A Paris Champagne Day Trip, Hour by Hour
A day in Champagne from Paris has a fixed frame: an early start, about two hours on the road each way, and five to eight hours in the region. What changes is what fills the middle. This guide walks through the day as the day tours from paris to champagne run it, then shows the private and the train versions.
How long is the drive from Paris?
The region lies about 150 km north-east of Paris. Go Go Tours allows around two hours to reach it and close to two hours back, depending on traffic. Reims sits on the A4 motorway, and most days use it.
That means about four of your ten to twelve hours are in the car. Sleep, read, or ask your guide how champagne is made. Many days include bottled water, and My Winedays hands you a croissant as well.
What time do you leave, and when are you back?
Early. Champagne Tasting Tours' guide reaches 91 Boulevard Saint-Germain at about 7:15 and leaves by 7:30. Wine Tours Paris asks you to be at Place d'Italie at 7:40 for a 7:45 start, and brings you back there around 6 pm. Blue Fox asks you to reach Café Dada on the Avenue des Ternes 15 minutes before the start.
The hotel-pickup days set your time when you book. My Winedays drops you at the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville at the end of the day. Expect 10 to 12 hours door to door, and do not book a dinner for straight after.
How much of the day is in Champagne?
About six hours on My Winedays' day and Blue Fox's, and six to eight on the Go Go Tours days. The minivan day spends about seven hours across its stops, and BackTrip's twelve-hour day about eight and a half. Galaxytour's private two-house day spends five hours and a quarter at its listed stops.
The Reims-start days turn the sum around. You spend 45 minutes on the TGV, and then the whole tour is in the region: four and a half hours on the Reims afternoon, eight on France Intense's day.
The classic day: a house, lunch and a grower
This is the shape most shared days follow. My Winedays runs it like this:
- Pickup at your Paris hotel, then about two hours to the vineyards.
- A major house: cellar tour and tasting, about 1.5 hours.
- A masterclass in the vines with your guide, weather permitting.
- Lunch at a winemaker's table, about two hours, with at least three champagnes.
- A second producer, a family estate or a cooperative, about 1.5 hours.
- The drive back, with drop-off at the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville.
Blue Fox varies it without lunch. You get 90 minutes at Nicolas Feuillatte, half an hour at Dom Pérignon's tomb in Hautvillers, half an hour at Reims Cathedral, 90 minutes at the family winery DOMI, and an hour in Épernay. Lunch there is yours to buy.
The two-house private day
Galaxytour's private day is built around two big names. Its itinerary:
- Pickup at a fixed point in Paris.
- Hautvillers, 45 minutes: the village and Dom Pérignon's abbey church.
- Moët & Chandon: cellars and tasting, 1.5 hours.
- Épernay, one hour, the natural stop for lunch, which is yours.
- Veuve Clicquot: cellars and tasting, 1.5 hours.
- Reims Cathedral, 30 minutes, then back to Paris.
A private driver means the order can bend. Ask for longer at the cathedral if it matters to you.
The train day: Reims by TGV
Local CoolTour's private day skips the road. You meet your guide at Gare de l'Est, ride the high-speed train to Reims with the tickets paid, and walk through the old centre and the cathedral for about an hour. On the Full Option you then visit G.H. Martel and Canard-Duchêne, 90 minutes each, with lunch. The day runs 6 or 10 hours, by option.
You can build your own version too. Take a morning TGV, spend the late morning at the cathedral, and join the Reims afternoon with two family growers at the station tourist office at 2 pm. You are back at the station by 6:30.
Can you see Reims and Épernay in one day?
Yes, and most days from Paris do. The Go Go Tours lunch day gives the Avenue de Champagne 20 minutes and Reims Cathedral 30. Champagne Tasting Tours gives the cathedral 30 minutes and the avenue an hour and a half. Best of France's private day splits its time, two hours in each town.
The stops are short, so pick by what you want longest. For the cathedral, the minivan day gives it an hour and a quarter. For the avenue, choose a day with an hour or more in Épernay.
Where do you eat?
It depends on the fare. Lunch is included on the My Winedays days, the Go Go Tours lunch days, the minivan day, France Intense's Reims day and Sparkling Tour's days. It is a two- or three-course meal, often with champagne.
Elsewhere lunch is yours. On Galaxytour's days it falls in Épernay, and BackTrip's day gives you 90 minutes of free time there. Le Tour de Vigne books your table on the Avenue de Champagne, and you pay for the meal. Budget for it if your card says lunch is not included.
What gets squeezed when the day runs short?
The short stops. A cellar visit takes an hour and a half or more, but the cathedral often gets 20 or 30 minutes and the Avenue de Champagne 10 to 20. The drive runs "depending on the traffic", in Go Go Tours' words, so a slow road means a later return, not a longer visit.
So choose a day that lists the time you care about. If the cathedral matters, the minivan day, the Withlocals day and Private Trip's day each give it an hour or more.
Three versions of the day, side by side
Times are the operators' own. Where a listing gives a length rather than a clock time, the table says so.
| Classic shared day | Private two-house day | Train day | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | My Winedays | Galaxytour | Local CoolTour |
| Start | Your Paris hotel | A fixed Paris pickup point | Gare de l'Est |
| Getting there | About 2 hours by road | About 2 hours by road | 45 minutes by TGV |
| First visit | A major house, 1.5 hours | Hautvillers, then Moët & Chandon | Reims and the cathedral, 1 hour |
| Lunch | At a winemaker's table, in the fare | In Épernay, yours | Full Option only |
| Second visit | A family estate or cooperative | Veuve Clicquot, then the cathedral | G.H. Martel and Canard-Duchêne |
| Length | 10 hours | 8 to 10 hours | 6 to 10 hours |
| Fare from | $372 per person | $696 per person | $709 per person |
What should you carry?
A layer for the cellars, which stay at 10 to 12 °C, and flat shoes with grip for the stairs and damp floors. Bring water on the kerb-start days, a charged phone for the meeting point, and some cash for bottles or a tip. If you plan to buy champagne, leave room in your bag.
Frequently asked questions
How early do tours leave Paris?
What time are you back in Paris?
How far is Champagne from Paris, and how long is the drive?
Can you see Reims and Épernay in one day?
Which Paris Champagne tours include lunch?
Should I stay a night in Reims instead?
Is there a half-day champagne tour from Paris?
Where these facts come from
Times and stops are the operators' own. Distances, cellar temperatures and the TGV time come from the official sources below.
- Comité Champagne: frequently asked questions
- Reims Tourisme: getting to Reims
- Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims: opening hours
- Tourisme Hautvillers: the abbey and Dom Pérignon
- Épernay Tourisme: the Avenue de Champagne
Days for every shape of itinerary
Champagne Day Trip from Paris with 8 Tastings & Lunch
Hotel pickup in Paris, one famous house and two family vineyards or a cooperative, at least eight tastings and a lunch paired with three champagnes, for up to eight.
From $372 per person
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Champagne Day Trip with 6 Tastings, Reims and Winery from Paris
Leaves Café Dada on the Avenue des Ternes for Nicolas Feuillatte, Dom Pérignon's tomb at Hautvillers, Reims Cathedral, a family winery and an hour in Épernay. Lunch is yours.
From $269 per person
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Private Champagne Day Trip - Two Vineyards of Reims & Lunch
The high-speed train from Paris with a private guide: a walk through Reims and its cathedral, then one or two houses by option, with lunch on the Full Option only.
From $709 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: pick the shape of your day, then check your date on Paris Champagne Tours.