Luxury Small Group Champagne Day Trip from Paris with Winery Tastings
Highlights
-
- Visit the ancestral home of champagne - Hautvillers - where you’ll visit the tomb of Dom Perignon and learn how he helped create champagne as we know it today.
-
- Epernay is a hub for all the great champagne-making houses and a must-see for wine-lovers. You’ll stop here for lunch.
-
- Unlike similar tours, we visit both mom-and-pop or boutique vineyards and world-renowned champagne houses so you get a more authentic experience.
-
- Learn about the lost art of sabrage and other old-world techniques. Champagne production is a highly-controlled process that has changed little over time, as you’ll see on this grape-to-glass tour of vineyards and production spaces.
-
- With small groups of just 15 people or fewer and transport by air-conditioned minibus, (not charter bus), your experience will be relaxed and exclusive, your guide easy to interact with.
Summary
Did you ever wonder how champagne became the wine of ship launchings, wedding toasts, and victory celebrations? This grape to glass tour immerses you in that effervescent story on a delightful day trip through the Champagne region. From the abbeys of Benedictine monks and the most valuable street in France to the town of Epernay, we’ll learn the history of this iconic wine as well as how it’s made in the modern world. Don’t forget to come thirsty, we take care of all the driving and logistics so you can enjoy the seven (generous) champagne tastings included in the price of the trip.
Tour info
Duration
11 hours
Group Size
Pricing (From)
Adult:
(15-99 years)
€169.00
Child:
(2-14 years)
€159.00
Infant:
(0-1 years)
€0.00
Commentary
English
Meeting Point
Opéra Bastille, Place de la Bastille, Paris, 75012, FR
Dropoff location
Opéra Bastille, Place de la Bastille, Paris, 75012, FR
Why take this tour?
Your day begins in Central Paris where you’ll meet your guide and small group of 15 fellow travelers before hopping in a comfortable, air-conditioned minibus for the 2 hour ride to the Champagne region. The first stop takes you back some 300 years with a visit to the Benedictine Abbey in Hautvillers, where the famous Dom Perignon pioneered some of the production methods that made champagne the drink it is today. As you tour the abbey and see where Perignon himself worked, you’ll learn about the dangers of exploding wine bottles and how the search to stop this phenomenon actually drove many of Perignon’s innovations, much more than his love of sparkling wine. Before leaving Hautvillers, you’ll stop by a scenic overlook to enjoy a snack and then an amazing view.
The story of champagne will make you thirsty and we have just the solution: you next stop is a family-run winery where the owner will show you around and teach you how his family has been making champagne for three generations. You might be surprised to learn that the process has changed very little in the last 300 years, but you won’t be surprised that the next six wines you taste are out of this world.
As you learn to distinguish the tasting notes of good champagne, you’ll be treated to a little surprise: The owner will demonstrate the proper method for ‘sabering’ a bottle of champagne, and as you taste its contents, you’all also learn the myth-filled history of the practice. Like many French traditions, Napoleon was involved.
Your next stop is the champagne capital; the town of Epernay, where you’ll break for lunch. It’s not included but your guide will be happy to direct you toward their favorite restaurants for champagne’s hearty Cuisine du Terroir.
Wine from vineyards all over Champagne floods into the town to be stored in the chalk caves excavated beneath the city streets. After lunch, you’ll head over to a centuries-old mansion to savour the champagne of a husband-and-wife-run winery.
Afterwards, you’ll hop in the mini-bus and return to Paris, arriving around 6.00pm; just in time to get a few more recommendations from your guide and head out to dinner.
Sites Visited:
- Benedictine Abbey in Hautvillers
- Epernay
- Two Wineries
What’s included?
-
Various Champagne Tastings (7 in total) -
Private transport -
Lunch
-
Gratuities
-
Hotel Pick-Up/Drop-Off
Things to know
Before you book
-
Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate guests with mobility impairments, wheelchairs or strollers on this tour.
Before you go
-
Please note that the tour meeting time is 15 minutes prior to the start time. No refunds or re-bookings can be provided for late arrivals or no-shows after tour commencement or departure.
-
Please ensure that all members of your party have a valid ID on them on the day of the visit. This is particularly important for guests who have qualified for child reduction.
-
Comfortable walking shoes recommended.
-
This tour runs rain or shine.
Cancellation Policy
-
Cancellations received greater than 72 hours prior to tour commencement are fully refundable.
Cancellations received within 72 hours of tour commencement are nonrefundable.
Amendment requests are subject to availability and price changes.
Late arrivals and no shows are nonrefundable. This is applicable to any tour participant that fails to arrive, or arrives after tour departure.
Redemption information
Mobile tickets will be accepted
Your voucher will be collected or scanned on redemption
About operator:
Walks (takewalks.com, walksofitaly.com) began over a decade ago (2008, to be exact) in Rome, Italy. We quickly became the premier walking tour company in 7 countries - Italy, Spain, France, the UK, Greece, and Portugal. Our US cities include San Francisco, NYC, Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans.
In 2021, we joined The Hornblower Group (cityexperiences.com) expanding our reach and working alongside this powerhouse travel brand.
Our tour products vary but predominantly we #takewalks, exploring the world by foot - we believe, the best way to get into the heart of a city and its incredible people. From introductory strolls to food tours, day trips, cooking classes, and below the surface, in-depth tours, we have our hand in everything a traveler could want. Oh, and we also like to give our clients exclusive access to the biggest attractions in the world...
Despite the big changes in our brand over the years, our focus has remained simple - to relentlessly create tours with the client experience at the forefront and anchored upon the dedicated, intelligent, and above all, passionate local guides who want to share their cities with you.
Our tour products vary but predominantly we #takewalks, exploring the world by foot - we believe, the best way to get into the heart of a city and its incredible people. From introductory strolls to food tours, day trips, cooking classes, and below the surface, in-depth tours, we have our hand in everything a traveler could want. Oh, and we also like to give our clients exclusive access to the biggest attractions in the world...
Despite the big changes in our brand over the years, our focus has remained simple - to relentlessly create tours with the client experience at the forefront and anchored upon the dedicated, intelligent, and above all, passionate local guides who want to share their cities with you.
Other products from this operator:
