The Perfect Day Trip to Champagne from Paris

We get it. One of the hardest things to do in Paris is leave Paris. But Champagne as the destination is the perfect motivation.

And we’re happy to share our itinerary for the perfect day trip to Champagne, complete with a cave tour at a champagne house on Avenue du Champagne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a tasting at a sprawling vineyard, a charming French countryside town, and a lovely lunch consisting of local ingredients, including champagne.

To top it off, this itinerary does not require you to rent a car or drive, allowing you to indulge in the bucket list experience of drinking champagne in Champagne, and it does not require you to speak French (though at least a “bonjour” and “merci” would probably be appreciated).

Also, because the Champagne region is a tad bit harder to research and plan for than other destinations, we’ve included everything we think you’ll need to know for the trip, as well as pictures, alternative options, and reasoning for the choices, in the long version of the itinerary below.

If you want a short version of the itinerary without all the frills, click here.

Long version of itinerary:

7:30-8:45am: Train from Gare L’Est in Paris to Épernay

Why Épernay? Épernay is the capital of Champagne and one of the two larger cities in Champagne (the other being Reims). After lots of research and speaking with some Champagne lovers, I landed on Épernay for its charm, Rue du Champagne, and the easy drive to Hautvillers (see below).

Why so early? Admittedly, my husband didn’t love the idea of setting an alarm on vacation. But I wanted to get the most out of the experience, and it was 100% worth it. If you want to leave Paris a little later, the 8:30am train might work, given that this itinerary’s first scheduled stop in Champagne is at 10am. But you would have to walk directly to the tour from the train station, and it wouldn’t leave any wiggle room for train delays or getting lost. I’ve also provided an alternative for the first tour option, which starts a little later, here.

How to book the train? We downloaded the Trainline app to book the trains, and it worked perfectly. We booked the train about a month in advance, but I suspect you could probably book closer to the trip.

How early to arrive for the train? The platform for the train was announced only about 15 minutes prior to departing, so being 30 minutes early for the train would likely be plenty, and would give you time to grab a coffee at the train station. There’s a Paul coffee shop, Starbucks, and others inside the train station.

8:45-10am: Coffee & Stroll Avenue du Champagne

Welcome to Épernay!

Avenue du Champagne, a UNESCO World Heritage Site street lined with fairytale-like Champagne houses, is reason enough to visit the area. In the early morning, you can take in the beauty without crowds that can arrive later in the day. That said, I visited in October, and it was nowhere near the crowds that you see in Paris even later in the day.

If you are looking for a coffee and a bite before embarking down the day of bubbly, from the train station, head straight to Salon Eugenie. You can enter it into your phone’s GPS, ask a train worker, or essentially walk straight out of the train station until you reach Avenue du Champange (~7 min walk) and then turn right (~3 min walk). It’s next to a rotary on one end of Avenue du Champagne, and it served a great quick coffee and quiche. From there, spend the rest of your time just strolling the lovely Avenue du Champagne and head to your next stop.

10-11:15am: Learn About the Champagne-Making Process with a Cave Tour at Champagne Boizel

Start your champagne journey (this time, the bubbly) the right way at Champagne Boizel. Although there may be more globally known champagne houses on Avenue du Champagne, including Moët & Chandon, I chose Champagne Boizel because (1) I wanted to try champagne I hadn’t had before, (2) I fell in love with the photos of the cave on the tour (though many champagne houses on the street have access to the caves), and (3) a friend heard from a local in the business that Champagne Boizel was a favorite, which helped to seal the deal.

Which tour to book? We booked the Millesime tour, found here. I recommend booking as far in advance as possible because it does fill up.

How was the experience? Amazing. Our guide was both extremely knowledgable and approachable, for all levels of champagne knowledge.

What to expect on the tour? (1) Check in at the stunning and modern tasting room. (2) Visit two rooms with different types of barrels, including a room of large barrels holding enough champagne for 50,000 bottles each. (3) Walk through historic wine caves filled with bottles of champagne, ending at the oldest bottles from the 1800s. (4) A tasting of two different kinds of champagne, and in case quantity is important to you, they were decently sized pours, at least as compared to wine tastings in the US. Throughout all of this, you’ll learn about the champagne making process and the history of Champagne Boizel.

Another great option on Avenue du Champagne that I closely considered is a tour at Domaine Comtesse Lafond. At least when I was researching, they offer tours beginning at 11am, and the tour I was interested in was two hours. If you go this route, you could still do this itinerary, but you of course would just have to push the times for everything else back accordingly. The building looks stunning, and its cave tour includes teaching you how to saber a champagne bottle.

11:30-11:45am (roughly): Taxi to Hautvillers

Why Hautvillers (pronounced what I think sounds like “oh-vee-ay”)? I wanted to see sprawling vineyards and a charming French countryside town, and it’s only a 10-15 minute drive from Épernay. As fun facts, Dom Pérignon himself used to live in Hautvillers, and Moët & Chandon also owns a vineyard there.

Do you have to leave Épernay? Of course not! There are tons of places right on Avenue du Champagne with more tasting and tour options (see other suggested option above), as well as places to just walk in for a glass of champagne, restaurants, etc. But, if you want quintessential vineyard views and the feel of a small French countryside town, you’ll want to head to Hautvillers.

How to get from Épernay to Hautvillers? Taxi. I believe there are multiple taxi companies, but ABC Taxi had very nice, English-speaking drivers and nice cars, and they accepted credit card. There did also appear to be an Uber option, but we were never able to connect to a driver, so I would not plan to rely on Uber.

How to book? You could try calling yourself, but we had issues just connecting the call from our phones. Although I believe the Office of Tourism in Épernay can help book taxis, the champagne houses we visited were kind enough to make calls for us. It would probably be best to ask once you arrive so they have a heads up (especially in a busy season), but we just asked at the end of our visits and, at least in October, that plan worked just fine for us.

12-2pm: Lunch at Au 36 then Stroll Hautvillers

Located right on Rue Dom Pérignon in Hautvillers, Au 36 is the perfect place for lunch. It not only showcases the best of local ingredients in a lovely lunch, but it also offers various champagne tastings in case you want more champagne.

One of my favorite parts? It offered Dom Pérignon by the glass. When I went, the price was ~50 euro per glass. Though pricy, it’s a much more accessible way to trying Dom Pérignon as opposed to buying a bottle for hundreds of dollars in the US. And, it’s literally on Rue (which translates to “street”) Dom Pérignon. When in Rome, right?

I made a reservation by using the contact form here. Be sure to check your email’s spam folder for responses – mine went there.

After lunch, I’d recommend strolling through the charming streets of Hautvillers until the next stop. If you want a souvenir, there is a cute shop right across the street from Au 36 with lots of take-home options. I bought a book about the champagne making process written by the husband of the sweet sales lady (and potentially owner).

2-3pm: Tasting at G. Tribault with Sweeping Vineyard Views

If the thought of Champagne makes you think of sprawling vineyards, this is your place. G. Tribault offers lots of champagne options to try with reasonable prices and the most beautiful views. Here, you will also get a charming family-run vineyard feel.

I made our reservation by emailing contact@champagne-tribaut-hautvillers.com.

3-4:30pm (roughly): Stroll Vineyards and/or Tasting at J.M. Gobillard & Fils

From G. Tribault, you can easily walk down roads that are lined with vineyards, making you feel like you are in a Champagne fairytale, especially with the few glasses of champagne that you’ve had by this point.

You could easily spend the rest of your time strolling around or at G.Tribault before heading back to the train station, but if you want to try more champagne, head over to the cozy tasting room of J.M. Gobillard & Fils.

When we arrived at J.M. Gobillard & Fils, it was clearly a popular option, as it was the busiest place we had been yet. Fortunately, we got in without a reservation, but if you visit during the busy season or want more certainty, I’d try to make a reservation.

4:45-5pm (roughly): Taxi Back to Épernay Train Station

From J.M. Gobillard & Fils (or elsewhere), take a taxi back to the Épernay train station. (See above for instructions for ordering.) Our server at J.M. Gobillard & Fils helped us order our taxi. But, again, we’d recommend scheduling in advance, especially in the busy season.

5:30-7:15pm: Train Back to Gare L’Est in Paris

Admittedly, we originally booked a return train at 6:30pm, but after the early wake up and day filled with exploring and champagne, we were pretty exhausted by 5pm. Fortunately, our 6:30pm tickets worked for any other time that day, so we had no issue jumping on the 5:30pm train.

And, as a word of caution and lucky for us, we found out the 6:30pm train was ultimately cancelled just before departing. So, just be aware there can be train delays or cancellations, but they come relatively often. If we had tried the 6:30pm train that got cancelled, we would have just walked up to the town and grabbed a quick dinner before the next one.

Short version of itinerary:

• 7:30-8:45am: Train from Gare L’Est in Paris to Épernay
• 8:45-10am: Stroll Avenue du Champagne and coffee/bite at Salon Eugenie
• 10-11:15am: Learn about the champagne-making process with a cave tour at Champagne Boizel. (We did the “Millesime Tour.”)
• 11:30-11:45am (roughly): Taxi to Hautvillers
• 12-2pm: Lunch at Au 36 then stroll Hautvillers
• 2-3pm: Tasting at G. Tribault with sweeping vineyard views
• 3-4:30pm (roughly): Stroll Vineyards and/or Tasting at J.M. Gobillard & Fils
• 4:45-5pm (roughly): Taxi back to Epernay train station
• 5:30-7:15pm: Train back to Gare L’Est in Paris

Cheers (in French, “Santé,” pronounced like sahn-tay),

-Kasey