We took two-day trips from Paris on our recent time in France. One to Dijon, France to visit our old home away from home and another to the Champagne region of France.
We took a TGV (fast train) from Paris Gare de l’Est to Champagne-Ardenne. It was a 45-minute ride. We went early in the morning (7:06 AM departure from Paris) and then took a 30-minute cab ride to the town of Epernay, which is where most of the famous champagne houses are. We grabbed breakfast and then walked around until our first tasting at Moët.
We went to the Moët house first. It was incredibly beautiful and located on avenue de Champagne.
I booked the Imperial Moment tour which was 40 Euros and included an hour and a half English-speaking tour of the caves and a tasting with two glasses of champagne. Our tour started at 10 am (there is no such thing as it being too early for bubbles).
This tour and tasting were our favorite of the two. Our guide was so knowledgeable and genuine. She made the experience so lovely.
The caves were beautiful to see especially because Napoleon used to hang out down there. These caves are still where the Moët champagne is made.
We met the sommelier in the tasting room in the caves. She was lovely as well. Alex and I thanked our sommelier in French, even though it was an English speaking tour, and she was shocked that we both spoke French so well. That was the sentiment of the trip. Everyone we spoke to was so surprised that we, as Americans, spoke well in French. It was a lovely compliment and made the experience even better.
After our tasting, we asked the front desk to call us a cab and take us to Reims which was about a 30-minute ride from Epernay (or a 10-minute cab ride from the train station).
Reims:
In Reims, Alex and I re-enacted our first photo ever, five years before, see above. Click HERE for my post from Reims from 2018. We went inside the cathedral and remembered how this church survived the bombings of WWII. This church might have the prettiest stained glass in all of France.
We grabbed lunch at Paul. If you have never had Paul, you must. It is a French “chain” sandwich store (but not “chain” like you think Subway in the US.) Paul was actually ranked the best “fast food” (again, not fast food like in the US) in all of France.
We then took a 10-minute Uber to Veuve Clicquot, which is on the edge of Reims. You could walk from town if you wanted.
At 1:30 pm we had our hour and a half English speaking tour and tasting. I booked the “Only One Quality, The Finest” tour for 75 Euros which included four tasting glasses.
Like Moët, we had a guided tour of the caves. We again learned all about how champagne is made. But to be honest, this tour felt more gimmicky. It was more of a show. There were videos and a projection screen. The bottles around the caves were definitely set up for display, as opposed to Moët, where the caves were actually in-use.
It was fascinating to learn that Madame Clicquot actually ran the champagne house without a husband. She was quite remarkable for a woman in her generation.
After the tour and tasting, we went and sat on the patio in the sun for a couple glasses of champagne. Alex liked the classic Yellow Label and I preferred the Extra Brut.
Overall, Alex and I definitely preferred Moët to Veuve, both the actual taste of the champagne, but also the overall experiences.
We probably could have squeezed in another tasting, but two was good for us.
We took the 5:08 pm TGV from Champagne-Ardenne to Paris Gare de l’Est and we were back in Paris in under an hour.
In sum:
I highly recommend this day trip from Paris. Everyone we met on the tours were all actually staying in Reims for a couple of days to do the champagne tastings. That definitely is an option. I prefer what we did by staying in Paris and taking a quick train ride.
I would love to go back and explore more of the champagne houses in Epernay. I think if you want a true French experience, I would recommend going straight to Epernay and doing the tastings there. Veuve, although very famous for the iconic gold label, was a bit too showy for me and I wouldn’t go back.
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