The Champagne vineyards start about 140 km east of Paris, where Reims and Épernay keep their
bottles in miles of chalk cellars. Walk those cool galleries, taste with a family grower among the vines, and be back in Paris for dinner.
Which houses, reallyNamed house, "or similar", or family growers
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Free cancellation24 hours before on most tours, 3 days on one
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Day trips
Choose your Champagne day trip
In the centre, the most booked day trip from Paris: a famous house, two family producers and lunch.
Either side, a small-group day through Reims and Épernay, and a private car to Veuve Clicquot. Every card opens a full tour page.
One famous champagne house, then two small family vineyards or a cooperative, with lunch at a winemaker's table. Eight tastings or more, and a wine guide all day.
What's included
Hotel pickup in Paris, drop-off at Hôtel de Ville
One major champagne house and two family producers
At least 8 tastings, lunch paired with 3 champagnes
English-speaking wine guide, minivan for 8 at most
A Mercedes from your hotel to the Veuve Clicquot cellars in Reims and back by mid-afternoon. You pick the tasting level; the driver drives, the house guides.
What's included
Private Mercedes with driver, hotel to hotel
Guided Veuve Clicquot cellar tour with your tasting option
Three questions sort it out. Do you want a famous name or the growers who make it at home? Hotel pickup,
or the train and a tour from Reims? And how long a day can you take?
The Paris tours collect you at your hotel; the Reims tours meet at the station tourist office,
46 minutes from Paris by TGV. Champagne cellars stay around 10 °C all year, so bring a layer.
Before you book
The train takes 46 minutes. The van takes two hours.
Every tour that collects you in Paris spends about four hours of its day on the A4, two hours out and two back. The
TGV from Gare de l'Est does Paris to Reims in 46 minutes, seven direct trains a weekday, with advance fares from
€15. On paper the train wins easily.
The catch is what happens when you get off. The great houses of Reims sit on the Saint-Nicaise hill, a bus ride from
the station, and the vineyards, Hautvillers and the family growers are out in the hills where no train goes. That is
why the Reims tours exist: you ride the train, a guide meets you outside the station, and a van does the
short hops. Hotel pickup buys you something else: no timetable, no connections, a door-to-door day.
46
Minutes on the fastest TGV from Paris Gare de l'Est to Reims. The
same trip by road is about 144 km and an hour and a half on a good day.
Hotel pickupTrain + Reims tourPrivate carE-bike
Under Reims, the houses age their bottles in chalk quarries dug centuries before champagne existed.
01
Which house will I see?
Most listings say "such as". Only the private trip names its house, and it keeps a backup.
02
Can I go in winter?
Yes, but some doors close. Veuve Clicquot shuts after New Year until spring; Pommery opens all year.
03
How much will I drink?
Six to nine glasses on a full day. Pour some back: the spittoon is not rude here.
04
Who should skip it?
Wheelchair users, on most tours. Under-18s come along but get grape juice.
Your day
How a Champagne day trip runs
A full day from Paris, with two or three producers and a long lunch. This is the usual shape of it.
01
Pickup in Paris
A minivan or a private car collects you at your hotel, and the drive east takes about two hours.
Around 7:30 to 8am
02
Into the chalk
The first house walks you through its cellars, the riddling racks and the method, then pours.
About 90 minutes
03
Lunch in the vines
At a winemaker's table, a village restaurant or a place you choose yourself, depending on the tour.
1 to 2 hours
04
Growers, then home
One or two family producers in the afternoon, then the road back to Paris for the evening.
Prices, the train option, what to bring and how to book: one tab each.
Small-group days from Paris with pickup: from $265 to $364, the sommelier day $292.
Private car to Veuve Clicquot: from $556 per person, cheaper per head as the group grows.
Tours from Reims station: $150 for an afternoon, $286 with lunch, plus your train.
E-bike day from Reims or Épernay: $214. Land Rover ride in Reims: $110.
On your own, house visits start at €30 at Mumm and Pommery and €48 at Moët & Chandon.
Paris to Reims: TGV from Gare de l'Est, 46 minutes, about seven direct trains a weekday.
Paris to Épernay: direct regional trains via Château-Thierry, 1 hour 13 to 1 hour 20, about ten a day.
Reims to Épernay: the local "Ligne des Bulles", 34 minutes, roughly hourly.
The Reims tours meet at the tourist office outside the central station, not at Champagne-Ardenne TGV, 8 km out.
Timetables change in mid-December; check SNCF Connect before you book a tour around a train.
A warm layer: the cellars sit around 10 °C, even in August.
Flat shoes. Cellar stairs are steep and the chalk floors can be damp.
Breakfast before pickup, and water for the van.
A plan for bottles: a 75 cl bottle usually has to go in checked luggage when you fly home.
Saturdays from May to October fill first; book a week or two ahead.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before on every tour here, except the private Veuve Clicquot trip (3 days).
Some small-group days need four people to run; if they do not, you get a full refund or another date.
Going on your own? Ruinart and Pommery need a reservation, and Moët recommends one.
Day length9 to 13 hoursFrom Paris, door to door. Reims tours run 2 to 8 hours.
Group size7 to 8Minivans keep every shared tour here small.
Tastings6 to 9 glassesAcross two or three producers on a full day.
LanguageEnglishEvery tour here runs in English; some add French or Spanish.
AgesAll, with juiceUnder-18s get grape juice. The e-bike tour starts at 12.
Refund24 hoursFree cancellation a day before, 3 days on the private trip.
Where it happens
Reims, Épernay and the vines between
Two towns, 27 km apart
Pickups: your Paris hotel, Reims central station tourist office, or the Épernay tourist office on the Avenue de Champagne
Reims holds the cathedral and the big houses on the Saint-Nicaise hill. Épernay holds the Avenue de Champagne,
with Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët and Mercier side by side. Between them run the Montagne de Reims and
the Marne valley slopes, with Hautvillers, where the monk Dom Pérignon is buried, and the Grand Cru village of Aÿ.
Came to Reims by train and only have the afternoon? This two-hour ride leaves from behind the cathedral in a Land Rover Defender, climbs into the vineyards of the Montagne de Reims park and stops for at least two glasses of brut.
Search for a Champagne day trip and you get dozens of listings with the same photo of flutes and vines.
They are not the same day. Here is how to tell them apart.
The house in the photo is not always the house you visit
Read the listing slowly. The day trip with 8 tastings promises "a major Champagne house" and lists
Mumm, Veuve Clicquot, Moët & Chandon and others as examples. The small-group tour names four
houses "subject to availability". That is honest, and normal: big houses take bookings slot by slot, and tour operators
cannot promise one name for every date. If one house matters to you, book the private Veuve Clicquot trip,
or visit that house on your own.
The family growers are often the better half of the day anyway. They make wine from their own vines, pour it
themselves and answer questions a brand ambassador cannot.
The growers live in villages like this one, among the vines they farm.
Hotel pickup or the train
A tour from Paris is the easy day: a van at your hotel at breakfast time, nothing to organise, back for dinner. You
pay for it in hours, about four of them on the motorway, and in money, from $265 to $364 for a
shared van. The train route is faster and cheaper on paper. A 46-minute TGV to Reims, then the
afternoon family wineries tour or the three family domains with lunch from
outside the station. The trade: a fixed train home, and you carry the planning.
The honest small print: a "half-day" trip from Paris is still a full day. The private Veuve
Clicquot trip calls itself half-day and runs 9 hours, 7:30am to 4pm, because the drive does not get shorter.
Reims or Épernay
Most full-day tours touch both. Reims is the city: the Gothic cathedral where French kings were crowned and
the great houses that age their wine in old chalk quarries under the Saint-Nicaise hill. Épernay is the
town of one street, the Avenue de Champagne, with more than 100 km of cellars beneath it, and the vineyards start at
its edge. Hautvillers, 5 km away, is where Dom Pérignon worked and is buried. In 2015 UNESCO listed the
Champagne hillsides, houses and cellars as World Heritage: the hillsides of Hautvillers, Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ,
the Saint-Nicaise hill and the Avenue. Reims or Épernay goes through both.
The Avenue de Champagne is 1.5 km of houses, with the cellars underneath.
Seasons and closed doors
Champagne works all year, but not every house does. Veuve Clicquot closes for the winter and reopened on 7 April
in 2026; Mumm cuts its days from November; de Castellane opens only from March to December. Pommery and Moët keep
going. Book a tour in February and the operator picks the houses that are open, which is one more reason the listings
say "such as". Our guide to the best time to visit has the calendar.
How much champagne is in a day
The most booked tour pours at least eight tastings, three of them with lunch. The
three domains day from Reims serves nine glasses. Spread across a day with food that is pleasant, not
wild, and nobody minds if you pour the rest of a glass into the spittoon. Drink water in the van. Under-18s are
welcome on several tours and get grape juice instead.
A full day usually means six to nine tastings across two or three producers.
Straight answers to what people ask most about a Champagne day trip from Paris.
Can Champagne be a day trip from Paris?
Easily. The TGV from Paris Gare de l'Est reaches Reims in 46 minutes, and direct regional trains reach Épernay in about 1 hour 20. Organised tours with hotel pickup take 9 to 13 hours door to door, about four of them on the road. See Paris to Champagne by train.
What is the best day trip to Champagne from Paris?
By train from Gare de l'Est: TGV to Reims in 46 minutes, or a direct regional train to Épernay via Château-Thierry in 1 hour 13 to 1 hour 20. By car it is about 144 km on the A4. Or let a tour pick you up at your hotel and drive you there and back.
How far is Champagne from Paris?
Reims is about 144 km east of Paris by road and Épernay about 140 km, roughly an hour and a half by car without traffic. The two towns are 27 km apart, 34 minutes by the local train.
Is Épernay or Reims better?
Reims has the cathedral, the fast train and the great houses with chalk cellars on the Saint-Nicaise hill. Épernay has the Avenue de Champagne, walkable from the station, and the vineyards and Hautvillers on its doorstep. First trip, short on time: Reims. Vines and growers: Épernay. More in Reims or Épernay.
Can you walk between champagne houses?
In Épernay, yes: the Avenue de Champagne is 1.5 km long and starts less than 500 m from the station. In Reims, partly. Mumm sits near the centre, but Pommery, Veuve Clicquot, Taittinger and Ruinart are on the Saint-Nicaise hill; bus C reaches Pommery in about 20 minutes from the station.
How much is the train from Paris to Reims?
Advance fares on the TGV start at €15 one way, and most dates showed €27 to €28 in October 2026. Paris to Épernay starts at €11, with €31 the common fare. Prices rise close to the date.
Is the Moët & Chandon tour worth it?
For the name and the cellars, yes: 28 km of galleries under the Avenue de Champagne. Visits start at €48 for 90 minutes, and the house suggests its €65 Signature tour for first-timers. Walk-ins are possible but places are limited, so book. Pair it with a small grower for contrast.
How far is Veuve Clicquot from Paris?
The visitor centre is at 1 rue Albert Thomas in Reims, about 145 km from Paris. It closes in winter: in 2026 it reopened on 7 April, and from 4 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 it opens Wednesday to Sunday only.
What is the best time to visit Champagne?
May to October for green vines and every house open. The 2026 harvest was the earliest on record, picking from 8 to 22 August. Early December brings the Habits de Lumière festival in Épernay (11 to 13 December 2026). January to March is quiet and several houses close. See the best time to go.
Is champagne cheaper in Épernay?
Not reliably. House shops sell at full price, and a bottle of Moët Impérial costs about €42 in a French supermarket. Buy in Champagne for the small growers you cannot find at home. The UK lets you bring 18 litres of wine; the US, 1 litre duty-free.
Is a Champagne day trip worth it?
If you like wine, yes. You stand in chalk cellars dug centuries ago, taste where the grapes grow and meet the people who make it. If you only want a glass, a Paris wine bar is cheaper. Our take in is a Champagne day trip worth it.
Ready to book
Pick your day, raise a glass.
Small groups, hotel pickup in Paris, and free cancellation on every tour.
Reims + Épernay
★ 4.912 hoursFree cancellation
