Small tourist village located on the edge of the biggest artificial lake of France (2nd of Europe): the lake of the Der, with an area of 4,800 hectares. With 77 km of shores, cycling is a treat; young and old, the whole family can enjoy it.
The lake was flooded in 1974, swallowing a good part of the beautiful forest and three villages, Chantecoq, Nuisement aux Bois and Champaubert, in order to regulate the course of the Marne. For years, the inhabitants supported not their mayor, have tried the impossible to keep their village, but the lake has won, only tears shed. Avoiding the great floods that Paris had experienced in 1910 was indispensable. Multiple advantages have opted for the region, the waterproofness of its clay soil has weighed heavily in the balance. The lake fills up during the winter and empties in the fall, however, the amount of water remaining is enough for the mariners.
Today, the lake and its fame revive the region. In summer, the sight of boats rocked by a rippling of wavelets, gives an impression of seaside. The arrival of these beautiful sailboats more and more numerous necessitated an enlargement of the port. It must be said that its banks compete with the most beautiful beaches. Many games for young and old, skating, mountain biking, hiking, sailing...
The church of Champaubert standing on an island, seems to come out of the water. Visitors can visit its small peninsula.
The village has kept its authenticity champenoise, in these half-timbered houses maintained without distorting the work of the old, these wash houses now silent and flowery as the streets... The river Droye still meanders in the meadows, the poplars hum at the slightest breath of air. On the plot, the rides were set up on the village feast day, while the church sometimes announces a wedding or baptism.
Just out of the village, a beautiful countryside invites you to discover its bocage champenois, its groves, its large fields, the green carpet of the meadows where comes to sneak a brook between the reeds.
Further, the forest where the oak is king, "Der", oak in Celtic, gave its name to the region so rich of beauties realized by the old ones. The churches, like the houses, are built in half-timbering. The church route will give you a glimpse of the beauty of the architecture made with wood and mud. This filler material, made of clay and kneaded oat straw fragments is placed between the posts and supported by wooden slats, palsans or pylons. Some bell towers are small wonders, covered with small wooden scales that are the essences or shingles.
If you witness the passing of the living clouds, do not be surprised by the din that squeaks, trumpet, foulcat. These beautiful travelers are cranes, who come from far away since they crossed Africa, flew over the Mediterranean Sea and part of France. This crane battalion shows its joy to find its favorite lake.
The advantage of the village and its surroundings lies in the fact that the joys of holidays are there. The lake for nautical pleasures, the countryside for walks and the discovery of flora and birds, the mysterious forest where you will meet the inhabitants of the woods and its shy flowers that must be discovered. Many birds invite you to admire them: crested grebes, great cormorants, gray herons, gray geese, gray wagtails, lapwings, cranes...