Paris Champagne Without a Tour: Train, Car and Booking the Houses Yourself

Hours, prices and access verified by the Paris Champagne Tours team — last checked 2026-09-18.

The Avenue de Champagne street sign on a brick house front

You can see Champagne without a tour, and many people do. The train is fast, the big houses sell their visits online, and Reims Cathedral is free. What you give up is the growers, a driver who has not been tasting, and a day that plans itself. This guide sets out the DIY day honestly, then compares it with the champagne tours from paris.

Can you visit Champagne on your own?

Yes. By TGV from Gare de l'Est you reach Reims in 45 minutes, by the tourist office's own figure. Several big houses are in the city, and each sells its cellar visits on its own website. The cathedral is free, and open daily from 8 am.

A DIY day works best in Reims or on the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay, where the houses stand close together. It works less well in the villages, where the growers are.

How do you get to Reims or Épernay by train?

Trains for both towns leave from Gare de l'Est. Reims has two stations: Reims-Centre in the town and Champagne-Ardenne TGV at Bezannes, linked by tram. A regional line, the Ligne des Bulles, runs between Reims and Épernay.

Timetables and fares change, so check the rail operator for your date. France Intense, which starts its tours at Reims station, suggests the 8:28 from Paris-Est arriving at 9:14, Monday to Saturday. It also warns that its Sunday start has no train from Paris in July and August.

Can you walk between the houses?

In Reims, for several of them. Veuve Clicquot, Pommery, Taittinger, Ruinart, Lanson and Mumm are all in the city. Taittinger's cellars lie 18 metres down, in chalk quarries under the old Saint-Nicaise abbey. Plan two houses with lunch between, and a taxi if your shoes are not up to it.

In Épernay the Avenue de Champagne is 1.5 km long, with Moët & Chandon at number 18 and the tourist office at number 7. Mercier is also in town. Nicolas Feuillatte is in the village of Chouilly, not in Épernay itself, so plan a taxi for it.

How do you book a house visit yourself?

On each house's own website, and ahead in summer. Here are the cheapest visits the houses list for 2026:

House	Town	Cheapest visit	What to know
Nicolas Feuillatte	Chouilly	€20, with one glass	A taxi ride from Épernay
Mercier	Épernay	€25	A mini-train in the cellars; €12 for ages 10 to 17
G.H. Mumm	Reims	€30, 1 hour 30	In the city
Lanson	Reims	€32	€20 for 13 to 17, €15 for 7 to 12, free under 7
Veuve Clicquot	Reims	€36, 1 hour	Closed 28 Dec 2025 to 7 Apr 2026
Moët & Chandon	Épernay	€48, 1 hour 30	Open daily, 9:30 to 17:00
Pommery	Reims	€48, 2 hours	Tasting included
Ruinart	Reims	€90	€50 for 7 to 17, free under 7
Taittinger	Reims	See its own site	Tours all year

Check each house's opening days before you pick a date. Veuve Clicquot, for one, runs Tuesday to Sunday for much of the year and closes for part of the winter.

What does a do-it-yourself day cost?

Your train, then each visit. Two houses in Reims, say Mumm and Veuve Clicquot, cost €66 for one adult. Mercier and Moët & Chandon in Épernay cost €73. Add lunch, and €9 if you want the cathedral towers on a guided visit.

Some things cost nothing at all. The cathedral is free, and so is a walk on the Avenue de Champagne. The Palais du Tau is closed for works until 2027, and only its shop is open.

What else is there to see in Reims and Épernay?

In Reims, the Basilica of Saint-Remi is free to visit on your own, and the tourist office rents an audioguide for €6. The cathedral towers take guided visits at €9 until 15 November, then close until 14 February.

In Épernay, the Musée du Vin de Champagne, in the Château Perrier, costs €10, or €6.50 reduced. It is free under 13, and free for everyone on the first Sunday of the month. From April to October it opens 11:00 to 19:00, and it is closed on Tuesdays.

How long should you allow?

A two-house day in Reims fits between a morning and an evening train. Allow an hour or two for each house, time for lunch, and an hour at the cathedral. If you want Épernay as well, take the Ligne des Bulles between the towns and check its times for your date before you book the second house.

Can you reach the growers without a car?

Not easily. The family growers are in villages among the vines, not in the towns. You would need a taxi from Reims or Épernay and a booking of your own.

This is where a tour earns its fare. The growers' days start at Reims station, and the fare includes the minivan, the guide and the tastings.

What about driving?

Reims sits on the A4 from Paris, and the drive takes about two hours. Part of Reims is a low-emission zone, and your car needs a Crit'Air 1, 2 or 3 sticker to enter it.

The real problem is the tasting. Every visit pours, and someone has to drive back to Paris. If nobody in your party wants to stay sober all day, the driver is much of what a tour's fare pays for.

What does a tour add?

Growers you cannot reach by train, a lunch table booked for you, and nobody who has to drive after the tastings. The shared days from Paris cost $268 to $443 per person with the visits paid. Many include hotel pickup.

A tour also takes the planning off you. The operator books the visits and plans the order of the day.

The halfway option: a tour that starts in Reims

Take the train yourself, then join a tour at the station. It is the cheapest way to see the growers, and you keep your morning or your afternoon free in Reims.

The Reims afternoon: two family wineries and six glasses, 2 pm to 6:30 pm, $152.
France Intense's day: three family wineries, nine tastings and lunch, from 9:30 am, $286.
Sparkling Tour's day: three growers, nine champagnes and lunch, adults only, $280.
Wine Tours Paris: from the cathedral's left-side gate at 9:30 am, ending around 5 pm on the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay, $245.

Three ways to do the day, compared

	On your own	Tour from Reims station	Day tour from Paris
You pay	Train, plus €20 to €90 a house	$152 to $286, plus the train	$268 to $443
Travel	45 minutes by TGV to Reims	45 minutes by TGV	About 2 hours each way by road
Growers	Hard without a car	Yes, on most	On most, beside a big house
Big houses	Any you book	Rarely	One, often by availability
Lunch	Yours	In the fare on some	In the fare on some
Who drives	The train, and taxis	The guide	The guide

Who should skip the tour?

Go on your own if you want the big houses and the cathedral, and do not mind skipping the growers. Go on your own if you like to linger, or if you already know which cellar you want to see. Take a tour if the growers are the point, or if you want the whole day handled.

Frequently asked questions

Can I visit Champagne from Paris without a tour?

Yes. The TGV reaches Reims from Gare de l'Est in 45 minutes, and the big houses sell cellar visits direct on their own sites. A tour earns its fare when you want several producers in one day, lunch at a winemaker's table, and nobody who has to drive after the tastings.

How much does a day in Champagne cost without a tour?

Your train, plus each house's own visit price: Mumm €30, Veuve Clicquot €36, Moët & Chandon €48 and Pommery €48, for example. Reims Cathedral is free, and its towers cost €9 on a guided visit. Lunch is yours.

Can I walk between champagne houses in Reims?

Several big houses are in Reims itself, including Veuve Clicquot, Pommery, Taittinger, Ruinart, Lanson and Mumm, so a two-house day on foot or by short taxi works. In Épernay, the Avenue de Champagne is 1.5 km end to end.

How do I book a champagne house visit myself?

On the house's own website. The cheapest visits on their own sites run from €20 at Nicolas Feuillatte and €25 at Mercier to €48 at Moët & Chandon and Pommery, and €90 at Ruinart. Book ahead in summer and check the opening days.

Can I visit growers without a car?

Not easily: the growers are in villages among the vines, not in the towns. A tour that starts at Reims station is the simple answer, or a taxi from Reims or Épernay to a grower you have booked yourself.

Can I drive myself to Champagne?

Yes: Reims sits on the A4 motorway from Paris. Part of Reims is a low-emission zone that needs a Crit'Air 1, 2 or 3 sticker, and a tasting day leaves someone who should not drive, which is much of what a tour's fare pays for.

Which tours start in Reims, and how do I get there?

Several meet at the tourist office on the Reims station forecourt at 9:30 am, the growers' afternoon at 2:00 pm, and one at the left-side gate of Reims Cathedral at 9:30. The TGV from Gare de l'Est takes 45 minutes, and the train ticket is yours to buy.

Is Reims or Épernay the better base?

Reims has the TGV, the cathedral and the chalk cellars under its big houses. Épernay has the Avenue de Champagne, with 110 km of cellars under 1.5 km of street, and the Marne valley vineyards on its doorstep. Many day tours from Paris take in both.

Where these facts come from

Train and town facts are Reims Tourisme's and Épernay Tourisme's. House prices and opening days are each house's own.

Days that start where the train stops

Champagne Day Trip from Reims including 9 Champagne Tastings

Meets at the Reims station tourist office at 9:30 am: three family wineries, nine tastings, Rilly-la-Montagne and Épernay, with lunch in the fare.

From $286 per person

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Reims afternoon tour Champagne and family growers

Meets at the Reims station tourist office at 2 pm: two family wineries, six glasses and Hautvillers, back at the station by 6:30 pm. The train from Paris is yours.

From $152 per person

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Small Group - Full Day Champagne Tour 3 Small Champagne Growers

Three family growers outside Reims, nine champagnes and a two-course lunch with a glass, from the station tourist office. Adults only, and no big house.

From $280 per person

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Next: take the train, then compare the Reims days with the rest on Paris Champagne Tours.