Wine region
Champagne is the chalk country around Reims and Épernay where three grapes become sparkling wine, and where the houses open their cellars to visitors.
Photo: FrDr / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Champagne's vineyards cover some 34,300 hectares across 319 villages, which the region calls crus, about 90 miles east of Paris. More than 16,000 growers tend nearly 280,000 plots, averaging no more than 0.12 hectare each.
Reims and Épernay are 27 km apart. On July 4, 2015, the Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars were added to the UNESCO World Heritage list as a cultural landscape.
Three grapes make almost all Champagne: pinot noir and meunier, which are black, and chardonnay, which is white. Arbane, Petit Meslier, Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris are also permitted, but together they cover less than 0.4% of the vineyard.
Each grape has its own ground. Pinot noir is the main grape on the Montagne de Reims and makes up 83% of the vines in the Côte des Bar. The Côte des Blancs takes its name from chardonnay, and meunier takes over as you travel west along the Marne Valley.
The rock underneath matters too. Limestone, as chalk, marl and limestone proper, makes up 75% of the region's outcrops. Chalk is porous, so it stores water like a reservoir and regulates how much the vines take up through the summer.
Grand cru on a label is used only for wines from villages with a 100% rating, and premier cru for villages rated 90 to 100%.
The label also tells you the style. Blanc de blancs is made only from white grapes such as chardonnay, and blanc de noirs only from black grapes. A vintage Champagne comes from the wines of a single year. Non-vintage Champagne ages in the cellar for at least 15 months and vintage Champagne for at least 3 years, and brut on a label means less than 12 grams of sugar per liter.
Who makes the wine shapes the visit. A Champagne house buys grapes from growers, makes the wine on its own premises and sells it under its own label. A récoltant-manipulant is a grower who makes and sells their own Champagne, and cooperatives pool pressing and winemaking for their members.
In Reims, the tourist office offers booking for many of the major houses, Ruinart among them. Its list of major houses to visit also includes Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin and Demoiselle Vranken. The Reims tourist office also lists Canard-Duchêne, in Ludes, among the houses to visit.
In Épernay, De Castellane at 63 avenue de Champagne opens seven days a week from March 12 to December 22, 2026, from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Its visit takes in a museum and the 66-meter Tour du Champagne.
Ruinart, Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin and Demoiselle Vranken are in Reims, and De Castellane is on the avenue de Champagne in Épernay.
From Paris, the direct TGV INOUI from Paris Est reaches Reims in 46 minutes. Some journeys instead run to the out-of-town Champagne-Ardenne TGV station and continue by TER, which adds a change; the fastest of those takes 61 minutes.
Before you go:
If you are driving, spit at tastings, and choose a designated driver for the day.
À La Française / Viator
You spend 3 hours at one family-run winery near Épernay, with six tastings and lunch included. Groups are capped at 12 and a local guide leads in English. At €90 ($97), the fee covers entrance, tastings and the meal.
From €903 hours
Best for: A hands-on tasting class with lunch, small groups
Sparkling Tour / Viator
You visit three family-run Champagne growers outside Reims in a private minivan with air conditioning, for up to 8 people. The 8-hour day starts with hotel pickup in Reims or Épernay and includes entry and tastings of 10 Champagnes. It costs €495 ($535) from.
From €4958 hours
Best for: Small groups who want a private day with three growers
À La Française / Viator
You spend 8 hours 10 minutes with a local English-speaking guide in a group of no more than 8. The day covers a Veuve Clicquot visit, a family-run winery and a traditional lunch. At €330 ($356), it includes 9 Champagne tastings and admission.
From €3308 hours 10 minutes
Best for: Small-group full day: one big house, one grower
CHAMPAGNE DREAM TOUR / Viator
This 4-hour half day covers a visit and tasting at Champagne Munoz Bruneau, a single estate near Épernay. Travel is in an air-conditioned vehicle. It costs from €80 ($86), and the tasting is part of the visit.
From €804 hours
Best for: Épernay visitors who want one grower's cellar
Wine area
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The Côte des Bar is the southern arc of Champagne, south-east of Troyes, where pinot noir covers most of the vineyard.…
| Town | Hotels | From a night | Tiers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reims | 9 | — | Mid-range, Luxury |
| Épernay | 4 | — | Budget, Mid-range |
| Châlons-en-Champagne | 1 | — | Mid-range |
| Troyes | 2 | — | Luxury, Mid-range |
| Month | Visiting |
|---|---|
| January | Quieter |
| February | Quieter |
| March | Quieter |
| April | Quieter |
| May | Best time |
| June | Best time |
| July | Quieter |
| August | Quieter |
| September | Best time |
| October | Quieter |
| November | Quieter |
| December | Quieter |
Plan your trip
How to get from Paris CDG to Champagne by train: the direct TGV to Champagne-Ardenne TGV near Reims, the connections to Reims-Centre and Épernay, and the driving rules in Reims.
Plan your trip
The direct TGV INOUI from Paris Est reaches Reims-Centre, in the city center, in 46 minutes. Here are the daily trains, fares, rail passes and the tram link from Champagne-Ardenne TGV.
Plan your trip
Direct trains from Paris Gare de l'Est reach Épernay in 1 hour 20 minutes, and the other route changes at Reims. Fares start at €11 ($12), and the last train back to Paris leaves Épernay at 7:49 p.m.
Plan your trip
How booking champagne house visits works in Reims, Épernay and Aÿ: when to book, what a visit includes, entry fees, Sunday opening and what happens if your plans change.
Plan your trip
How to visit Champagne without a car: the trains from Paris, the Ligne des Bulles between Reims and Épernay, local buses, bike rental, taxis and the tourist office shuttle to champagne houses.
Plan your trip
How to get from Reims to Épernay by the TER Ligne des Bulles or by car, with journey times, the four stops on the way and parking in Épernay.
Guide
What happens on a first champagne tasting in Reims, Épernay and the villages: how house and grower visits work, the label terms you will hear, how to taste and pace yourself, and what it costs.
Guide
How cellar tours work at Mumm, Veuve Clicquot, Taittinger, Ruinart, Pommery, Lanson and G.H. Martel in Reims: formats, fees, opening days, children's rules and access to the chalk crayères.
Guide
Reims or Épernay as a base for Champagne: the trains from Paris, the houses in each town with their fees and opening days, and what else each town has, side by side.
Guide
How to see Reims, Épernay or both in one day from Paris: the trains there and back, what fits around them, when the champagne houses open and what their visits cost.
Guide
When the Champagne harvest happens, how the start dates are set, which houses stay open, how to join a grower for a picking morning and what harvest-time visits cost.
Guide
Which champagne houses in Reims and Épernay receive visitors from November to March, on which days and at what hours, what they cost, and the dates of the Christmas market and Habits de Lumière.
Guide
Which Avenue de Champagne houses in Épernay take visitors, how each visit works, what it costs and when the doors open, from Moët & Chandon to the walk-in bars along the way.
Guide
Dom Pérignon worked at the Hautvillers abbey for 47 years and is buried in its church, which is open to visitors. Here is the history, how to get there, the village growers and what visits cost.
Guide
How to find récoltant-manipulant growers in the Montagne de Reims, the Marne Valley, the Côte des Blancs and the Côte des Bar, how their visits work, when they open and what a tasting costs.
Guide
What the three UNESCO-listed ensembles of Champagne are, from the Hautvillers hillsides to the Saint-Nicaise hill and the Avenue de Champagne, and how to reach, book and pay for a visit to each.
Guide
The marked walks through the Champagne vineyards, from Ligne des Bulles village loops to the 52 km GR de Pays, with lengths, start points, train access, opening months and tasting fees along the way.
Guide
The routes for cycling the Champagne vineyards, from the Marne canal towpath to the Montagne de Reims climbs, plus where to rent a bike and how to bring one on the train.
Guide
Which champagne houses welcome children, what they charge under-18s and what they pour instead of champagne, plus the family sights around Reims and Épernay, from the Verzenay lighthouse to a fossil cave.
Guide
The main festivals and events in Champagne month by month, with their published dates, the trains from Paris, the houses that receive visitors and what passes cost.
Guide
What the Reims crayères are, how old chalk quarries became champagne cellars, how deep and cold they are, and which houses take you down into them.
Itinerary
A two-day plan by train: Reims's cathedral and chalk cellars on Day 1, the Avenue de Champagne and Hautvillers on Day 2, with the house visits to book and their fees and hours.
Itinerary
Two car-free days in Champagne: the TGV from Paris to Reims, the Ligne des Bulles to Épernay, then buses, bikes and walks to Aÿ and Hautvillers, with the times and fees for each step.
Itinerary
A three-day plan for Champagne by train or car: the chalk cellars of Reims, the Montagne de Reims villages to Hautvillers, then Épernay's Avenue de Champagne and the chardonnay villages of the Côte des Blancs.
Where to stay
Five 4-star hotels in Reims and Bezannes, grouped by address and distance from the center, with the Paris train time, the two stations and a side-by-side table.
Where to stay
Where to stay in Champagne: six hotels in Reims, Bezannes and Dizy, with distances from town centers, train times from Paris and a table comparing tier and best use.
Where to stay
Three hotels in Épernay and Dizy, grouped by address and distance from the town center, with train and car times from Paris and a table comparing tier and best-for.
May, June, September are the best months to visit.
By TGV from Paris: 45 min (Paris Est to Reims). The nearest airport is Paris-Charles de Gaulle (CDG).
Champagne is best known for Pinot Noir.
This guide covers Reims, Épernay, Hautvillers, Aÿ, Châlons-en-Champagne, Troyes. Each town page lists where to stay and which estates to visit.
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