Epernay

Culture & history tours

Discover the Champagne region of France on a shared or private wine-tasting tour from Paris. Explore a top champagne house and a family-owned winery, with plenty of wine tastings and a traditional French lunch during the day. Start with pickup from your centrally-located hotel in Paris. Meet your driver-guide and travel in a cozy air-conditioned minivan to the Champagne region. Enjoy tasty croissants on the way, while your guide tells you all you need to know about the sparkling universe of champagne. Once you arrive in Champagne, start your day with a visit to a prestigious champagne estate (one of Moët & Chandon, Mumm, Veuve Clicquot, Mercier, Pommery, Lanson - upon availabilities). Discover never-ending galleries filled with bottles and of course, finish the guided tour with a tasting. Continue the journey and admire the landscapes as you make your way to a tranquil vineyard. Enjoy a tasting of local led by your expert guide. Discover the basics of professional wine tasting, and how to identify the characteristics of each wine. Stop for lunch in a family-run champagne house or at a top local restaurant. Taste several glasses of champagne such as Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, Champagne Rosé, and ratafias (sweet liqueur). Pair the wines with a delicious lunch of authentic French cuisine. After lunch, enjoy a digestive tour through the vineyard of the Côte des Blancs and Vallée de la Marne. Learn the characteristics of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Pinot Meunier, and enjoy amazing views over the vineyard. Last, but not least, visit another family-run winery where you may learn the art of sabrage or disgorgement “à la volée” (a technique for opening a champagne bottle). Taste several delicious champagnes before heading back to Paris, where you will be dropped off in a central area.

Go on an adventure in a tethered giant helium-filled balloon, tied near the bottom of the Avenue de Champagne, and fly up to 150 meters from the ground.  Enjoy views over the town and the surrounding UNESCO World Heritage vineyards. Admire a bird’s eye view of this beautiful area.  Look down into the hidden gardens of the beautiful Belle Epoque mansions and take in this unique atmosphere.

Engage your senses with Champagne tastings at family-run, boutique wineries on this tour from Reims. Venture into cellars and uncover the secrets to producing Champagne. Travel in a comfortable and airconditioned van and visit the charming village of Hautvillers.  Meet your local guide at 2.00 pm in front of the tourist office of Reims Centre train station and start your afternoon with a drive through the countryside. Continue with a visit of a family-run winery. Tour the still-used traditional press and tank room as your guide details the traditional Champagne producing methods with a concrete and visual approach. Appreciate several tastings of their products and acquire tasting knowledge and expertise with these rare Champagnes. Appreciate a moment in the vineyard, with breathtaking views on the UNESCO world’s heritage Champagne vines, and acquire knowledge about the terroir particularities. Enjoy the village of Hautvillers, the birthplace of Champagne. Visit the church where the famous monk Dom Pérignon is buried. Finish your tour with a visit at another family-run winery, where you will be able to taste and compare various “cuvées.” After an afternoon full of experiences and precious souvenirs, your guide will drop you off in front of the tourist office of Reims central train station between 6:30 pm and 7:00 pm.

Arrive at a beautiful Champagne House called Vollereaux Champagne in the Marne Valley of Champagne. Begin the 1-hour tour with a guided visit of the historic cellars. Learn about the history of the house and the champagne-making process. Find out how the house was founded in 1805, and now stretches over 100-acres, covering the 13 villages of Coteaux Sud d’Epernay. Discover how the 6th-generation of the Vollereaux family continues a 200-year legacy of family management at the champagne house. At the end of the tour, taste 3 different champagnes as you feel the sense of sharing and togetherness which reflects the family's history and its pursuits. 

Experience Aÿ-Champagne during a tour, tasting, and lunch experience at a typical Champagne house in the middle of the Le Clos Corbier Champagne vineyards. See cellars dug in the 1850s and a traditional press. Learn the secrets of the Champagne-making process. Arrive at the winery and take a seat and enjoy your tasting class with a Champagne quiz. Train your nose to identify different aromas and flavors that can be found in Champagne through an olfactory workshop. Get competitive as you blindly identify 3 different champagnes from various small wineries, all while eating local snacks. Next, immerse yourself in the French lifestyle with a casual lunch of homemade regional specialties like pâté en croute (meat-filled pastry), Langres cheese, or pink biscuit cake paired with a variety of champagnes. Continue your tastings with the local red wine, Côteaux Champenois, and the regional liquor known as Ratafia. End your Champagne experience after lunch in the early afternoon.

Visit the only place in the world that grows and produces Champagne on a full-day trip from Paris. Take a guided tour of the Nicolas Feuillatte Champagne House and a family-run winery. Enjoy included tasting opportunities and the chance to discover Reims Cathedral during the day. Start the tour from Paris on a minibus that will take you to Champagne. Visit the quaint chapel of the Abbey at Hautvillers, which is also the gravesite of Dom Pérignon, the father of Champagne. Learn about him with your guide, then meet with a local producer to hear about the wine-growing process. Enjoy a fully-guided tour at the House of Nicolas Feuillatte, the world’s largest producer of Champagne. Taste 3 glasses of Champagne on your Champagne house tour. You'll also have the opportunity to taste at least 3 different types of Champagne at a local family-run winery and pick up some bottles for souvenirs. Before heading back to Paris, visit the Reims Cathedral of Notre Dame, one of the defining models of Gothic art, and have free time to see the area where 25 French Kings were crowned.

Explore the Champagne region on a guided day tour from Paris. Visit the cellars of reputable champagne producers, learn about the history of the region, taste local wines, and enjoy a delicious lunch at a local restaurant. Start with a pickup from your hotel or accommodation and head for the heart of the champagne region, Épernay. Take a guided tour of one of the grand champagne houses such as: Mercier, Nicolas Feuillatte, Veuve Clicquot, Taittinger, Moet & Chandon or other famous champagne houses, depending on availability, as well as a smaller estate later in the day. Learn about the history of its namesake and sip on fine champagne. Discover local gastronomy and savor a 3-course lunch at a local restaurant. See the vines up and personal while your experienced guide tells you about the different varietals of grapes, the terroir, and what makes champagne so celebrated. Visit a local champagne house and meet the people behind the production of this great drink. Taste their elegant and exclusive product and hear about the history of their champagne estate. Finish with a drop off at your hotel, having tasted and experienced the best champagne has to offer. At the end of the tour, you will have a better understanding of the various types of Champagne, such as Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, and Champagne rosé, as well as the distinction between Grands Crus and Premiers Crus and the concept of Champagne terroir.

Explore the charming countryside of Champagne on a relaxed e-bike tour. Cycle through Premier and Grand Cru villages, and see the UNESCO world's heritage vines. Glide down the Marne Canal and taste various champagnes and enjoy a traditional lunch. Select you pick up location and meet your local guide in Reims at 9AM, in Epernay at 9:35AM or in Mareuil-sur-Ay at 9:45AM. After a drive deep in the Champagne countryside to a typical Champagne House, Le Clos Corbier, your bikes will be ready for you to ride. Ride your e-bike and discover some of Champagne’s most remote locations. Earn your champagne glasses cycling through Premier and Grand Cru villages and fully experience the complexity of the terroir. Enjoy breathtaking views of the UNESCO world’s heritage vines of Champagne. Discover the village of Hautvillers, the birthplace of Champagne. Finish your time in Hautvillers with a guided visit of the church where the famous monk Dom Pérignon is buried. Experience a ride alongside the Marne canal to make your way back to Le Clos Corbier. Visit the cellars and taste different champagnes from the family domain, where you will see and be taught about the champagne-making process. Then immerse yourself into the French lifestyle with a traditional lunch consisting of homemade regional specialties paired with a variety of champagnes, cheese puffs, paté en croute, quiche, lentils, cheeses, Reims pink biscuit (the lunch can be adapted to allergies or specific diets).

Explore one of the great wine-producing areas of France on a small group tour of the Champagne region. Taste the sparkling produce of this world-renowned area, with two Traditional Champagne family grower . The vineyard's production is supplemented by the contractual acquisition of grapes from independent suppliers operating the finest vineyards in the Champagne region. En route to Épernay, travel through the Marne Valley vineyards to meet the legendary monk Dom Pérignon who produced the most expensive wines of France in the 17th century and is now buried in the church of the former Benedictine Hautvillers Abbey. Then, visit Épernay, often referred to as the Capital of Champagne Wine, with main streets lined with luxurious mansions. Discover some of the most prestigious names, including Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët, and Pol Roger, and learn about the 100 kilometers of tunnels beneath the street. Take a break to enjoy a convivial lunch at t a local restaurant (main course & dessert included) Finally, take a guided tour and enjoy a Champagne tasting at a second family vineyard.

Join a small-group tour from Eperany to the villages and vineyards classified as Grand Cru and Premier Cru in the UNESCO-listed hillsides of Champagne in the Marne Valley that are primarily planted with Pinot Noir. Discuss sustainable viticulture and vineyard management with your guide. First, visit an independent grower to learn about the Champagne-making process, including tours of the press, winery, and cellar. Following the visit, indulge in a guided tasting of several Grand Cru and Premier Cru Champagnes produced by the family. Additionally, savor three Champagne alcohols and aperitifs – Ratafia, Fine de la Marne, and Marc de Champagne from the Goyard Distillery, the oldest in Champagne. Driving through the "Côte des Blancs,” pass the "Château de Saran," owned by the LVMH group, and the production site of Moët & Chandon. Take a guided stroll along the renowned "Avenue de Champagne" in Epernay, the capital of the Champagne vineyard, where you'll find the impressive mansions and production facilities of Champagne Houses such as Moët & Chandon, Perrier Jouët, and Pol Roger. Continue to the village of Hautvillers, known as the "Cradle of Champagne." Explore the Church where Dom Pérignon, the spiritual father of Champagne, is buried. Admire panoramic views of Champagne overlooking the Marne Valley and the hillsides where Dom Pérignon conducted his experiments.