Discover Champagne-Sur-Seine

Champagne-Sur-Seine can be explored from two distinct perspectives: the Seine landscape and walks, and church architecture and industrial history. As you plan your trip, consider which theme you would like to focus on. The natural attractions offer specific points of reference for local paths, water and wildlife; the historic buildings tell stories of different eras and the town’s working history.

The Seine landscape and walks

Les Basses Godernes is an 11-hectare Espace naturel sensible on the right bank of a bend in the Seine. It has a walk of about 2 kilometres, including a 1.2-kilometre loop around the pond. The pond loop is the shorter of the two options described; the longer walk is about 2 kilometres. You can use these distances to choose the route length that suits your plans for the day.

The local flora and fauna add their own points of interest: kingfishers, great crested grebes and common terns can be spotted at Les Basses Godernes; dragonflies and orchids are also found there. If you are interested in observing nature, these species, along with the riverbank and pond, offer a specific focus for your stay.

Hikes with different focuses

The long-distance GR 2 hiking trail passes through Champagne-Sur-Seine and then follows the Seine. A route description published in 2025 also includes the «L’eau, le fer, la pierre» hike through the town and notes its yellow waymarking and CODERANDO77 label. Check the waymarking and access before setting out.

The two routes have different focuses: for the GR 2, the described passage through Champagne-Sur-Seine and onwards along the river is the point of reference. «L’eau, le fer, la pierre», by contrast, explores the Seine and the Les Basses Godernes pond, the iron used in the factory’s electromechanical structures by Schneider, and the locally quarried white millstone. The route’s name thus offers a thematic way to explore the landscape and the town’s industrial history.

Church architecture and local history

The Église Saint-François-d’Assise was designed by Michel Marot and built between 1963 and 1965. Its spire is 26 metres high, and its walls are clad in Meulière stone. Inside, 14 red-tinted stained-glass windows form a Stations of the Cross. The construction dates, materials, height and windows each reveal a different aspect of the architecture.

The Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-toutes-les protections was built in 1938 with funds from Russian immigrants who had lived in Champagne-Sur-Seine since 1917 and worked mostly at the Schneider factory. A 2020 inventory describes its collection of icons and the doors of its iconostasis as preserved. The chapel bears the «Architecture contemporaine remarquable» label. This building brings together the history of immigration and work, sacred art and a contemporary architecture award.

The Église Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption offers a link to an earlier period: it retains structural elements from the 12th century and has been listed as a Monument historique since 1926. Together with the Église Saint-François-d’Assise, built between 1963 and 1965, it spans a broad stretch of time—from medieval architectural elements to a church built in the 1960s.

Housing, forest and stone

The Cité des Alouettes draws attention to a different type of architecture: the settlement consists of terraced houses and was inspired by English workers’ housing. Rather than a single religious building, the focus here is on the design of a settlement. The Forêt domaniale de Champagne also connects the landscape with its former uses. Its features include ponds and traces of former sandstone quarries. The sandstone extracted there was once used to make Paris’s street paving. In these places, you can encounter both natural features and traces of building and working.

Discover more destinations: Pommeuse, Sainte-Colombe, Chaumes-En-Brie, La Ferté-Gaucher, Saint-Martin-du-Boschet, Le Mesnil-Amelot, Crécy-La-Chapelle, Mary-sur-Marne.

For the regional travel overview: Seine-Et-Marne.