"Champagne-Ardenne Page" Top 5 Page for this destination Champagne-Ardenne by Mique

During my (too short) stay in this beautiful area i definitely promised myself to come back here. Unluckily for me i got really stuck in traffic driving up to my destination. It took me a mere 3 hours to get out of the Netherlands while according to the route description the whole trip should take up around 4,5 hours. So i wasn't too happy. Besides that it was a beautiful day with lots of sun and the 2 days i spent in the Ardennes it drizzled. The day i went back home it was dry again. So my walking-shoes came back home unused. So the not-walking alone already justifies a return visit.

But i must admit it is quite an interesting feeling when you drive somewhere at around 8 pm and you have the feeling it is somewhere in the middel of the night and your about the last person on earth..Especially if you're used to big cities.

Besides that i was spoiled rotten in this lovely hotel. So it was a very wise decision to go there to recharge the battery.

There are beautiful little villages to visit. Lots of chateaux and old monastaries. But also larger cities are nearby like Reims with its magnificent Cathedral. But also places like Verdun, Sedan and Bouillon.

If you love outdoor sports like walking, horsebackriding, cycling and more of that you 'll find everything here. It claims to have 300 kilometers of long-distance hiking-tracks and around a 1000 kilometers of shorter routes. Furthermore 3 golf-courses and 41 equestrian centres, 3330 kilometer of horse-ring trails, 2 national mountain biking centres and places where canoes and other water-sport material can be rented.

For people interesting in the first and second world war there is a lot to visit as wel.

There are 6 thematical routes through the Ardennes: The fortifications route, The Folklore route of the Meuse and the Semoy, The Rimbaud-Verlaine route, The forests, Lakes and Abbeys route, The Thiérache Fortified Churches route, The Le Porcien route

• Cons:4 days was definitely too short a time
• In a nutshell:Absolutely a little heaven on earth