Top 10 things to do in Champagne France without a car

We visited the Champagne region in France without a car. We flew to Paris and took the train from the airport to the train station in the city Reims. Reims is located in the Champagne district.

Top 10 things to do in the Champagne region, without a car

1. Stroll around in the beautiful city of Reims.
We stayed in the centre of the city at the Best Western Premier Hotel de la Paix. It was an ordinary hotel with a great location.
Make sure you book a hotel with air condition if you travel during the summer.  

2. Visit the Champagne houses in Reims. There are many you can visit for a tasting and or a wine cellar tour. Some also show their production.
I recommend that you reserve the tastings and the wine cellar tours in advance. 

My recommendations are:

• Pommery. They have daily tastings and a nice shop to buy some souvenirs to bring back home. I bought some lovely Champagne glasses.
• Champagne Lanson, https://www.lanson.com/index-en.php 
• Champagne Mumm, https://www.mumm.com/fr-fr/
• Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin - Visitors Center, https://www.veuveclicquot.com/en-au/practical-informations
• Champagne Louis Roederer, https://www.louis-roederer.com/fr
• Champagne Taittinger, https://www.taittinger.com/en
• Champagne Krug, https://www.krug.com/
  

3. Visit the Cathedrals in Reims. There is a free light show in the evenings close to one of the Cathedrals.

4. Visit the wine cellars. Reserve a wine cellar tour or two.
Picture from one of of the wine cellar tours

5. Visit the one of the Champagne production sites and the wine yards. You can book a tour in advance.

6. . Take a taxi and go to the nearby town Epernay. We stayed at a lovely small luxurious hotel that had a wonderful garden. The name of the hotel is Au Jeu de Paume, address; 8 Rue du Paulmier. https://www.aujeudepaume.fr/

This hotel was such a nice place to rest after a day on the Avenue de Champagne (the Champagne street).

Make sure you book a hotel with air condition if you travel during the summer. 

7. Visit the Avenue de Champagne in Epernay. There is a street with a lot of the famous Champagne houses. You can visit them for a tasting. I recommend you to reserve the tastings in advance if you have any favorites you would like to visit.

You can visit for example Moët & Chandon, Pol Roger and Eugène Mercier. 

My favorites after the tastings were 

• Moet et Chandon, https://www.moet.com/en-int
• Mercier, https://www.champagnemercier.com/en/legal
• Champagne Boizel - Atelier 1834, https://www.boizel.com/en/
• Champagne Collard-Picard, https://www.champagnecollardpicard.fr/en
• Paul-Etienne Saint Germain, https://www.pauletiennesaintgermain.fr/en/home-champagne-paul-etienne-saint-germain/

8. Take a taxi from Epernay and make a short trip to HAUTVILLERS - the village of DOM PÉRIGNON. This village is the birthplace of Champagne. It is a beautiful small village. You can take a lovely walk, and eat a nice lunch in one of the restaurants and visit the shops. https://en.reims-tourisme.com/visites-guidees-d-hautvillers-village-de-dom-perignon/hautvillers/fmacha051v50iktc

9. Cheese tasting. Buy french cheeses in the supermarket or a food shop and arrange your own cheese tasting, or go to a restaurant and ask them for a selection of their best cheeses.

10. You are very close to Paris so I suggest you end your trip with a day or two days in Paris. Walk around in the beautiful city, and do not miss the Seine and the Eiffel tower. 

Paris in 24 hours

Only one day in Paris? Don´t get stressed. This is your guide to a fab 24 hours in Paris. Enjoy!

08.00 Breakfast at Coco Chanel´s favorite hotel, the Ritz Paris hotel. Coco lived here for many years and it is one if the most luxurious hotels in Paris.

09.00 Walk on the famous street Champs-Élysées, see the beautiful monument the Arc de Triomphe and take some pictures. It stands on the Place Charles de Gaulle and is the second largest triumphal arch in the world.

10.00 When in Paris, it is a must to see the MonaLisa painting at the Louvre museum.

11.30 Time for some shopping. An hour of intensive shopping at the Lafayette department store.

13.00 Rest your shoes (and wallet) and have a relaxed lunch in the lovely green garden of lux restaurant Laurent

15.00 Take a taxi to Montmarte, and ask the taxi driver to pass the Eifel tower on the way...
Visit Montmarte, this is a lovely part of Paris, which is an old art district.
Buy some art in the street and enjoy the atmosphere. Many famous painters worked here, such as Dalí, Monet, Picasso and van Gogh. You should also visit the beautiful church Basilica of the Sacré Cœur. It is definitely worth the walk up the hill.

17.00 Enough of exercise. Time for a class of wine tasting at the wine museum, Musee du vin.
The Wine Museum is housed in what used to be crude limestone quarries that were mined between the 13th and the 18th centuries to provide the dressed stoneused to build Paris.

19.30 A late dinner & cruise on the Seine River. You can book it through a tour operator.

23.00 Fab drinks and music at the Budda Bar. The bar looks out over the dining area where a gigantic Buddha sits on its throne. Don´t forget to buy the Buddha Bar cd before you leave so you can bring the feeling to your home.

Do you have any suggestions on more fab things to add to the schedule? Please leave a comment here.