caves, magical forests and thrilling adventures — Reims has far more to offer families than you might expect.
Most visitors come to Reims for its cathedral, its champagne and its gastronomy — a very adult-sounding itinerary. But scratch the surface and you'll find a city that's surprisingly generous to families. Kid-friendly museums with activity booklets, vast parks for running around, a forest of bizarrely twisted trees straight out of a fairy tale, underground caves that feel like a film set — there's something here for every age, from toddlers to teenagers.
The practical case is just as strong: Reims is just 45 minutes from Paris by direct TGV, and virtually every activity in this guide is within 45 minutes of the city centre. No complicated logistics, no long drives between stops. Here are 18 ideas to build your family trip around.
Culture & history
5 activities · Museums free for under-18sNotre-Dame Cathedral
For 1,000 years, the kings of France were crowned here — and the building itself is one of the greatest Gothic cathedrals in Europe. Children tend to be immediately captivated by the gargoyles crawling across the façades, and by the dreamlike blue-and-green stained glass windows created by Marc Chagall in the 1970s. Try turning it into a game: spot as many gargoyles as you can before going inside, then find the stories depicted in the windows. At weekends in season, it's possible to climb the towers for a panoramic view over the city.
💶 Tower climb: €9/adult · Free for under-18s
The Planetarium
A ten-minute tram ride from the cathedral, Reims' Planetarium is one of the city's best-kept family secrets. Under the hemispherical dome, children sink into reclining seats and watch the night sky unfold in real time — constellations named, planets tracked, time accelerated across hours and centuries. Dedicated programmes for ages 3–7 run on specific sessions; check the schedule when booking.
🕐 Open daily during school holidays (Zone B): 10:30am–6pm
📞 Booking advised: 03 26 35 34 70
Musée Saint-Remi
Housed in a royal abbey that dates back to the 11th century — itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site — this museum traces the history of Reims from prehistoric times to the Renaissance across 17 rooms. The architecture alone is worth the visit: a medieval cloister, a monumental staircase, Romanesque vaulting. For children, the museum provides free activity booklets at the entrance on weekends and during school holidays, and runs creative workshops (coat of arms, mosaics) for ages 4 and up during the holidays.
💶 €5.50/adult · Free on the 1st Sunday of each month
Fort de la Pompelle Museum
Built in the 1870s as part of Reims' defensive ring, this fort played a decisive role in protecting the city during World War I. Today it's a museum with an impressive collection of weapons, artillery, uniforms and — most memorably — an extraordinary array of German helmets. The objects are real, the atmosphere immersive. A guided tour is recommended to put the WW1 themes in context for younger visitors.
💶 €5.50/adult · Free on the 1st Sunday of each month
Musée Automobile Reims-Champagne
One of the five largest car museums in France: over 250 vehicles spanning from 1903 to the present day, plus a staggering collection of 7,000 scale models and toy cars. A visit accessible to all ages, no prior interest in cars required — the sheer variety of shapes and eras tends to do the job.
Champagne, family-style
2 activities · Underground caves that captivate children tooPommery Champagne House
Descend 116 steps to find yourself 30 metres underground in galleries carved by the Gallo-Romans 2,000 years ago. The 18 km of chalk tunnels at Pommery house an annual contemporary art exhibition — "Expérience Pommery" — featuring monumental sculptures, immersive installations and works that play with light and scale. These are exactly the kind of oversized, colourful, tactile artworks that children respond to instinctively, sparking conversations that continue long after you've surfaced. Parents get a champagne tasting at the end; children get the memory of having been underground in a cathedral of chalk.
The caves stay at 12°C year-round — bring a light jacket even in summer. Children need to be walking independently to manage the 116-step descent and ascent.
💶 From €27/adult · Reduced rate ages 10–17
🗓 Booking recommended May–October
Alfred Tritant — the lantern tour in Bouzy
For a champagne experience very different from the grand houses, the Alfred Tritant estate in the village of Bouzy offers a lantern tour: by the light of a single lamp in the cellar, the history of champagne-making is explained at a pace that works for children. The domain has been certified organic (Agriculture Biologique) since 2023, and also produces Bouzy Rouge — a still red wine from the Champagne region, a rarity that always puzzles children who expect bubbles. The village of Bouzy itself, a Grand Cru village on the slopes of the Montagne de Reims, is worth a short stroll.
🕐 Mon/Tue/Thu/Fri 9am–5pm · Wed morning · Sat 10am–5pm · By appointment
💶 Lantern tour: €12–24/adult
Reims' parks
4 green spaces · Picnics welcome everywhereParc de Champagne
The city's largest public park at 22 hectares, once part of the Pommery estate. Wide open spaces for running, playgrounds, sports pitches, shaded paths — the ideal long pause between two visits or a dedicated morning outdoors.
Hautes & Basses Promenades
Reims' great linear park running through the heart of the city — far more than a pedestrian avenue. Reflecting pools, hammocks, children's play areas, sports spaces, a rope suspension bridge, large lawns for picnicking, and shaded paths in every direction. One of the best family spots in the city, all within walking distance of the main sights.
Parc Léo Lagrange
A lively neighbourhood park with a pond, a skate park open to bikes too, and an imaginative playground featuring cabin-style structures. A favourite with Reims families for its relaxed, community atmosphere.
Parc de la Patte d'Oie
A quieter, more intimate park particularly suited to young children. Its unmissable feature: two giant mascots that children spot from a distance and immediately make the focal point of their visit.
Nature escapes around Reims
3 outings · 15–20 minutes from ReimsThe Faux de Verzy
In the forest of Verzy, 20 minutes from Reims, grow the strangest trees in France. The Faux de Verzy are twisted beeches — a rare variety whose branches curl, loop and intertwine into shapes that look like something from a Grimm fairy tale. Some have been given names that say everything: the Umbrella Beech, the Bride Beech, the Bull's Head Beech. A 3-kilometre marked trail winds through the forest, labelled Tourisme & Handicap and accessible with all-terrain pushchairs. Picnic areas are provided on site.
🚗 Free car park on site
Perching Adventure — treetop adventure park at Verzy
Right next to the Faux de Verzy, this adventure park offers 8 treetop courses ranging from 1 to 25 metres high in a 10-hectare forest, accessible from age 3 thanks to a continuous safety line. Combine the Faux de Verzy in the morning and the adventure park in the afternoon for the perfect nature day.
🌐 perchinglife.com
La Cueillette de Muizon — pick-your-own farm
A 15-minute drive from Reims, this market garden has been welcoming families since 1991. The idea is simple: pick your own vegetables, fruit and flowers according to the season — strawberries, tomatoes, apples, squash, whatever's ready. A wonderfully direct way for children to understand where food comes from. There are also a few farm animals (donkeys, hens, goats), a small play area, and a terrace serving homemade apple juice.
🕐 Mon 2:30–7pm · Tue–Fri 9am–7pm · Sat–Sun 9am–7pm
🌐 cueillettedemuizon.fr
Unusual & leisure activities
4 activities · Thrills and discoveriesMusée Automobile Reims-Champagne
250 vehicles from 1903 to the present day, plus 7,000 scale models and toy cars. One of the five largest car museums in France — genuinely entertaining for all ages.
SENSAS Reims
A two-hour experience in near-total darkness, played as a team. Olfactory, tactile and taste-based challenges — something between an escape room and a sensory obstacle course. Each amulet won is converted into a donation to a local charity. An original, genuinely team-building outing that works just as well for kids and parents.
🕐 Every day 10am–midnight (last session 10pm)
💶 €28/adult · €25/child ages 7–13
🌐 reims.sensas.top
UCPA Sport Station Grand Reims
A large multi-sport complex a short walk from the station: swimming pool with slides and a pentagliss, year-round ice rink, holiday activity programmes and children's birthday packages. The ideal wet-weather option — or simply a great day out.
🕐 Mon–Fri 9am–10pm · Weekends 9am–7pm
🌐 ucpa.com/sport-station/grand-reims
ZigZag Parc
15 minutes from Reims on the road towards Châlons: a maize maze, 11 inflatable structures, a petting farm, an 18-hole mini-golf, a 200-metre zip line, pedal karts and a water play area in summer — all on 8 hectares of riverside meadow. Food available on site; picnic areas provided.
🕐 Apr/May/Jun/Sep: Wed + Sat + Sun 11am–6:30pm · Jul–Aug: daily 10:30am–7pm
🌐 zigzagparc.fr
Local flavours
The edible souvenir to bring homeFossier — biscuiterie tour
No visit to Reims is complete without introducing children to the biscuit rose de Reims — a pale pink, twice-baked biscuit that has been made in the city since 1756 and is traditionally dunked in champagne, though it tastes just as good on its own. The Fossier biscuiterie (factory) offers guided tours with a glass-walled viewing gallery above the production floor, a film on the history of the house, and a generous tasting at the end. Short, sweet and genuinely engaging for children.
The factory tour and outlet shop are in the Neuvillette district — not in the city centre. The boutique on Cours Langlet in the centre sells the biscuits but does not offer tours.
🕐 Tours Mon–Fri 9am–3pm · Booking required
💶 From €5.50/person · 📞 03 26 40 67 67
🌐 fossier.com
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