3 Best Sights in Soissons, Champagne Country

Rodin famously declared that "there are no hours in this cathedral, but rather eternity." The Gothic interior, with its pure lines and restrained ornamentation, creates a more harmonious impression than the asymmetrical, one-tower facade. The most remarkable feature, however, is the rounded four-story southern transept, an element more frequently found in the German Rhineland than in France. Rubens's Adoration of the Shepherds hangs on the other side of the transept. Guided tours of the cathedral and towers take place on Sunday afternoons.

Partly housed in the medieval abbey of St-Léger, the town museum has a varied collection of local archaeological finds and paintings, with fine 19th-century works by Gustave Courbet and Eugène Boudin.

The twin-spire facade, arcaded cloister, and airy refectory are all that remain of this hilltop abbey church. Constructed between the 14th and 16th century, St-Jean-des-Vignes was largely dismantled just after the Revolution, and its fallen stones were used to restore the Cathédrale St-Gervais Saint-Potrais. Nevertheless, the church is still the most impressive sight in Soissons, the hollow of what was once its rose window peering out over the town like the eye of some giant Cyclops. Major renovations have restored one of the church's towers, the interior of which can be seen during a guided tour offered Saturdays at 4 pm; 3D headsets can also be rented daily.