Reims

Reims is a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies 129 km (80 miles) east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire. Reims stands in a plain on the banks of the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne, and on the Canal de l'Aisne à la Marne linking the Aisne and Marne rivers. South and west rise the Montagne de Reims and vine-clad hills.

Reims played a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the traditional site of the crowning of the kings of France. Thus the Cathedral of Reims (damaged by the Germans during the First World War but restored since) played the same role in France as Westminster Abbey did in England. It housed the Holy Ampulla (Sainte Ampoule) containing the Saint Chrême (chrism), allegedly brought by a white dove (the Holy Spirit) at the baptism of Clovis in 496, and used for the anointing, the most important part of the coronation of French kings.

Some sources regard Reims as the capital of the province of Champagne, given its size as by far the largest city in the region. The 2008 census recorded 188,078 inhabitants.