Vallée de la Marne · Champagne
Photo: Fab5669 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Épernay is the Champagne town built around the Avenue de Champagne, a UNESCO-listed street lined with champagne houses. Wine travelers stop here to tour cellars, join guided walks and reach the vineyards around town.
Épernay is a champagne town organized around one street. The Avenue de Champagne is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and no fewer than twenty champagne houses stand along it.
The town sits in the center of 34,000 hectares of vineyards. It is about 1 hour 30 minutes from Paris, 27 km from Reims, 31 km from Châlons-en-Champagne and 48 km from Château-Thierry, which makes it a practical base for the wider Champagne region.
The rail links reach well beyond Paris. Strasbourg is 3.5 hours away by direct TER, and Lille is 2.5 hours away by TGV then TER, with changes at Reims.
The tourist office is at 7 avenue de Champagne, so you can start on the street itself. It offers free champagne tastings in its reception area, and it runs the guided walks and tours described below.
Visits here usually mean a guided cellar tour followed by a tasting. The table shows how four houses handle it. Three are on or near the avenue, and one is out in the Côte des Blancs.
| Estate | Visits | Tasting from |
|---|---|---|
| Moët & Chandon | By appointment, daily | — |
| Champagne De Venoge | Hôtel particulier de Venoge, 33 avenue de Champagne | — |
| Champagne A. Bergère | By appointment, daily including Sunday | — |
| Champagne Michel Gonet (Villa Signolle), Avize | Walk-in or appointment, daily | — |
Moët & Chandon has 28 km of cellars. Its guided tour is followed by a tasting with a sommelier, and you should book your visit in advance.
Champagne A. Bergère offers a classic tour that covers the cellar, a film and a tasting. You can also book a vineyard visit with a tasting of 3 cuvées.
Champagne De Venoge receives visitors at the Hôtel particulier de Venoge, 33 avenue de Champagne. It is also one of the partner houses for the tourist office's guided walk.
Champagne Michel Gonet is in Avize, in the Côte des Blancs, not in Épernay itself. The house welcomes visitors every day for a tasting, with or without an appointment. That makes it the easiest stop if your plans are loose.
The tourist office runs a one-hour guided walk on the Avenue de Champagne, in French and English. It costs €8.50 ($9) for adults and €4.50 ($5) for under 18s, and children under 5 go free.
The "Epernay Gourmand" visit lasts 1.5 hours: 1 hour on the avenue with a guide, then 30 minutes of tasting in a champagne house. It runs in English only, for a maximum of 10 people. It costs €28 ($30) for adults and €15 ($16) for under 18s, and under 5s go free. The partner houses are Champagne Elodie D, André Bergère and De Venoge.
To reach producers' vineyards, the tourist office also runs an 8-seater shuttle. It leaves from the tourist office and from the local campsite.
Moët & Chandon is open daily by appointment. Champagne A. Bergère is open every day including Sunday, and Champagne Michel Gonet welcomes visitors every day.
If you are coming from Paris for the day, plan around the train. The direct trains run mostly at commuter times, and the alternative is the fast train to Reims followed by a regional TER to Épernay.
For winter hours, ask the tourist office or the house you want to visit before you travel.
Épernay has its own station, with frequent connections to Reims and Paris, and the tourist office at 7 avenue de Champagne is a natural first stop once you arrive. If you plan several tastings in a day, spit rather than swallow, and arrange a designated driver.
Fab5669 / Wikimedia Commons
Self-catering suites in annex buildings of a Champagne house on Avenue de Champagne, 0.9 miles from the center of Épernay. Free private parking is on site, and tastings are offered at an extra cost.
Best for: Drivers who want to stay on Avenue de Champagne
Fab5669 / Wikimedia Commons
Set among the vines in Dizy, on the northern edge of Épernay along the Champagne route. Most rooms look over the vineyards, and the view reaches the Marne valley and Hautvillers abbey.
Best for: Drivers wanting a vineyard setting by Épernay
Fab5669 / Wikimedia Commons
A former presbytery with 27 rooms and suites, set on Rue des Minimes in downtown Épernay near Avenue de Champagne. It has a bar, a rooftop, a wellness area, and parking on site.
Best for: Couples and pairs on foot near Avenue de Champagne
ADT Marne / Wikimedia Commons
A 12-room boutique hotel in an 18th-century mansion at the foot of Avenue de Champagne, a short walk from the train station and downtown Épernay. Breakfast is served under a glass roof.
Best for: Walkers staying near Avenue de Champagne and the station
The direct TER from Paris Gare de l'Est takes 1 hour 20 minutes, though direct trains run mostly at commuter times. You can also change at Reims: about 45 minutes on the fast train, then about 30 minutes on the TER. By car, allow about 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes.
Moët & Chandon is open daily by appointment, and Champagne A. Bergère receives visitors by appointment too, so book both. Champagne Michel Gonet in Avize welcomes visitors every day with or without an appointment. The tourist office offers free tastings in its reception area.
The "Epernay Gourmand" visit costs €28 ($30) for adults and €15 ($16) for under 18s, with under 5s free. It lasts 1.5 hours and is in English only, for up to 10 people: 1 hour on the Avenue de Champagne, then 30 minutes of tasting.
There are no fewer than twenty champagne houses on the Avenue de Champagne, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. The tourist office runs a one-hour guided walk along it, in French and English, for €8.50 ($9) per adult.
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
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
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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.
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.
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.
