Are you a wine lover? If yes, you’ll want to read this guide on how to road trip through Champagne, France.
The Champagne wine region is known for it’s sparkling wine and located in the northeast of France, less than a two-hour drive and an hour train ride from Paris. The best way to get around Champagne and get the most of your experience is renting a car. After my arrival in Paris, I picked up my rental with Hertz and began my road trip to Champagne.
Our first night was in a small town near Château-Thierry in a cute b&b at Chateau de Marjolaine.
Things to do in Chateau Thierry:
- Chateau-Thierry castle
- Champagne Pannier tour & tasting
- Ride through the vineyards at Champagne Philippe Mallet
- Museum Tour & 5 Senses Master Class at Champagne Meteyer
- Lunch at Hotel Le Moulin Babet
We started our second day early and visited Champagne Pannier to explore the medieval cellar. It was very fascinating to walk through the cellar and see historic carvings on the walls and learn about their process of aging the Champagne. Our second stop of the day was exploring Champagne Philippe Mallet and getting to ride through the vineyards in a jeep! Ther rolling hills and view of the town was beautiful. Our last stop of the day was a visit to Champagne Meteyer. The owners have the cutest vintage car and of course, they were kind enough to take us around the vineyards. After our ride around the vineyard, we had a tour around their museum and learned about our 5 senses with Champagne during the master class. This day I learned that Champagne is made mainly from three grape varieties: Pinot Noir (a red variety), Pinot Meunier (a red variety related to Pinot Noir), and Chardonnay (a white variety). My favorite has to be Chardonnay!
After two days of exploring the area in Chateau Thierry, we made our way to Reims. A city in northeastern France and less than 40 minutes from Chateau Thierry. Our hotel was centrally located in the city of Reims which I loved because we were able to park our car and walk around the city for the next few days. We stayed at the Best Western La Paix.
Things to do in Reims:
- Au Piano des Chefs cooking class
- Guided City Tour: Reims Cathedral, Palace of Tau, Abbey of St Remi,
- Rooftop Bar at the Holiday Inn Reims Centre
- Cellar tour at Champagne Mumm
- Veuve Clicquot tours
- Champagne Pommery tours
The cooking class is one of my favorite experiences because I love cooking! It was so much fun learning from the chef and I was able to prepare my own meal. We prepared vegetables, fish and made a delicous meringe dessert. The Reims Cathedral is a Roman Catholic Church built in the High Gothic style. The cathedral has replaced an older church that has been destroyed by a fire in 1211. This is also where all the kings of France were crowned.
After exploring the best of Reims we were off to another commune in France called Aÿ, 40 minutes from Reims by car and ended in Epernay.
Things to do in Epernay and Aÿ:
- Ride in the historic vineyard of Champagne that is a UNESCO site in an electric car with Ay Eco Visit
- Explore Hautvillers. A cute village where Dom Perignon is buried
- Lunch at Au 36 where we had local food and Champagne tasting
- Tasting workshop at Champagne De Telmont
- Explored Avenue de Champagne
- Dinner at Les Temps Changent, a Michelin Star restaurant
I had so much fun road tripping through the Champagne region and learning about the history and tasting all the different types of Champagne. If you’re interested in exploring more of the French Wines, you’ll want to explore the Cognac region. After my trip to Champagne, I spent 3 days in Cognac and have come up with the 10 Best Things to do in Cognac!
More on tourdelust.com
See my whole itinerary in France here: Christine's itinerary in Champagne & Cognac
All credits go to Christine Tran from Tourdelust
