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Time is precious when visiting Europe on a vacation and so fitting in a bicycling trip while visiting Paris can be challenging. But escaping the Paris crowds and getting out in the countryside on a bicycle is heaven! The Champagne region is only one hour outside of Paris by train and it is home to the world famous bubbly drink.
We did this ride in 2009 as a weekend escape from Paris with just one small backpack per person. From Paris we took the train from Gare de l’Est to Épernay, a small town located one hour to the east). It is known as the “capitale du champagne” and the town also makes a great place to spend the night for exploring the Champagne region.
Next we went to see the giant statue of Pope Urban II. We had to do a bit of hill climbing to see this Pope statue that stands on a hill in the middle of the medieval hilltop town of Châtillon-sur-Marne. It seems to be almost as tall as the Statue of Liberty. At the top where the statue is located is a reward for those that climb the hill – an awesome viewpoint with lots of trees and shade. Why is Pope Urban II so big here? Well first, Pope Urban II was born in the Champagne region, and second, he declared that the wine here was the best in the world (a little biased you might say). This was between 1042 and 1099 before the invention of champagne by Dom Pérignon (1638 – 1715). The statue was built in the 19th century – another cheesy means of attracting tourists, 1800’s-style.
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