Saint-Martin-D'ablois: Champagne, gardens and history

Saint-Martin-D'ablois brings together three distinct themes for a stay: Parc du Sourdon as an English landscape garden, a church with architectural elements from different centuries, and Champagne visits at two producers. There is also a panorama over the village from the hamlet of Montbayen. When choosing a destination, these highlights can help you identify your own interests: landscape and waterways, architectural history, or tastings. The places and activities below offer concrete points of reference, without requiring you to give equal weight to every theme.

Garden, stream and village panorama

Parc du Sourdon is one of the few English landscape gardens in the Marne department. This style of garden places the designed landscape at its heart and gives the park a distinctive cultural and historical significance. The Sourdon rises in the park and flows into the Cubry farther down in the village; its course thus links the garden and village in a clear sequence. Those who appreciate landscape and waterways as interconnected themes will find a specific point of reference here when deciding where to travel. The hamlet of Montbayen offers another perspective, with a panorama over the village. Montbayen adds a view across Saint-Martin-D'ablois to the park's setting within the village.

Church and architectural history

The Church of Saint Martin d'Ablois gives a stay its own focus on architectural history. A church in Saint-Martin-d'Ablois is documented as early as 1145; it predated the present church. Two distinctly different building phases can be identified in the present church: the apse and transept date from the 16th century and are designed in the Flamboyant Gothic style. The nave and tower date from the 18th century and, by contrast, imitate the Romanesque style. The apse closes off the chancel; the transept is the part of the church building arranged crosswise to the nave. Flamboyant Gothic refers to a Late Gothic style, while the Romanesque design of the more recent elements is an imitation from a later period. This makes the chronology important: the Romanesque appearance does not mean the nave and tower date from the medieval Romanesque period. Those interested in church architecture can distinguish the building elements, their dates and their stylistic references, rather than assigning the church to a single century.

Champagne visits in the village

Champagne is also represented by two specific producers. Champagne Patrick Breul welcomes visitors to the Château de Saint Martin d'Ablois for tours and tastings. Champagne Michel Hatat offers cellar tours and tastings at the “Bulloir” Caveau. Tastings are part of both offerings; the tours differ in their setting: a château on the one hand, and a cellar and the Bulloir Caveau on the other. These specific differences can help you compare the types of visit. Check the booking conditions before planning a visit, as they may change.

Discover more destinations: Vert-Toulon, Chamery, Champaubert, Montmirail, Chouilly, Witry-Lès-Reims, Warmeriville, Vandières

For the broader travel overview: Marne.