The Place d'Erlon is the social heart of Reims — a broad pedestrian square lined with café terraces that fills with students and visitors from lunchtime onwards. The student population of over 25,000 keeps the bar scene lively, and champagne by the glass is available almost everywhere at prices well below what you would pay in Paris. A few specialist champagne bars have opened in the city centre in recent years, offering flights from small grower-producers that rarely reach export markets.