The thirteenth-century Cathédrale Notre-Dame (daily 7.30am–7.30pm) features prominently in French history: in 1429 Joan of Arc succeeded in getting the Dauphin crowned here as Charles VII – an act of immense significance when France was more or less wiped off the map by the English and their allies. In all, 26 kings of France were crowned in the Gothic glory of this edifice.The lure of the cathedral's interior is the kaleidoscopic patterns in the stained glass, with Marc Chagall designs in the east chapel and champagne processes glorified in the south transept. But the greatest appeal is outside: an inexplicable joke runs around the restored but still badly mutilated statuary on the west front – the giggling angels who seem to be responsible for disseminating the prank are a rare delight. Not all the figures on the cathedral's west front are originals – some have been removed to spare them further erosion and are now at the former bishop's palace, the Palais du Tau. Between June and September the upper parts of the cathedral are open to the public (10–11.30am & 2–5.30pm; guided tour every 30min; €4); as well as a walk round the transepts and chevet, you get to see inside the framework of the cathedral roof. At the Palais du Tau (daily: May–Aug 9.30am–6.30pm; Sept–April 9.30am–12.30pm & 2–5.30pm; €5.49), next door to the cathedral, you can appreciate the expressiveness of the statuary from close up – a view that would never have been possible in their intended monumental positions on the cathedral. Apart from the grinning angels, there are also some friendly-looking gargoyles and a superb Eve, shiftily clutching the monster of sin. As added narrative, embroidered tapestries of the Song of Songs line the walls. The palace also preserves, in a state of unlikely veneration, the paraphernalia of the arch- reactionary Charles X's coronation in 1824, right down to the dauphin's hat box. In being anointed here in purple pomp, Louis XVI's brother stated his intention to return the country to the ancien régime. His attempt turned out to be short-lived, but the tradition he was calling upon dated back to 496 AD when Clovis, king of the Franks, was baptized in Reims. Just west of the cathedral on rue Chanzy, the Musée des Beaux-Arts (daily except Tues & public hols 10am–noon & 2–6pm; €1.60) is the city's principal art museum, which, though ill suited to its ancient building, effectively covers French art from the Renaissance to the present. Few of the works are among the particular artists' best, but the collection does contain one of David's replicas of his famous Marat death scene, a set of 27 Corots, two great Gauguin still lifes, some beautifully observed sixteenth-century German portraits, and various interesting odds and ends, including an old tabac sign from nineteenth-century Reims. Five minutes north of the cathedral, there's another museum in the Hôtel de Vergeur, 36 place du Forum (Tues–Sun 2–6pm; €3.85). It's a stuffed treasure house of all kinds of beautiful objects, including two sets of Dürer engravings – an Apocalypse and Passion of Christ – but you have to go through a long guided tour of the whole works. By the museum there's access to sections of the partly submerged arcades of the crypto portique Gallo-Romain (mid-June to mid-Sept Tues–Sun 2–5pm; free), which date back to 200 AD. Reims' other Roman monument, the quadruple-arched Porte de Mars, on place de la République, belongs to the same era. West of the Porte, behind the station in rue Franklin-Roosevelt, is the Musée de la Reddition ("Museum of Surrender"; daily except Tues & public hols 10am–noon & 2–6pm; €1.50), based around an old schoolroom that served as Eisenhower's HQ from February 1945. In the early hours of May 7, 1945, General Jodl agreed to the unconditional surrender of the German army here, thus ending World War II in Europe. The room has been left exactly as it was (minus the ashtrays and carpet), with the Allies' battle maps on the walls. The visit includes a good documentary film and numerous photographs and press cuttings.
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