Champagne town is bubbling under for flavour of tourism

Champagne town is bubbling under for flavour of tourism

Champagne town is bubbling under for flavour of tourism

France’s Champagne region has launched a promotional campaign to attract more UKvisitors to the region. Jane Archer reports

ABOUT half of the 500,000 annual visitors to the Aube en Champagne region are from the UK but most only pay a flying visit.

Many just pass through, staying one night in the main town of Troyes, on their way from Calais to Marseilles, according to Aube en Champagne tourism director Bernard Lanter.

In a bid to entice people to stay longer, Lanter has helped launch the region’s first UKpromotion, focusing on a consumer advertising campaign telling people about the attractions and benefits of spending a few days in the northeastern French region.

These include Aube en Champagne’s designer shopping outlet in close proximity to key attractions and, of course, to Champagne.

Lanter said: “We have only really promoted ourselves as a tourist destination for the past five years and have never had a campaign dedicated to the UK market but we are trying now to encourage people to stay longer.”

However, Lanter admitted that at present, a key problem for the town is the shortage of accommodation.

He said there are only 10 good hotels and many of them are very small, with only about 10-30 rooms.

“There is a project to build a three-star 70-room hotel on the old site of the textile factories in the centre of town, with opening scheduled for next summer,” he said.

Aube en Champagne tourism office tour operator sales manager Christelle Clement said UK tour operators, including SeaFrance and Cresta, feature Troyes but the shortage of hotel accommodation means they cannot take any allocations.

Troyes, the main town, is 250 miles and a four-and-a-half hours’ drive from Calais, all on motorways, and is claimed to have more half-timbered houses than any other townin France.

Many of these have been renovated using local and national government money, in addition to European Union funding, and there is more renovation work scheduled for the future.

Lanter added: “Our history and buildings are one of our main attractions.”

One or two-hour walking tours of the town are offered by English guide Jon Catt, who explains the history behind the houses and street names.

Troyes also has a large modern art museum – art lovers should allocate at least half a day there.

Away from the town, the main attraction is to follow a champagne trail (see story below). Aube en Champagne is in the Champagne region, which is the only place in the world Champagne can come from – anything else is sparkling wine – and many producers offer free tours and tasting.

The tourist office is also keen to push the McArthurGlen factory outlet village that opened three years ago, just 10 minutes from the town centre.

Visitors can pick up top brand names such as Wrangler, Lacoste and Versace at prices up to 70% below the high-street levels.

Lotta bottle: there’s plenty of the fizzy stuff to be sampled on one of the region’s tasting tours

Sample product

French connections

SeaFrance: offers three nights at the Moulin du Landion in Dolancourt, 26 miles from Troyes, for £129 per person on a bed and breakfast basis. The price includes return ferry crossing with car.

Cresta: offers three nights in October at the Holiday Inn in the Foret d’Orient, 10 miles from Troyes, for £138 per person bed and breakfast. The price includes return ferry crossing with car and one free night for clients staying a Friday or Saturday night.