I would like to start this article on a note of honesty: it took me more than two months to figure out what the word rémois·e meant. Yet, with this important piece of French vocabulary, I intend to fully make up for this shortcoming of mine with this article. So, let me show you how to make it your own, and become truly rémois·e.
The key is to fuck around and find out. In each of our respective hometowns, we knew where to turn if we wanted to engage in culture, music, partying, or just a bar night. If you want to do the same in Reims, you have to put a little more effort into finding the places that offer you the entertainment you desire. But let me nudge you in the right direction.
Let’s look at theatre first. The Comédie de Reims offers a great range of plays to choose from, but I want to highlight just one. In December, a play entitled Rapt is on almost every week. Written by Lucie Boisdamour, it tells the story of a man whose online identity is stolen. Although it is a thriller, the story also discusses contemporary topics, like privacy rights, identity, and democracy. The cherry on top is the fact that the FRAC Champagne-Ardenne – the contemporary art museum adjacent to Sciences Po – has an exhibition inspired by the play under the title REELS.
Moving on, if you are looking for a more refined musical experience than the Mamma Mia night at Atrium, you might want to visit the website of Opéra de Reims; they offer many classical music concerts, but operas, too – shocking, I know. But they also have a fox-trot/Charleston night, which is meant to, they say, “make your legs tingling” and “your armpits wiggling.” Now, isn’t that promising? But irony aside, take your friends from our campus dance association Time to Swing! to offer you some guidance with the dance moves and explore what our great-grandparents danced to. The show is entitled TOUT EST POUR VOUS ! à Sézanne.
As I know that the term “university student” is merely a euphemism for “beginner alcoholic,” I want to remind you all that we are still in the city of champagne. So your next step should be to explore some champagne caves. If you feel lost, don’t hesitate to join an event organised by our very own Champagne Tasting Club on campus but you can find useful guides online, too. No one can deny the fact that local sparkling wine consumption is an essential part of being a Rémois·e. Besides, you will forever be able to flex the refined taste you acquired in the heart of the Champagne region.
Finally, I have to say that there has never been a better time to start diving into city life than now, as the traditional Reims Christmas Market has just begun. I am sure that you have seen the Christmas lights being put up all around the city. On the 24th of November, all of them lit up, signalling the start of the holiday season. In the park next to the train station, the Christmas market is going to be filled with vendors selling everything you would expect from a French Christmas market. This writer specifically hoped for mulled wine (and he got it), but you can also taste many champagne brands from the region, as well as some French delicacies. At Place d’Erlon, you can already see a Ferris wheel being put up, but you can expect many other attractions such as a farmers market, Christmas carols, a scavenger hunt, as well as the return of the Regalia shows.
I hope this guide convinced you that it is worth embracing your new home and making the most of it. So drink champagne, go to concerts, plays, and museums – participate in the city life; so that you can comfortably say you are Rémois·e!
