To your right stretches Place Hugues Plomb, right in the heart of Épernay. It’s surrounded by buildings typical of the city’s architecture, along with key administrative offices like the post office on your left and the notary’s office across the way. In the past, this square was the very center of civic life in Épernay. Around it stood the old Saint-Martin Abbey, the original Notre-Dame Church, and the former Town Hall. It was also the site of the local market, a lively place full of daily activity. Over time, the square changed: the Notre-Dame Church was rebuilt farther away on Place Mendès France, and the Town Hall was relocated to the Auban-Moët mansion. The post office moved into the building you see today, and the square itself was redesigned to become what it is now. At its center is a fountain, donated by a man named Mr. Legée-Laherte—though little is known about him beyond his generous gift to the city. The person we do know more about is Hugues Plomb, whose name the square now bears. He was the former mayor of Avenay, a nearby town about ten kilometers from here, and he donated one million francs to help build a new town hall in Épernay. Although the project never came to life due to the outbreak of World War I, the city chose to honor his generosity by naming the square where the old town hall once stood after him.