The Top Day Trips From Paris To The Champagne Region
One of the joys of being in Paris is that you are so close to the Land of the Bubbly — the Champagne Region. We heartily recommend you spend a day discovering the wonders of this effervescent beverage and the land where it's grown. From meeting small family producers to visiting grand champagne houses to learning about the intricacies of creating the most celebrated beverage in the world, it's a day you're going to remember for a long time.
Our Top-Rated Day Trips to Champagne
1. Small-Group Champagne Tour with 3-Course Lunch… Travel in a minivan, hotel pick-up included
2. Champagne Tastings in a Vineyard… Small-group, 7 tastings, pick-up included.
3. Private Day Trip to Champagne with 8 Tastings … VIP tour with lunch & transportation
1. Day Trip to Champagne with Cellar Visits & Tastings
The day begins when your driver picks you up at your Paris address and whisks you away in a comfortable Eurovan to the magic Land of Bubbly. Drive through rolling hills and vineyards to the capital of Champagne country, Reims, where you will discover how the grapes are grown, how the wine is made, and taste the most famous product of the region.
This day trip to the Champagne Region includes visits to a large producer, a family-scale winery, exploration of the cellars, and multiple guided tastings to help you discover the subtleties of champagne, — plus a 3-course lunch in a local restaurant. The small group travels in a cozy eurovan and is highly rated by travelers. All in all, a day you're going to remember for years to come.
2. Champagne Day Tour with Tastings in a Vineyard
This is a another highly-rate day tour from Paris to Champagne. Your small group travels in a pleasant minivan with an experienced driver/guide. Travel along the wine route to the Land of Bubbly where you visit a selection of wine estates, including well-known local wineries and one of the houses from the luxurious LVMH group. There are lots of guided tastings. including at least one in the vineyards. During this full day you'll have lunch, revel in the beauty of the region, and learn all about how champagne is made. Hotel pick-up is included.
3. VIP Private Tasting Tour of Champagne
If you really want to go deep and have a more personal Champagne experience, you'll want to book 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 and at important brands like Veuve Clicquot, learn how to identify different champagne styles. Discover the grape varieties use to make the bubbly and details about fermentation times, metal vs barrel aging. Eight tastings are included as well as a Champagne Masterclass led by your wine expert guide.
The Most Popular Champagne Brands
Although you may be most familiar with champagne produced by the Big Houses (see list below), in reality there are hundreds 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, here the top ten brands based on popularity. Our preference? We would probably reverse the order!
- Perrier Jouët…
- Moët & Chandon…
- Mumm…
- Ruinart…
- Billecart-Salmon…
- Laurent-Perrier…
- Louis Roederer…
- Veuve Clicquot…
- Bollinger…
- Taittinger…
Wisdom in the Bubbles
"Champagne is always a good idea."
– Audrey Hepburn
"Champagne is the only wine that leaves a woman beautiful after drinking it."
– John Maynard Keynes
"I only drink champagne on two occasions: when I am in love and when I am not."
– Coco Chanel
"A single glass of champagne imparts a feeling of exhilaration. The nerves are braced; the imagination is stirred; the wits become more nimble."
– Winston Churchill
"My only regret in life is that I did not drink more champagne."
– Madame de Pompadour
"I drink champagne when I win, to celebrate… and I drink champagne when I lose, to console myself."
– Napoleon Bonaparte
"I am drinking stars."
– Dom Pérignon, the legendary monk who may have discovered champagne.
Romantic Dinner Cruises In Paris
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VIP Dinner Cruise with Bateaux Parisiens |
Dinner Cruise by Maxim's of Paris |
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VIP Dinner Cruise with Bateaux Parisiens |
Champagne Fun Facts
There are an astounding 200 million bottles of champagne stored in the 250 kilometers miles of caves beneath Reims. (Just have to pop into the basement… be right back!)
During World War I, each French soldier at the front line in Champagne was allotted a full bottle of bubbly every day.
Only wine made in the Champagne region can be called champagne. Other wine regions must settle for "sparkling wine" or a similar term. (We've always preferred "tinkle".)
Champagne is one of the northernmost major wine producing regions in the world.
Champagne is made from only three grape varieties — pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay.
Know how many twists it takes to remove the wire champagne cage? 6 half-turns, counter-clockwise. Always.
Méthode Champenoise is the traditional method of creating champagne. After an initial round of fermentation and bottling, a second fermentation occurs while the wine is stored 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.
Capitalized "Champagne" is the region, lower-case "champagne" is the wine.
Paris Planning Guides
Visit Monet's Gardens |
Skip the Tower Lines |
Glorious Dinner Cruises |
Skip-the-line Louvre Tour |
