Reims Cathedral

Notre-Dame de Reims was where French kings were crowned, about thirty of them from the twelfth century to 1825, including Charles VII in 1429 with Joan of Arc present. The west front carries a huge population of sculpture, among it the Smiling Angel, which became famous after German shelling in September 1914 set the roof timbers alight and the statue's head fell and broke; the fire destroyed the roof and melted lead ran through the building. Restoration took until 1938 and continued after the second war. Marc Chagall designed three windows for the axial chapel in 1974, deep blue against the pale stone.

What you actually see

• The Smiling Angel - the sculpture broken in the 1914 shelling and remade.
• The west front - a facade crowded with medieval statuary.
• The Chagall windows - deep blue glass in the axial chapel from 1974.
• The Palais du Tau - the archbishop's palace with coronation treasures.

When to go

April to October; tower climbs run in season only and are timed. Summer evenings bring a light projection onto the facade recreating medieval polychrome. The cathedral itself is free year-round.

Honest expectations

Restoration scaffolding is often somewhere on the building. Tower visits are limited, ticketed and involve many steps. Much of the exterior sculpture is replacement, the originals being in the Palais du Tau.

Nearby

The Champagne cellars are in the city; the Faux de Verzy lie southeast.