If you are like me, and started researching a visit to Reims or Epernay in the Champagne region of France, you probably noticed a lot of guided tours. The next thing you probably noticed was a huge price tag. When I first started researching this area, I wasn’t sure it was going to be accessible for us. I wouldn’t call us budget travelers, but we are definitely not in the category of luxury or even spending much more than 100 per night on a hotel room.
Although I was nervous about it, I began to plot out the way we could visit this region without a guide. Although there are many situations in which we love the knowledge and benefits a guide provides, we knew we wanted to be on our own here. Sometimes sticking with a group for a whole day can be a big undertaking. We also tend to really like to go at our own pace. I knew that we wanted to see both Reims and Epernay as they both had a lot to offer.
We decided to base in Reims because it was more of an established city and we thought it might have more going on in our down time between champagne tasting. We also both read a book (Jackdaws by Ken Follet) that was set in Reims in World War Two and we were interested in the history of Reims.
Day 1: Stop & Check Into Hotel in Reims
We took the train from Paris to Reims (45 minutes) and dropped our bags off at our hotel. We stayed at the “Brit Hotel Aux Sacres Reims Centre”. This hotel was nice and centrally located. It was an easy walk to the train station and an easy walk to the center of Reims. It was a basic European hotel, had everything we needed, and honestly had the most kind and welcoming staff. It made a perfect home base for our trip.
1st stop: Champagne Pommery
We planned to start our day with a visit to Champagne Pommery. We were able to walk there from the center of Reims in about 40-45 minutes. You could also easily take a taxi from the center of town. We walked right in and said we’d like a tour and tasting. The tour of the caves was incredible! Pommery fills their caves with art exhibitions as well. Not only do you get to see the caves themselves, but you get to see art all along the way. One of my favorite things about champagne Pommery was that it was taken over by a woman. When Madame Pommery’s husband passed away she took over the business and it flourished. One of my absolutely favorite things about the whole tour was that each section of her wine caves were named after cities in markets that she had conquered. It was special to learn her story, as well as to see the champagne house and caves, and to taste some great champagne. As our first stop in Reims we were thrilled with the Pommery experience.
2nd stop: Champagne Ruinart
Next up was our planned brunch and tasting at Ruinart. Luckily Ruinart and Pommery are only about a ten-minute walk from one another. I had researched heavily and knew that I wanted to have this brunch tasting at Ruinart. I had set a calendar alert and prepared for the day that tickets would go on sale. It was all worth it. For 75 euro per person, we had an all you can eat amazing buffet lunch and two tastings of the most remarkable champagne we’d ever had. All of the food included in the brunch was incredible and you could also order some “made to order” things as well. I would highly recommend attending this experience if you possibly can. If the brunch is not running though, I would still believe that a visit to Ruinart is a must. Check their website as it seems they constantly rotate different events and experiences. Ruinart was one of the best champagnes we had throughout the whole trip. It can also be difficult sometimes to know if you “belong” in a fancy place like Ruinart. The staff made us feel welcome, comfortable, and happy to be there. We were treated with such respect and kindness the experience was wonderful all around.
Stop 3: Champagne GH Martel & Co
Following this visit we had left our day sort of open ended. We decided to walk back through the streets and see what else we came across. This led us past champagne Tattinger, we tried to pop in but they were fully booked. We’ll go back next time! We continued on and stumbled across Champagne GH Martel & Co. It was smaller than some of the big-name houses but we loved its charm. We tried 3 different types of champagne here sitting in the little court yard in the sun and enjoying our day together. We found some of these glasses to also be some of the best we tasted on our trip. I would highly recommend making a stop here.
Explore Reims
We wandered back into Reims to explore the town a bit before dinner. Reims has a lot to offer with its absolutely stunning cathedral and cobblestone streets. We finished our day with a quick bite of food on Reims busy main street and then headed home to rest up for Epernay the next day.
Day 2: Epernay
The next morning, we hopped on the train to Epernay (about 45 mins). After much research I had decided that it would be a great idea to rent ebikes for today’s exploring. We walked right from the train station to the bike rental shop and then we were on our way. Epernay is famous for its avenue of Champagne, basically a long street just lined with Champagne houses! It’s truly a champagne lovers dream!
Stop 1: Champagne Castellane
On the train ride in you come right alongside Champagne Castellane. You are immediately impressed by the building and its giant tower. We decided to pop in and check it out. Luckily, we arrived just in time for a tour. We took a guided tour with a tasting here. We really enjoyed having the guide to teach us all about the process, the cellars, and the history of Castellane.
Stop 2: Hautvillers & Lunch at Au 36
Then we hopped back on our bikes for a ride to Hautvillers to have lunch. Hautvillers was a quaint and beautiful village that was the home of the grave of Dom Perignon. The ride from Epernay to Hautvillers was one of the highlights of our trip. You ride for miles past all of the champagne vineyards and the views are epic. It was just what I had imagined when I thought about visiting the champagne region. If biking isn’t in your dream vision you could hire a car or taxi to take you here. We had lunch at an excellent little place called Au 36. We did a flight of champagne here so we could try many different types, we also had a delicious meal. We tried duck in 3 different ways as well as many other cheese, meats, and breads. We also got to sit out on the terrace in the sun which was lovely.
Stop 3: Champagne G. Tribaut
After lunch we hopped back on our bikes and went down the road to Champagne G. Tribaut. This champagne house had a gorgeous view over all of the vineyards as far as the eye could see. We did a tasting here and really enjoyed our time just staring out at the beautiful scenery. We took one last ride around the town and took a peek at the abbey and cemetery before heading back towards Epernay.
Stop 4: Champange Paul-Etienne Saint Germain
As I mentioned above, in Epernay there is one big street filled with champagne houses. The big names are here like Moet and Chandon, and many smaller producers who we hadn’t heard of until this point. We decided to go small and taste our way back towards the train station starting at the far end of the street. We stopped at Champagne Paul-Etienne Saint Germain first. This is a family owned and operated champagne house and it showed. We were welcomed by Jean-Michel and invited to taste their amazing champagnes. There was so much attention to detail, kindness, and love put into this champagne house and the experience. We absolutely loved this champagne and rated it one of our favorites of the trip. We enjoyed sitting out in the courtyard and trying each one. We were so glad that we did not overlook this stop.
Stop 5: Champagne Collard-Picard
As we worked our way back to the train station we made a stop at Champagne Collard-Picard. By this point we’d had quite a number of glasses of champagne so we decided to split a flight here. This place was getting very lively. There were many groups of people sitting out in the patio area sharing bottles and hanging out, it seemed like a very popular place to be. We enjoyed our flights here and the atmosphere as it was much more lively than any other stop we had made.
Explore the Ave, Ride Back to the Train
Visiting Epernay and walking down the street is an experience in itself. Just seeing all of the immense and gorgeous champagne houses and thinking about all the history provides for an incredible walk. We wished we could have stopped everywhere and we will definitely be back many times throughout our lives.
Return to Reims for Snack Time
When we returned to Reims we somehow had it in us to make one more stop. Even though it was mid-afternoon we stopped at “Bistro des Anges” with a perfect outdoor view of the cathedral. We asked them to make us a charcuterie board and they delivered a beautiful one! We had an aperol spritz and people watched and enjoyed the end of our day in the champagne region.
The next morning after a quick run and then a stop at the bakery we hopped back on a train to Paris. The trip to Reims and Epernay was a whirlwind of amazing stops, sights, and tasting. We will happily return to this region throughout our lives and we hope to bring friends back someday. There are still so many champagne houses to see and stops to make along the way.
Breakdown of costs for reference
Self-Guided Tour of Pommery with Two Tastings: 30 Euro Per Person
Ruinart Brunch with Two Tastings: 75 euro per person
GH Martel Tasting: 3 champagnes each for 15 euro per person
Train from Reims to Epernay: Round trip total for 2 people 14 euro.
Tasting and tour at Castellane: 30 euro per person
Lunch & Tasting at Au 36: this could vary depending on how hungry you are and how much you want to taste
Tasting at Champagne Paul-Etienne Saint Germain: 20 euro per person
Tasting at Collard-Picard: 18 euro for one person
If you are interested and are planning a trip to this region feel free to reach out. I would love to help you and share many other tips and things I figured out while planning.
This post may contain affiliate links which support my work on this blog and finding these amazing experiences. There is NO cost to you if you use these links and it helps me to keep this blog AD free!