Tourism
Beneath Reims and Épernay, a World Heritage carved in chalk
The Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars have held a place on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2015, recognised for a tradition of champagne production stretching back to the seventeenth century.
What happened
In 2015, the Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List under criteria (iii), (iv), and (vi). The designated property takes in three distinct but interrelated landscapes: the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay, the hill of Saint-Nicaise in Reims, and the historic hillsides of the Marne valley. At the heart of the inscription lie the chalk cellars — known as crayères — excavated deep into the subsoil beneath both cities. Some of these galleries trace their origins to the Gallo-Roman period, making them among the oldest continuously used underground spaces in France. Taken together, the cellar network beneath Reims and Épernay extends for hundreds of kilometres, forming one of the most extensive underground cellar systems in the world.
Why it matters
The crayères are not merely a curiosity of engineering. Carved into deep chalk, they maintain a naturally stable temperature and humidity throughout the year — conditions that are, by any measure, ideal for the long ageing that champagne demands. Millions of bottles mature in these galleries at any given moment, making the underground as consequential to the final wine as the vineyards above. UNESCO's recognition under three separate criteria affirms that this heritage is exceptional not only for what it tells us about human ingenuity and creativity, but also for the living tradition it continues to sustain. The inscription places Champagne alongside the world's most significant cultural landscapes, lending the region a standing that extends well beyond the wine trade.
Context
The tradition of champagne production that the UNESCO site commemorates developed from the seventeenth century onwards. Over those centuries, the industry shaped both the physical landscape — through the patient excavation of the crayères — and the cultural one, establishing Reims and Épernay as the twin capitals of a craft recognised across the globe. The Avenue de Champagne and the Saint-Nicaise hill stand as the most visible expressions of that history above ground, whilst the chalk galleries beneath them preserve its quieter, more elemental dimension. Together, they represent a heritage that is simultaneously geological, agricultural, architectural, and deeply human.