How to Visit Champagne France in 2026: Trains, Cellar Slots and a First Day's Budget
The short answer. There is no single ticket for Champagne. Reims and Épernay are 27 km apart, and each champagne house sells its own cellar visit by the time slot, from EUR 25 at Mercier to EUR 90 at Ruinart. The TGV reaches Reims from Paris in about 45 minutes, and the direct train to Épernay takes 1 hour 20 minutes. Reims Cathedral is free. A tour adds what the trains cannot: the family growers out in the villages.
Champagne France at a glance
Most first visits go wrong on one of three things: the wrong station, the wrong tourist office, or a house that is closed that day. The table covers all three, and the rest of the post explains each one. Looking for Champagne France tickets? There are none to buy at a gate, so the fares side by side are the closest thing.
| What | The figure | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Paris to Reims | About 45 minutes by TGV | A half day from Reims fits a day trip |
| Paris to Épernay | 1 hour 20 minutes direct from Paris-Est | The station is minutes from the Avenue |
| Reims to Épernay | 30 minutes by TER, every 30 minutes | Both towns in one day without a car |
| A house's cheapest visit | EUR 25 to EUR 90 | Booked direct, by the slot |
| Reims Cathedral | Free, daily from 8:00 | The towers are EUR 9 and booked |
| The cellars | 10 to 12 °C all year | Bring a layer, even in August |
Tickets: every house sells its own
You do not buy "Champagne" the way you buy a museum. Each house runs its own visit, sells it on its own website, and fills it by the slot. The cheapest you can book direct in Reims: Mumm from EUR 30 for 1 hour 30 minutes, Veuve Clicquot from EUR 36 for an hour, Lanson from EUR 32, Pommery from EUR 48 for two hours, and Ruinart at EUR 90 for two hours in its chalk pits. In Épernay, Moët & Chandon starts at EUR 48 and Mercier at EUR 25, with a little driverless train through its cellars.
What you cannot easily book direct is a grower. The family producers sit out in the villages, and a tour is the simple way to reach two in a morning. That is the gap the half-day and full-day tours fill. Every house's calendar, cellar length and price is on the champagne houses page.
Getting there: which station, which train
Reims has two stations. Reims-Centre is in the city, and the information point where most tours meet stands on its square. Champagne-Ardenne TGV stands outside the city at Bezannes and is linked to the centre by tram. Check which one your ticket names before you plan a morning around it.
In Épernay, the tourist office on the Avenue de Champagne is under ten minutes from the station on foot through the town-hall park. Between the two towns the TER runs every 30 minutes and takes half an hour, through a tunnel under the Montagne de Reims. If you drive, note that part of Reims is a low-emission zone that admits Crit'Air 1 to 3 vehicles.
Where the tours meet
This is the mistake that costs people their tour. Reims has two tourist offices. The main one, at 6 rue Rockefeller, sits by the cathedral. The one most shared tours use is the small information point on the Reims-Centre station square, the Cour de la Gare. From September to February it opens Monday to Saturday, 8:30 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 17:00, and closes on Sundays, though the tours meet outside it either way.
In Épernay, tours meet in front of the tourist office at 7 avenue de Champagne, or at your hotel if it lies within the operator's pickup radius. Paris day trips collect you at your hotel or at a café kerb in the city.
How long to allow
- One house on your own: one to two hours, plus the walk there.
- A grower half day from Reims: about four hours, morning or afternoon.
- A full day from Reims or Épernay: seven to eight hours, usually with lunch.
- A day from Paris: nine to eleven hours door to door, four of them on the road.
- Reims Cathedral: half an hour inside; the towers take a booked guided climb of 249 steps.
Two days lets you do Reims one day and Épernay the next without rushing either. The where to stay page compares the towns as a base, measured against where the tours start.
When to go
The houses keep their own calendars, so check yours before you book a train. Veuve Clicquot closed from 28 December 2025 to 6 April 2026 and goes to Wednesday-to-Sunday opening from 4 November 2026. Mumm opens every day only from May to October. Mercier moves to Wednesday to Sunday from 18 November. In 2026 the harvest opened in August, between the 8th and the 22nd depending on the village. Travellers who went on a Monday found several places shut, so a midweek day is the safer choice.
The month-by-month picture is on when to visit, and the temperatures and rain on the weather page.
What a first day costs
| Your day | What it costs | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| On your own in Reims | EUR 30 to EUR 90 a house, cathedral free | One or two houses, no growers |
| A tasting in a Reims cellar | $51 a person | An hour, three glasses, in town |
| A grower half day | $140 to $152 a person | Two family growers, six glasses |
| A shared full day | $228 to $386 a person | A house or growers, usually lunch |
| A small-group day from Paris | $263 to $400 a person | Transport, two producers, sometimes lunch |
| A private day | $525 to $848 a person | Your own car and guide |
Trains are extra on every Reims and Épernay tour. The Paris days include the drive.
Which kind of tour suits you
Start with where you are sleeping. Staying in Paris with one day: champagne tours from Paris, with hotel pickup on the day trip with Reims Cathedral and lunch. A night in Reims: the Reims champagne tours, with the half day with two family growers leaving the station square. Staying on the Avenue: Épernay champagne tours, including the e-bike day with lunch. If you like to ride, the champagne bike tours run from both towns.
Pack a warm layer, shoes for cellar stairs, and something to eat before a half day: the Reims half days include no food. Then book the house or the tour first, and the train around it.
Tours that start where the trains stop
Champagne Day Trip from Paris with 8 Tastings & Lunch
Hotel pickup in central Paris, a famous house, a family vineyard and lunch at a winemaker's table, with at least eight tastings.
From $372 per person
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From Reims morning Champagne family growers
Two family growers and six tastings from the Reims station square, 9:20 am to 1:15 pm, eight people at most.
From $140 per person
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Reims or Epernay: Full day Veuve Clicquot family grower & lunch
Veuve Clicquot's cellars, a family winery, lunch and Hautvillers, from Reims at 9:20 am or Épernay at 8:30.
From $386 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Pick a house for your free hour on houses or growers. Every fare sits side by side on Champagne France Tours.