Here in the UK, champagne is synonymous with festivity and frivolity – but our association with it has rarely gone further than a pile of empty bottles at New Year along with a sore head to nurse. The Champagne Ardenne region in France, though, is a place we should all be a little more familiar with. Over 300 million bottles of plonk left the cellar doors of Champagne houses last year, a figure only bettered in 1999 when 327 million bottles were sold.

For rural ramblers, the Champagne region has a dearth of appeal; the name Champagne is derived from the Latin word 'campagna', meaning countryside, and there is certainly no shortage of rolling pastures. It's almost like stepping into some kind of Gallic episode of Emmerdale, sans the hotpots. Dubious televisual comparisons aside, No matter where you go in the region you are unlikely to stray too far from landscapesreminiscent of an oil painting. The many combine harvesters you'll see in the region aren't just for show, either – 61.4 per cent of Champagne's land is dedicated to agriculture, according to government statistics.

The region itself, a loosely L-shaped wedge in the north-eastern corner of the country, borders Belgium to the north, Lorraine to the east, and Picardie and Ile-de-France to the west. The western part of Champagne, around Reims, Epernay, Ste-Minehould and Vitry-le-Frangois, is known as 'Champagne Crayeuse', or 'chalky Champagne', as it's an area of dry soil consisting of permeable chalk. The gently undulating plains that surround this area have rarely been used for anything other than as a pasture for sheep.

The adjoining area is known as 'Champagne humide' (wet Champagne) and forms an arc to the east of Ste-Minehould and Vitry. Champagne humide earns its title as a well-watered region dotted with small farms and stone houses. In total, Champagne-Ardenne has four departments: Aube, Ardennes, Haute-Marne, and Marne.

Ardennes, the most northerly department, is a gently rolling and well-wooded region with hills rising to just over 500 metres through which flow the Meuse and the Semois rivers. The local architecture has been marked by the surrounding geology. The sandstone around Charleville Mizihres, for example, colours the houses yellow and soaks up the sun, while different rust-coloured stone gives other houses a red tint. Further south, and named after the Aube river which flows through the department before joining the Seine, Aube is a land of lush fertile fields and dense forest – the Forjt d' Orient – which is purported to have been inhabited by knights during the Crusades.

It is in the rich, fertile ground of this department that the sparkling wine Champagne is grown. With the opening of the A26 highway between the towns of Reims and Dijon (in Burgundy) more tourists will soon begin to discover the Aube route, and may kick themselves for not venturing there sooner because Troyes, the central town of Aube and the original capital of Champagne, is steeped in history. Fire destroyed much of the town in 1524 but wealthy inhabitants rebuilt it on a larger, more opulent scale, much of which remains today. The attractive timber-framed houses are superb and, throughout summer, the Son et lumière (sound and light) displays are not to be missed.

Of the eight half-timbered churches that can be found in Aube and nowhere else in France, the Eglise St Jacques et St Philippe at Lentilles in Les Grand Lacs is a definitely a must-see example of these unique 16th-century structures. To the north of Aube, the Marne department is located at the very heart of the Champagne industry. The department's capital is Reims, the epicentre of sparkling wine production. Reims' wide streets and well cared for parks give it a very pleasant atmosphere. The Cathedral of Our Lady, richly decorated in Gothic style, is arguably one of France's most impressive religious buildings. Furthest south you might be forgiven for thinking that the largely provincial department of Haute Marne has little claim to fame. However, from its fortified towns and villages, Haute-Marne preserves the memory of some illustrious characters: General de Gaulle in Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, Voltaire in Cirey-sur-Blaise and Diderot in Langres.

You get a real sense of stepping back in time walking down the narrow streets and watching the local craftsmen weaving baskets as they have done for centuries. Property is fairly inexpensive in Champagne-Ardenne. Something sure to drive up the property values, though, is the new TGV line connecting Paris to Strasbourg which will open in 2007 and serve Reims with a new train station in the commune of Bezannes.

Within the Champagne region property prices can vary dramatically. For example, the closer you get to Brussels in the north and Paris in the west, the higher prices get. Property prices in the Marne department fall somewhere in the middle of those found in the fairly expensive Aube and the far cheaper Ardennes departments. At the time of writing a recently renovated three-bedroom duplex apartment in Reims, was on the market for 157,000 euros (approximately £105,735), while in Epernay 296,800 euros (approximately £199,900) would have been enough to buy you a three-bedroom home set in 1.25 acres of enclosed gardens.

So, it might be time to pop the cork and drink in the sights and sensations of Champagne Ardenne, the rural region that has more to offer than bubbles and inebriation.
While the weather may remind you somewhat of the UK, the scenery is undoubtedly some of the most engaging and sweepingly romantic you're likely to find.

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Articles about other regions of France:
Life and property in Montpellier
Bastide property bargains

Article published in August 2007