Between the cellars you can stand where French kings were crowned, climb a lighthouse in the middle of the vines and walk an avenue with 110 km of cellars under it. Much of it is free. Several champagne region tours from paris stop at one or two of these places, and the rest you can reach on a day of your own.
This is where the kings of France were crowned. The parish's own list names 33, from Louis the Pious in 816 to Charles X in 1825. From Henri I in 1027, Reims was the cathedral of coronations.
You pay nothing to go in. The doors open at 8:00 every day and close at 19:30, or 19:15 on Sundays and feast days. On Sunday mornings until noon, you reach only the entrance area.
The towers are a separate, guided visit at €9, free if you are under 18. Until 15 November 2026 they run Tuesday to Saturday at 10:00, 11:00, 14:00, 15:00 and 16:00, and on Sunday afternoons. They close from 16 November to 14 February.
Several day tours from Paris stop here for 20 to 30 minutes on the way to the cellars. That is enough for the west front and the nave, not the towers.
The Palais du Tau stands beside the cathedral. It was the archbishop's residence, and on a coronation day the royal procession set out from here. The feast after the crowning was held here too.
It is closed for works and reopens in 2027 with a new permanent visit about the coronation of the kings. Until then only a temporary shop is open, at 2 place du Cardinal Luçon, Tuesday to Sunday from 9:30 to 12:30 and 14:00 to 17:30.
The Basilica of Saint-Remi is the other great church of Reims, and far fewer people see it. It is 126 metres long. It was built in the 11th century to hold the relics of Saint Remi, the bishop who baptised Clovis in 496-498, and the holy ampulla used to anoint the kings.
The nave is Romanesque and the four-storey choir is Gothic, from the end of the 12th century. Saint Remi's present tomb, from 1847, stands in the middle of the choir.
You can visit on your own for free. The tourist office rents an audioguide for €6 and runs 1 hour 30 minute guided visits on set dates. City buses 4, 6, 11 and 40 stop at "St Remi". No tour here stops at the basilica, so keep it for a day of your own in Reims.
Épernay's Avenue de Champagne is 1.5 km long, lined with the houses' mansions, paved courtyards and gardens. Under it run 110 km of cellars. The Épernay tourist office puts the bottles down there at some 200 million.
The avenue has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 2015, and walking it is free. Moët & Chandon is at no. 18. The Champagne Tasting Tours day gives you 1.5 hours on the avenue; the Go Go Tours days give you about 20 minutes.
On the avenue, in the Château Perrier, a former champagne merchant's house, is the Musée du Vin de Champagne et d'Archéologie régionale. From 1 April to 31 October it opens 11:00 to 19:00 and closes on Tuesdays. Tickets cost €10, or €6.50 reduced, and under-13s go free. On the first Sunday of each month, entry is free for everyone.
Hautvillers is the village of Dom Pérignon. The Benedictine abbey of Saint-Pierre was founded about 650. He arrived in 1668, aged 29, ran the abbey's cellars and estate for 47 years and died in 1715.
His tomb is in the abbey church of Saint-Sindulphe, where the tours stop. The abbey buildings are another matter. Pierre-Gabriel Chandon bought them in 1823, they still belong to Moët & Chandon, and they cannot be visited.
You will hear that the monk invented champagne. The Comité Champagne says nobody did: fermentation is natural, and Champagne was simply the first region that set out to control it. What the abbey can claim, by the Comité's account, is the first use of cork as a stopper, with cork trading on record here by 1737.
The Galaxytour private day gives you 45 minutes in Hautvillers. The Reims afternoon with two family growers gives you 15 minutes in the church and 30 in the village.
Compare the days by who pours, whether lunch is in the fare, and where the day starts: your Paris hotel, a Paris kerb or Reims station.
The Phare de Verzenay is a lighthouse standing in the vineyards of the Montagne de Reims, far from any sea. You climb 101 steps to a viewpoint that looks out all the way round, and below it a vine museum explains how the vineyard makes the wine.
The tower costs €3 for an adult and €2 for a child, the museum €8 and €4, and the two together €9 and €5. In the 2026 season it opened daily from 10:00 to 18:00, from 1 April to 30 September.
From 4 November 2026 the tower and its garden close for improvement works. The museum and its tasting space stay open. The Grand R bus line stops at "Phare de Verzenay". The minivan day from Paris spends its longest stop, 2.5 hours, in the Verzenay vineyards.
The Côte des Blancs is the slope that runs south from Épernay, and it is Chardonnay country. About 85% of its vines are Chardonnay, the white grape among the three main Champagne varieties.
It is one of four growing areas. The table shows how each one leans towards its own grape, from the Union des Maisons de Champagne's vineyard figures.
| Growing area | Villages | Vines | Main grape |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montagne de Reims | 94 | 7,966 ha | Pinot Noir, 41% |
| Vallée de la Marne | 103 | 12,150 ha | Meunier, 59% |
| Côte des Blancs | 58 | 6,304 ha | Chardonnay, 85% |
| Côte des Bar | 64 | 7,898 ha | Pinot Noir, 84% |
Nicolas Feuillatte's cellars are at Chouilly, in the Marne. You visit them on the Blue Fox day from Paris, which starts on Avenue des Ternes. If you want time among the Chardonnay villages themselves, ask for it on a private day.
You can also drink champagne without leaving Paris. A champagne boat tour paris lasts 75 to 90 minutes on the river, with no drive and no cellar.
Ô Chateau's tasting cruise meets at the Vedettes de Paris pontoon at Port de Suffren, at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. It pours three grower champagnes: a Brut, a Rosé and a Blanc de Blancs. The private boat boards at Port de Javel Haut, in the 15th.
You can fill a day in Champagne for the price of a train ticket. The cellars are what you pay for.
| Thing to do | What it costs | Opening | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reims Cathedral | Free | Daily from 8:00; doors close 19:30 (19:15 on Sundays) | Reims, the cathedral square |
| Cathedral towers | €9 guided visit; free under 18 | Tue–Sat 10:00–16:00, Sun 14:00–16:00, to 15 November | Reims, from the cathedral |
| Basilica of Saint-Remi | Free; audioguide €6 | Guided visits by the tourist office on set dates | Reims, Place Chanoine Ladame |
| Palais du Tau | Closed for works; the shop only | Shop Tue–Sun 9:30–12:30 and 14:00–17:30 | Reims, beside the cathedral |
| Avenue de Champagne | Free to walk | Any time | Épernay |
| Wine museum at the Château Perrier | €10; €6.50 reduced; free under 13 | Apr–Oct 11:00–19:00, closed Tuesdays | Épernay, on the avenue |
| Hautvillers abbey church | No admission price published | Hours not published; the abbey buildings never open | Hautvillers |
| Lighthouse and vine museum, Verzenay | €3 tower; €8 museum; €9 both | Daily 10:00–18:00 in the 2026 season | Verzenay, Montagne de Reims |
| A cellar visit at a house | €20 to €90 on the houses' own sites | Each house's own calendar | Reims, Épernay, Chouilly |
Hours and prices come from each place's own site or the official tourist office, and the vineyard figures from the Comité Champagne and the Union des Maisons de Champagne. The Palais du Tau's closure and the Phare de Verzenay works are as published for autumn 2026.
Leaves Boulevard Saint-Germain at 7:30 am for Reims Cathedral, a big-house cellar such as Lanson, Hautvillers, the Avenue de Champagne and a grower at Villers-sous-Châtillon. Lunch is yours.
From $443 per person
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Two and a half hours in the Verzenay vineyards, then Reims, its cathedral and the Vranken-Pommery cellars, with breakfast and lunch in the fare, up to 7 guests.
From $275 per person
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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
Check AvailabilityNext: the practical side is in visiting Champagne from Paris, the two towns in Reims and Épernay, or compare every day out on Paris Champagne Tours.