Reims & Épernay Champagne Tours: Cellars, Houses & Growers
Reims and Épernay Champagne tours: grand houses and chalk cellars, the Avenue de Champagne, family growers, getting there from Paris, and how to book.
The short version: Reims and Épernay are the two Champagne capitals, 30 minutes apart and 45 minutes from Paris by fast train. Reims has the grand houses with Roman-era chalk pits turned into cellars (Veuve Clicquot, Pommery, Taittinger, Ruinart); Épernay has the Avenue de Champagne (Moët and Chandon, Perrier-Jouët, Pol Roger). The best tours mix one big house with a family grower, whose wines you rarely see abroad. Here is how to plan it.
At a glance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Reims | Grand houses with chalk-pit cellars (crayères), the cathedral |
| Épernay | Avenue de Champagne, more than 100 km of cellars underneath |
| Vineyards | Montagne de Reims (Pinot Noir), Côte des Blancs (Chardonnay), Vallée de la Marne (Meunier) |
| From Paris | About 45 minutes by TGV to Reims |
| Format | Single cellar visits, half-day small-group tours, full days with lunch |
Grand houses vs growers
The grandes maisons blend grapes from all over the region into a consistent house style, and their cellars are spectacular: in Reims, some are carved into chalk pits dug by the Romans. Growers (récoltants-manipulants) make Champagne from their own vineyards, so their wines show a single village. A good tour does both, often with a stop in Hautvillers, the village where the monk Dom Pérignon worked. The hillsides, houses and cellars are a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Day trip or stay?
From Paris, a guided Champagne day trip handles transport and bookings. If you stay a night in Reims or Épernay, you can join shorter local tours and visit a grower at their own pace. To understand what you are tasting, see Champagne vs Crémant and Prosecco vs Franciacorta vs Champagne.
Our pick: the From Reims or Épernay: Champagne Half-Day Tour (small group) visits two different cellars, with six tastings in total.
Compare all the regions: the best wine tours in France.
Frequently asked questions
Is Reims or Épernay better for Champagne tours?
Reims has the most famous houses and chalk cellars; Épernay has the Avenue de Champagne and easier access to growers in the vineyards. They are 30 minutes apart, so many tours do both.
How do you get from Paris to Reims?
The TGV takes about 45 minutes from Paris Gare de l’Est; day trips by minivan also run from Paris.
Do you need to book Champagne house visits?
Yes, most cellar visits require a booking, especially at weekends and during the harvest in September.
Book a Champagne tour in Reims or Épernay
Compare Reims and Épernay Champagne tours, or wine tastings and Champagne day trips from Paris.
