Welcome to our guide to the Champange region of France, sharing everything you need to know about visiting Champagne and the best champagne houses to drink and visit!
When we visited the Champagne region of France back in Summer 2021, we found there were little to no resources to help us plan our trip. It ended up being an incredible experience filled with fantastic food, warm encounters with passionate producers, and, of course, many glasses of exquisite Champagne. But we knew we were lucky in speaking French and English, making our trip easier than the trips of others to the region.
So we’re putting together our own Guide to Champagne, France to to make visiting champagne easier for you than it was for us! Because there is something just magnificent about the region, and homey about the love of the wine-markers. In the way the popping a bottle of bubbly can make a Tuesday night feel like a celebration—every day feels that special in Champagne.
Some Background Information
There have been many guides written about non-Champagne activities in the region—there are many, including a must-see visit to Reims’ breathtaking cathedral—but this guide is about helping you navigate the confusing process of booking visits to Champagne houses, growers, and cooperatives and tastings of their selection.
On our four-day visit to the region, we were able to taste the offerings from more than 20 producers (many of which were free to visit and taste) and we walked away with a great understanding of the region and its wines—plus more than a couple of bottles to take back to the US (pretty sure I’m not allowed to say or customs will come after me).
Sign in Bouzy, France 
Sign in Dizy, France
The Quick FAQ
Should we rent a car in Champagne?
We opted to rent a car so that we could access more champagne tasting rooms and visits through the countryside! I would definitely recommend it, otherwise you’ll be using a taxi and it’s significantly less convenient. Parking was no trouble at all, and we never felt concern about drinking too much to drive.
How much does a trip to Champagne cost?
We spent about $1,000 total for 2 people for a 4-day trip to champagne including transportation, hotels, rental cars, all meals, and all tastings.
Housing in Reims for One Night: $100 (we used points though, more on how to use points for free hotels here!)
Housing in Champagne for Two Nights: $400 total (we splurged on a cute bed and breakfast with free breakfast)
Rental Car for Three Days: $300 or so
Roundtrip Train from Paris: About $75 roundtrip, can depend on the season
Meals in Champagne: We had one splurge $200 dinner and then several small less expensive meals about $20 each
Costs per Tasting: Depends on where you go. Big champagne houses can be $30 – $50 + for the NICEST champagne, but most are more like $10 – $20 and PLENTY are totally free of cost!
How long should we spend in the region?
We went on a Thursday and came back on a Sunday, which we felt was the perfect amount of time to enjoy our stay there! I would spend at LEAST one full day exploring the region with no transport.
Notre Dame Cathedral in Reims 
City of Reims 
City of Epernay, France
Where to Stay in the Champagne Region
You have a couple different options here! We opted to do one night in Reims, and then two nights in Bouzy (yes that’s the town and yes we cracked up about the irony of the name).
Stay in Reims for the Convenience / City Life
Reims is an adorable city about 30 minutes via train from Paris. It’s got TONS of restaurants and the second largest Notre Dame Cathedral outside of the most obviously well known Notre Dame Cathedral. Plenty of housing options and less expensive than staying in the region itself. PLUS definitely the option if you do not have a rental car!
Stay in the Champagne Countryside for Beauty
We got the CUTEST Bed and Breakfast in Bouzy (Les Barbotines) for the two days we spent visiting the countryside in Champagne. Absolutely adorable, english-speaking, and provided the most stunning French breakfast spread you could ever imagine. It was around $200-$250 a night, and totally worth it for us. If that’s the type of trip you’re looking for I would go with a spot in the countryside for peace and quiet!
If you’d rather do hotels, there are plenty of those too!
My Top Recommendation: Stay in Epernay
Epernay, France is one of the bigger towns in the heart of the Champagne region! Less of a city than Reims, but more things to do and eat than any other town in Champagne. Plenty of hotels, airbnbs, and bed and breakfasts you can stay at in Epernay that makes going between restaurants actually walkable. I would probably say this is the best option for the majority of people!
Les Avizes Restaurant in Champagne 
Restaurant Along Avenue de Champagne in Epernay
Where to Eat in Champagne
The most important thing to know if you should try and make dinner reservations throughout your stay, because those are the hardest part to handle!
The Best Meal We Had: Les Avizes in the Champagne Valley
I would highly recommend booking at table at Les Avizes, a small hotel and restaurant located on the property of Domaine Jacques Selosse, a vaunted producer of cote-des-blancs champagne. They offer a set, four course menu for EUR 68 that changes every day. I can say that this an amazing meal.
They also have an incredible list of champagnes and other wines to pair with your meal (you can spend a thousand bucks on a magnum of vintage champs, or $8 on a good glass of house wine). Got to give a shout out to Nathalie, our server, who was amazing.
What To Know Before Going to Champagne
The key to having an amazing experience in the Champagne region is planning ahead! So we’re sharing some of the major takeaways we have from our trip.
Avoid Visiting During Harvest Season
Harvest season (September / October) is when the Champagne houses are busy enough as it is and most are not open to tastings.
Keep in mind that wine growing is, at its core, an agricultural practice—that means there are certain times of the year when it will be harder for a winegrower to accept you to their property. Outside of the harvest period, you may not be able to meet every producer you email, but you’ll certainly find a good number of producers who are willing to host you!
Visit Both Large & Small Champagne Houses
The largest of the Champagne houses (think Moet & Chandon, Veuve, Taittinger, etc.) will often have tickets you can buy online same-day or a day or two in advance; however, I believe that the best experiences are often with the smaller, less commercialized offerings in the region!
Rent a Car to Visit Smaller Growers
Another thing to note is the size of the region—while most of the larger houses have a presence in the two main cities of Reims and Epernay, many of the smaller producers are located in the smaller villages dotted throughout the region.
If you’re only visiting the hubs of Reims and Epernay, there are convenient public busses between the two cities, but anywhere else is going to be best via car.
Organize Your Days by City / Region
If you’re there for one day, then stick to ONE city or region to save yourself time! If you’re there multiple, group your regions and cities together to maximize your time and stick to similar variates. Plus, doing it this way cuts down on the time you spend in the car driving around!
The Easiest Way to Visit Champagne, By Tour
If you’re planning this trip last minute or just don’t care to do the large amount of work, then opt for a guided drive so someone can plan FOR you! There’s absolutely no shame in this, and it’s just convenient if you aren’t incredibly knowledgeable about Champagne. There are countless tour operations in the region, so I recommend you pick one that prioritizes personalized experience and visiting quality independent producers. Otherwise, you’re just going to hit the main houses and pay a LOT of money.
This is a doable option for a day trip from Paris if you arrive in the morning and depart at night (Paris is a 45-minute TGV away). These full-day tours are typically about EUR 300, depending on group size and producers visited.
or Create Your Own Mini Tour if You’re New to Champagne
If you still want to independently explore the region and create your own schedule, but don’t feel like going through the planning process yourself, champagne-booking.com is a good option. This website is super easy to use and will allow you to book tours and tastings from a good selection of producers (including some smaller grower-producers).
The downside is that these tours are typically a little more commercialized and can be expensive. That said, this is a great site for booking the biggest brands in the region, including Bollinger (EUR 95), Ruinart (EUR 70), Mumm (EUR 23), and Lanson (EUR 26). You won’t have a guided car to drive you to each stop, but you do have a lot more flexibility in your day and who you’re visiting.
Royal Champagne Hotel Rooftop View 
Molded 20+ Year Old Champagne Cellars
Visiting Champagne, Our Guide for the Wine Lovers
This may seem like a lot of work, but I promise you, the work you put in ahead of your trip will pay off in the end (in the form of amazing—and often free— Champagne). Here are the steps I followed to plan my visits:
1 // Start to form a list of must-visits
If you have a favorite brand of Champagne or the one that you popped at your wedding or the birth of your first child, add it to the list! For us, the first producer on the list was Taittinger. It’s a mega house, but we have a soft spot for it. Denver had nostalgia from the first time he tried a glass of Comtes de Champagne, it’s what got him obsessed with champagne in the first place. I just happened to know the family so it felt like the most logical stop on my list.
2 // Form a List of the Producers That Spark Your Interest
If you scroll just a little lower, I’m listing all the producers WE loved the most and that I would highly recommend! But if you’re looking for more beyond that list, I’m sharing some ideas to get into new champagnes.
- Visiting your local wine shop and asking for recommendations of their favorites
- If you have a bottle you enjoy, take a look at the back of the bottle to see who imports it for sale in your home country. Personally, two of my favorite champagnes are imported by Skurnik Wines. I trust that they’re only importing wines of quality, so I browsed the brands they were importing and used that as a way to add to my list
- Check out @yokobubble – We ran into her at a tasting in Reims and again, by chance, at the Royal Champagne. She’s a lovely follow and she is passionate about visiting independent producers and showing how their processes are unique!
- Follow @paris_champagne_tasting_club – Andres is an excellent follow. Thanks to his posts, we visited two of excellent tiny producers (Hervieux Dumez and Sanchez Le Guedard).
3 // Create a Spreadsheet Organized by City and Driving Distance
Organization is key here. Write down all the producers you might like to visit and organize them by region. Then, find each producer’s website. Their website may list information about tours / visits / tastings. If it doesn’t simply add the producer’s contact email to your spreadsheet. Below is an example of what my (not very pretty) spreadsheet looked like.
4 // Email the Products On Your List About 2-4 Weeks in Advance
In your email, ask if they are open for visits or tastings. Include the days and times you are available to visit. Also, you can include the fact that you’ve tried the champagne before, or it was recommended to you by someone. Note that many producers are only open during business hours M-F (and as many French businesses do, they sometimes close for two hours around lunch). That said, some producers will offer visits on the weekend. Many producers speak at least some English, but if they don’t, I’m sure they’ll let you know if their response to you. Below is an example of an email I sent (French grammatical errors, and all!):
As producers email you back and you confirm dates and times with them, update your spreadsheet to create your itinerary. Personally, I’d feel comfortable visiting 4 producers per day—any more might be stretching it. If your itinerary gets full, it’s polite to email the producers back to let them know you can no longer visit as opposed to leaving them on read. Also note the details and prices. Most small producers will allow you to visit and taste for free, but some may have a small tasting charge. The large houses almost always charge for tastings and tours.
5 // and Enjoy Your Visit to Champagne, France!
Now is when your hard work pays off! When you’re visiting producers, make sure you keep your appointment times, or call/email ahead if you’re running late. And when you get back, make sure you tell us how your trip was and which producers you were able to visit—I’m always in reconnaissance mode for my next trip to Champagne.
Billecart Salmon Estate 
Billecart Salmon Estate
Best Champagne Houses & Champagne Grows We Visited
Here are some of the champagne houses and growers we visited on our four-day trip, in no particular order. Some of these are easy to access and you can basically walk in and do a tasting, while some do require making reservations OR contacting the grower via email. I’ll split them up into those categories to make it easier!
Easier Champagne Houses to Visit:
Taittinger House in Reims
This house is a mega producer, releasing over 300 million bottles of champagne every year. That said, I knew I needed to visit Taittinger to get a taste of their famous Comtes de Champagne Rose.
The visit included a group tour of the cellars and three glasses of champagne, including a 2007 Comtes de Champage. At around EUR 75, this tour was not cheap, but the champagne absolutely lived up to its recommendation.
We had two notes: One is that the tour was a bit impersonal and only included a visit of the historic cellars—not the main production area. Second was their bottles were selling for more than we could find them for in the US!
🇺🇸 Tour available in English, and multiple other languages
Gaston Chiquet
Gaston Chiquet is a grower producer located in Dizy. Although I don’t think they offer tours, they have a modern tasting room and a welcoming, professional tasting guide named Caroline.
Caroline poured us 7 different champagnes from their range. We were also joined by Antoine Chiquet, who is the owner, wine maker, and as it happens, also the mayor of the village. Between the two of them, they helped us get to know their wines and select the one we liked most. This tasting was free!
🇺🇸🇫🇷 Tour available in English and French
Ayala Champagne House
Ayala is not a mega-producer, but it is a decent size house and it’s owned by Bollinger. They offer tours for EUR 30 that include a tasting of 6 champagnes. The property is historic and has great rooftop views.
That said, our guide was not the most knowledgeable and our tour was not personalized. Of the tours that you can easily book online (Ayala tours are available at champagne-booking.com), I’d say this tour offers the very best value in terms of champagne per euro. But if you already know your stuff, I would say there are other options to visit!
🇺🇸🇫🇷 Tour available in English and French
Champagne Tastings We Reserved in Advance
Pierre Peters
If I was forced to pick a favorite visit, I’d have to say Pierre Peters. They offered a semi-private tour and tasting (1 other couple) with a trained sommelier named Marina for EUR 30 each.
The tour was super personalized, and Marina gave the most detailed explanations of the process and the wines we tasted. We were also joined in the tasting by the owner, Rodolphe Peters!
This tour we had to contact them in advance, and they said they would only host if more people came. We got lucky that another couple wanted to join, so we got to do the tour.
🇺🇸 Tour available in English, and multiple other languages
Noel Bazin
Noel and Magalie Bazin welcomed us into their tasting room (which was actually just their dining room) to guide us through their entire range of Chardonnay-focused Champagnes.
These two were so kind and welcoming. We purchased a few bottles to take home, including a magnum, which was interesting to try to fit in my suitcase coming home. They’re a tiny producer, but I have seen it on sale in the US. This tasting was free and we absolutely loved it!
🇫🇷 Tasting is ONLY available in French, no English
Sanchez Le Guedard Champagne
Jose Sanchez gave us a private tour of his entire operation! He was a fantastic tour guide who, with his son, grows all of his grapes and produces and bottles all of his own champagnes. His wine making takes place in his garage bottles are aged in the cellars below his winemaking operation.
He also has a fantastic, working example of an old-school square press. Jose opened at least a half-dozen bottles for us to try and we walked away with a few great examples to take home (at very reasonable prices). This tasting and visit was free and we loved it!
🇫🇷 Tasting is ONLY available in French, no English
Billecart-Salmon Champagne
Billecart-Salmon was kind enough to offer us a visit free-of-charge on account of this blog, but they do have tastings for the public too.
Billecart-Salmon had, far and away, the most impressive facilities we visited—fitting for a house of its renown. Jerome (who is a fan of both Champagne and The Green Bay Packers, and therefore a perfect tour guide) gave us and one other couple a tour of the entire operation.
Jerome, our guide, was so knowledgable and a highlight of the tour is seeing the Clos Saint-Hilaire, which is the parcel of land from which the house makes one of its most prestigious cuvees. They even opened up some fantastic vintage bottles for us to taste!
🇫🇷 Tasting is available in English and French
A Few Extra Pro-Tips & Things To Know About Champagne
Now that we’ve done this once, we want to share some little tips and tricks we learned along the way! Hopefully these will come in handy for your adventures through the Champagne region, and as always, feel free to comment about your experience or any questions you have!
Check the Tourism Office in Reims for Events
When we stayed in Reims, we happened to be there at the same time that the region’s organic champagne association was hosting a citywide tasting and celebration of its organic wines. This was an absolutely incredible event with free tastings located at amazing venues across the city of Reims (all within walking distance of each other, thank goodness). We got to meet tons of local small grows, make a couple new friends, and enjoy the city FOR FREE! Worth seeing if there is anything going on whilst you’re visiting.
Book Your Restaurants in Advance
One thing we were advised to do is to make restaurant reservations at least a week in advance. The region is home to amazing French gastronomy (in addition to also-amazing affordable places), but tables do book-up well in advance. You can usually find places to eat in Epernay, but the nicer restaurants were full when we tried to find somewhere to eat night-of.
Stay in a Bed and Breakfast to Carb Up Before Tastings
We stayed at a wonderful B&B at Domaine Paul Clouet in the village of Bouzy! Our hosts were champagne producers themselves and provided a fantastic welcome to the region. Plus, the breakfast selection was impossibly expansive and a very welcome way to start the day. Save a little extra money on breakfast, and make sure you’re totally full before you’re out drinking all day!
Bring an Extra Suitcase and Pay Customs to Bring Back Champange!
One of the best perks of visiting champagne is the chance to buy great wines a producer-direct prices. In my experience, a bottle of Champagne that retails for $50 in the US can be purchased in France for EUR 20-30, a huge savings. So, I recommend packing an extra suitcase! We filled ours to the literal brim because FUN FACT there is no limit on how much you can bring back, as long as you pay the $1-2 per liter in customs fees. Just make sure to wrap them all in sweaters so they don’t break!
Splurge on a Visit to the Royal Champagne Hotel Rooftop
See my photos above for this INCREDIBLE view. The rooms are way out of our price range (like 500 euros a night) but the rooftop is open to the public and the price of a drink is not nearly as insane as the price of the rooms. It was a beautiful spot for the end of a long day of chatting with growers, and we absolutely think it’s a hidden gem worth visiting.
And voila, that is your ULTIMATE guide to visiting Champagne in France! All the best champagne houses to visit, where we recommend you stay, and everything fun to do. We hope you have an incredible time like we did, and please say hello to all the growers for us!
Comments (3)
Bernice
September 19, 2023 at 6:46 am
Your guide to Champagne region is very insightful and helpful. When I got to the planning the visits to champagne houses, the left side was cut off – formatting error? Pls fix cz I’m sure I’m guessing wrong!
Mike
April 19, 2024 at 4:44 am
Great article, I found some new addresses for our next trip! I have another one for you. Since several years we go to the small producer Roger-Constant Lemaire in Villers sous Châtillon and our suitcase was full as well 🙂 This house is a hidden gem, they produce excellent champagnes.
michelleclairee@gmail.com
May 7, 2024 at 10:37 am
Oh i’m so happy it was helpful, and sounds like I need to add Roger-Constant Lemaire into my own list! 🙂