The best traffic-free bike rides around Loivre

Sure, it's not really a mountain bike destination, but you should definitely take the time, it's worth it.

Under the central arch is a calendar depicting the activities and tasks of agriculture and viticulture: grape pressing, harvesting, etc. A calendar can be seen here through the carved reliefs. Under the eastern arch, we can see a she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus. According to legend, it was Remus who founded Reims. Finally, under the western arch, we can see Leda being seduced by Jupiter.

This ancient monument is one of the longest in the Roman world: it is approximately 32 meters long and 12 meters high! The Mars Gate was built towards the end of the 2nd century and is the only one of the four monumental arches providing access to the city of Durocortorum that has survived. It consists of three arcades. The central arch carried the city's major north-south axis, intended for the passage of carriages. The two side arcades were used by pedestrians.

While staying on the asphalt, you can cover more than 24 km. From the St. Brice Courcelles side, you can go up to La Neuvillette, then to Courcy, it's an unpaved road (passable but not for road bikes). After Courcy, there's asphalt up to Berry au Ferry (this allows you to discover the Sapigneul Owl, about 150 m on dirt road). On the other side, after Sillery, you can continue to Beaumont (asphalt). Then, on a dirt road passable by mountain bike, you can go to the Billy Arch, where the canal passes through a tunnel.

The monument survived destruction because it was walled up inside the Archbishop's castle in the 13th century, which inadvertently preserved it for future generations.

The Porte de Mars is a 3rd-century Roman monument in Reims, France, representing the widest arch in the entire Roman world at 33 meters long and 13 meters high. Originally built as one of four monumental arches at the cardinal entrances to ancient Durocortorum, it's the only surviving example of these grand structures. The arch features three decorated archways with intricate relief carvings, including scenes of Romulus and Remus with the she-wolf, agricultural calendars showing Gallic harvesters, and mythological figures like Leda and Zeus.

The discovery was partially accidental - earlier column finds in 1840 during market hall construction had hinted at Roman remains, but no excavations were undertaken at that time, making the 1922 discovery all the more significant for understanding Reims' Roman heritage.

An underground U-shaped gallery that formed part of the northern section of the Roman forum around 100 AD, located beneath the current Forum Square in downtown Reims. This ancient structure features stone pillars with notches that once supported wooden frameworks dividing the space into compartments, with decorated stucco walls and a barrel-vaulted ceiling made of brick mortar. The gallery was discovered in 1922 during construction work and classified as a historical monument in 1923, though major restoration didn't occur until 1982 when it was finally opened to the public.