A day in Champagne
Reims & Épernay
We collect you at your Paris hotel around 8.30am and bring you back that evening. The coronation cathedral, the cellars cut into the chalk, the vineyard road and the avenue de Champagne — by Mercedes, with a bilingual chauffeur who is yours for the day. You taste, he drives.
What the day covers
Two towns, a vineyard road in between, and the time to stop. Nothing is fixed: the route is built with you and around the appointments you have made.
Reims Cathedral
Where the kings of France were crowned for more than eight centuries, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Inside, the stained glass windows Marc Chagall designed for the axial chapel, installed in 1974. Allow 45 minutes.
The Reims cellars
Beneath the city, chalk pits first dug in Gallo-Roman times now serve as cellars. These Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars have been UNESCO-listed since 2015. The great houses of the Saint-Nicaise district open to visitors by reservation.
The avenue de Champagne
In Épernay, a kilometre of 19th-century mansions with roughly a hundred kilometres of galleries running underneath. Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët, Pol Roger, de Castellane and its tower: all of it walkable.
The vineyard road
Between Reims and Épernay lies the Montagne de Reims and its grand cru villages — Verzenay and its windmill, Bouzy, Ambonnay, Aÿ. Further south, the Côte des Blancs and the chardonnay of Cramant, Avize and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger.
Hautvillers
Six kilometres from Épernay, the village where Dom Pérignon served as cellarer of the Saint-Pierre abbey and where he is buried. Sweeping views over the Marne valley. A 30-minute stop well worth the detour.
Lunch
A fine-dining table in Reims, a growers' bistro in Aÿ, or lunch at a house that serves one. You choose and you book; we adjust the timings of the day accordingly.
The day, hour by hour
One example of how it runs — the version most of our guests choose. Everything shifts if you would rather start earlier or come back later.
Already have your tasting appointments? Send us the times and we will build the day around them.
Plan my day on WhatsAppReims or Épernay
The question comes up on almost every quote. Twenty-eight kilometres separate the two towns: in one day you can do both without rushing.
Reims
A proper city, with its Gothic cathedral, the Palais du Tau and kilometres of cellars carved into the chalk beneath it. The choice for those who want as much history as champagne, and the easier of the two to combine with a serious lunch.
Épernay
Smaller, and entirely built around the wine. The avenue de Champagne lines up the historic houses along a single kilometre, all within walking distance of one another. This is where you go when the cellars and the cuvées come first.
Reims in the morning, Épernay after lunch
The order we recommend. Reims early, while the cathedral is still quiet, the vineyard road in the middle of the day, then Épernay. About thirty minutes between the two, taking the villages rather than the fast road.
Great houses or independent growers
Two very different experiences, and often complementary within the same day. Plus a word on how all of this is actually booked.
The great houses
Structured visits, professional guides, frequently in several languages, in spectacular cellars. The names everyone knows, in Reims as much as on the avenue de Champagne. Online booking is compulsory, sometimes several weeks ahead in season.
Independent growers
A family estate, the winemaker himself down in the cellar, cuvées you will not find anywhere else. Far less staging, far more time spent with you. By appointment only, and rarely in English — worth checking when you book.
How visits are booked
Directly with the houses. We are not a travel agency and we hold no partnership with the producers, so we will not sell you a tasting we do not control. What we do is point you in the right direction and shape the day around your slots.
Why a private chauffeur
This is the one day trip in our catalogue where the chauffeur is not a comfort but a necessity: you will be tasting from morning to evening.
Rather than the train
The TGV links Paris to Reims in 45 minutes, but it leaves you in the town centre. The grand cru villages, the growers of the Montagne de Reims and Hautvillers are served neither by rail nor properly by local taxis.
Rather than a rental car
The French limit is 0.5 g of alcohol per litre of blood, and 0.2 g on a probationary licence. Two visits pouring three cuvées each will take you well past it. Nobody should have to spit in order to get home.
Rather than a coach tour
No group of forty, no imposed schedule, no house picked for you. You leave when you want, you stay as long as you want, and the vehicle remains at your disposal for the whole day.
Rates for the day
One flat rate for the full day, by vehicle. Around 10 to 11 hours, pickup and return at your Paris address.
- 10 to 11-hour day
- Dedicated bilingual chauffeur
- Fuel, tolls, parking
- Ideal for a couple or a trio
- 10 to 11-hour day
- Dedicated bilingual chauffeur
- Boot space for your bottles
- Ideal for families & groups of friends
- 10 to 11-hour day
- Dedicated bilingual chauffeur
- Maximum comfort on the road
- Ideal for palace guests
Included: vehicle and bilingual chauffeur dedicated to your day, fuel, tolls, parking, bottled water, WiFi and chargers. Not included: tastings and lunch, which are booked directly with the Champagne houses and restaurants. See also our private Paris tour and our Normandy D-Day day trip.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Champagne day trip from Paris cost?
The day costs €980 in the E-Class (up to 3 guests), €1,180 in the V-Class (up to 7 guests) and €1,320 in the S-Class (1 to 2 guests). That rate covers the vehicle and the bilingual chauffeur dedicated to your day, fuel, tolls, parking and bottled water. Tastings and lunch are not included.
Are the tastings included in the price?
No, and we would rather say so plainly. Cellar visits are booked directly with the houses, which run their own calendars and billing. Budget €30 to €90 per person depending on the house and the cuvées poured. We help you choose, we set the timings and we drop you at the door.
How long is the day?
Roughly 10 to 11 hours door to door. Pickup around 8.30am at your Paris hotel, 1h45 to 2h on the road to Reims (145 km via the A4), the day between Reims, the vineyards and Épernay, back in Paris around 7pm. We can leave earlier or return later if you prefer.
Do I have to choose between Reims and Épernay?
No: 28 km separate the two towns, about thirty minutes along the vineyard road. Reims has the coronation cathedral and the chalk cellars; Épernay lines up the historic houses on the avenue de Champagne. Most of our guests do Reims in the morning and Épernay in the afternoon.
Why a chauffeur rather than the train or a rental car?
Because you will be tasting all day. The French legal limit is 0.5 g of alcohol per litre of blood, and two visits are enough to go past it. The TGV reaches Reims in 45 minutes but stops in town, far from the villages and the growers. With a chauffeur there is no wheel, no timetable and no parking to handle.
How far in advance should I book?
For the vehicle and chauffeur, 48 to 72 hours is usually enough. For the Champagne houses, allow 2 to 4 weeks in high season. Pickup at your Paris palace, at your home address, or straight off your flight at Le Bourget or Roissy-CDG.
Let's plan your day in Champagne
Quote within 15 minutes on WhatsApp. Dedicated bilingual chauffeur, Mercedes E, V or S-Class, pickup at your Paris hotel.