Champagne
Reims, Épernay: the most prestigious Champagne houses, under two hours from Paris.
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Reims, between cathedral and historic cellars
Reims Cathedral, built where Clovis was baptised and where most French kings were crowned up to Charles X, towers over a city built above kilometres of Gallo-Roman chalk pits, first dug to quarry stone and later converted for ageing champagne.
The great houses based in Reims, several of which are part of the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars, offer guided tours of their underground galleries, often followed by a guided tasting of their different cuvées.
The Basilica of Saint-Remi and the Palace of Tau, the former archbishops' residence, round out the city's architectural heritage for visitors who want to see more than the champagne houses.
The historic centre of Reims, rebuilt after the destruction of the First World War, blends Art Deco architecture with older surviving buildings, a contrast especially visible on Place Drouet d'Erlon.
The tours offered by the houses vary in length and price depending on the tasting you choose, a detail to specify when booking so the day's programme can be adjusted.
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Avenue de Champagne in Épernay
Avenue de Champagne, which runs for about a kilometre through Épernay, is home to some of the most prestigious houses in the world of champagne, with more than 100 kilometres of underground galleries dug into the chalk beneath it, holding hundreds of millions of bottles as they age.
A stroll along the avenue past the nineteenth-century façades of the great champagne houses, followed by a cellar tour and tasting, is the heart of a typical day in Épernay, usually booked in advance with the house of your choice.
The Museum of Champagne Wine and Regional Archaeology, housed in a former château in the town, offers an informative look at the history of the champagne method for visitors who want to learn more about the vineyards.
The town hall gardens and Parc Roger-Menu, right next to the avenue, offer a pleasant break between cellar visits, especially in fine weather.
Some houses offer tastings on a terrace overlooking the vines, weather permitting, extending the visit in a setting quite different from the underground cellars.
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The Côte des Blancs and the vineyards
South of Épernay, the Côte des Blancs stretches over some fifteen kilometres of slopes planted almost entirely with Chardonnay, with vineyards as far as the eye can see, particularly photogenic as the seasons change, from the soft greens of spring to the golden hues of the September harvest.
Several Côte des Blancs villages, such as Cramant and Avize, ranked among the most renowned crus of the appellation, are home to family estates offering more intimate visits than the big champagne houses of Reims and Épernay.
A tasting at one of these family estates, often with the winemaker in person, offers a different and complementary perspective to a visit to a major house, for visitors curious about the variety of styles within a single appellation.
The Mont Aimé viewpoint, overlooking the Côte des Blancs, offers a sweeping panorama of the whole vineyard, a popular photo stop between tastings.
The Côte des Blancs villages are pleasant to explore on foot over short distances between neighbouring houses, so you can see more without getting back in the car each time.
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Planning your day with a chauffeur
Champagne is just under two hours' drive from Paris on the A4 motorway. For visitors who want to make the most of the houses' tastings without having to drive back, a chauffeur who stays on site throughout becomes a real asset rather than a mere convenience.
The most prestigious houses, in Reims and Épernay alike, usually offer tours by appointment at set times: your chauffeur plans the day to get you there on time, with none of the stress of navigating unfamiliar roads.
A typical day combines a house in Reims in the morning, lunch at one of the region's restaurants, then Avenue de Champagne in Épernay in the afternoon, with the option of adding a stop at a family estate on the Côte des Blancs if time allows.
This service is booked for a minimum of 5 hours, at an hourly rate set by the vehicle you choose, for a full day with no surprises on the final price.
The late-afternoon return to Paris usually benefits from lighter traffic on the A4 than the morning departure, for a stress-free arrival after a day of tastings.
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