The Top Three Day Trips From Paris To The Champagne Region

We heartily recommend you spend a day discovering the wonders of Champagne — from meeting small family producers to visiting grand champagne houses to learning about the intricacies of creating the most celebrated beverage in the world. Of course, there will be plenty of tasting along the way. Everything is included — there's nothing for you to do but relax and enjoy the ride to the magical kingdom of Champagne.

1. Full-Day, Small-Group Trip to Champagne

A Paris Insiders Guide Favourite

Be picked up at your hotel and whisked away to the magic Land of Bubbly. Drive through rolling hills and vineyards to the capital of Champagne country, Reims. Here you see the famous cathedral where all the French kings were crowned. Next go to Epernay to discover how the grapes are grown, how the wine is made, and taste the most famous product of the region.

This visit to the Champagne region includes a tour at a large champagne house, a visit to a small champagne producer, plus a 3-course lunch with wine in the cathedral city of Reims. It's also a small-group tour, limited to eight people, with personal pickup and return at your Paris address. This is also available as a private tour, for just you and your party.

This tour was fantastic; definitely one of the highlights of our trip. The ease of being picked up at our apartment, all transportation taken care of, a wonderful lunch included, plus all of the entry fees made the tour so nice and enjoyable. Our guide was personable and knowledgeable. The smaller tour really allowed for more questions and we were able to learn a lot about all parts of the champagne-making process. Reims cathedral was stunning, Moet was very impressive, but we most enjoyed seeing the vineyards and meeting a local, smaller grower. Overall, exceptional day in the Champagne region. Highly recommend."
– 5-Star Review

2. Wine-Tasting Day Trip to Champagne

Insiders Guide Reader Favourite

This tour focuses on the bubbly, with more time spent in the cellars and sipping and less time sightseeing. The emphasis is on the Grands Crus of Champagne.

After picking you up at your Paris hotel, your expert guide, a trained sommelier, takes you along the wine route to the Champagne Region and one of the famous producers such as Pommery or Taittinger (two of our favorites). During this full day you'll have lunch, visit three producers and learn all about how champagne is made.

Our day trip from Paris was absolutely amazing! Matthew was very knowledgeable and clearly had a passion for champagne. While waiting for our first champagne house Matthew took us to a great cafe for coffee! The lunch at Maison Penet was delish and the champagne was even better then the incredible food! We would highly recommend this tour for anyone who loves champagne!"
– 5-Star Review

3. VIP Private Tasting Tour of Champagne

If you really want to go deep and have a more personal Champagne experience, we recommend a private day trip where your driver picks you up at your Paris address for a full day of tasting and exploration.

At small family estates, or at important brands like Veuve Clicquot, Pommery, or Taittinger (you tell your driver/guide what you would prefer), learn how to identify different champagne styles; about the grape varieties use to make the bubbly; details about fermentation times, metal vs barrel ageing; and about the mysterious and important concept of terroir. There will be from a dozen to fifteen individual tastings as you visit different subregions of Champagne.

The tour guide Frederick was outstanding! We booked a private tour due to time constraints and he kept us on schedule. His knowledge of Paris, the Champagne area and suggestions were most helpful…and so glad that we had a chance to see the cathedral in Reims. Frederick was able to share much of its history as well. He not only made/confirmed our reservation for a private tour of Veuve Clicquot but also made lunch reservations and ensured that we returned on time."
– 5-Star Review

Champagne Quotes

The Most Popular Champagne Brands

Although we may tend to think of champagne being only produced by the Big Houses, (see list below), in reality there are hundreds (400?) of small, family-owned champagne producers. But it's the big brands — because of wide distribution, sheer size, and a pretty darned good product — that dominate the list of most popular bubblies. According to our sources, the top ten brands based on popularity are —

1. Perrier Jouët…
2. Moet & Chandon…
3. Mumm…
4. Ruinart…
5. Billecart-Salmon…
6. Laurent-Perrier…
7. Louis Roederer…
8. Veuve Clicquot…
9. Bollinger…
10. Taittinger…

Champagne Fun Facts

There are an astounding 200 million bottles of champagne stored in the 155 miles of caves beneath Reims. (We'll be right back!)

During World War I, French soldiers at the front line in Champagne were allotted a bottle of champagne a day.

Only bubbly made in the Champagne region can be called champagne. Other countries and other regions of France must settle for "sparking wine" or a similar term. (We've always preferred "tinkle".)

Champagne is one of the northern-most wine producing regions in the world.

Champagne is primarily made from three grape varieties — pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay.

Know how many turns it takes to remove the champagne cage? 6 half-turns. Always.

Méthode Champenoise is the traditional method of how champagne is made. After primary fermentation and bottling, a second fermentation occurs in the bottle. Even if other regions make their bubbly the same way, they have to call it Méthode Traditionelle.

There are 50 million bubbles in a bottle of champagne. We counted.

Champagne goes especially well with salty, fatty foods. Think caviar, potato chips, or our favourite, deep-fried calamari. The sweetness in strawberries or desserts can destroy the delicate flavors of champagne.