Vesle Street

Rue de Vesle, a thousand-year-old axis of Reims

Walking along Rue de Vesle, you tread one of the oldest streets in Reims, inherited from the Gallo-Romans. This axis already crossed the ancient city from east to west and still structures the centre today. The Reims audio-guided tour takes it to show how much the modern city follows, without always knowing it, the plan laid out two thousand years ago.

The decumanus of the ancient city

Established by the Gallo-Romans, the street corresponds to the former decumanus maximus, one of the main axes of a Roman town, which crossed it from east to west. It met at right angles the cardo maximus, oriented north-south. This regular grid, inherited from Antiquity, partly explains the layout of the centre of Reims, where you walk today in the footsteps of Durocortorum.

What to see

Now a lively shopping thoroughfare, Rue de Vesle links several notable places in the centre, including the opera house. Walking along it, you pass seamlessly from the ancient city to today's, between shop windows, façades and passers-by. It is an ideal thread to connect the great sites of Reims while keeping in mind the historical depth of the ground you tread.

Practical information

Rue de Vesle crosses the centre of Reims and is freely explored on foot. It is a busy shopping street, where walking remains the simplest way to get around; parking is limited. The route, flat and central, serves several monuments and easily links the city's main points of interest.

Why is Rue de Vesle so old?

Because it follows the line of the Gallo-Roman decumanus maximus, one of the main axes of the ancient city of Durocortorum, which crossed it from east to west.

What is found along Rue de Vesle?

It is a lively shopping thoroughfare in the centre, serving several notable places in Reims, including the opera house, and conveniently linking the city's great sites.