Champagne France by Train, Without a Tour
You can see a great deal of Champagne with a rail ticket and a few booked visits. The houses sell their own cellar tours, both towns are on the line from Paris, and Épernay's Avenue is five minutes from its station. This guide shows how, what it costs, and where your Champagne France tickets money is better spent on a tour.
Can you visit champagne houses on your own?
Yes. Every big house in Reims and Épernay sells visits direct, by date and time. You book online, turn up at the house's own visit centre, and a house guide takes you through the cellars and pours at the end.
What you cannot easily do alone is reach the growers. They sit in the villages, pour in their own cellars, and you book each one yourself. That is where the tours earn their fare, and we come back to it below.
How do you book a cellar visit?
On the house's own website, before you buy your train. The popular slots go first, and the calendars change with the season. Veuve Clicquot closed on 28 December 2025 and reopened on 7 April 2026, and Mumm opens every day only from May to October.
Nicolas Feuillatte takes visitors by reservation only. Lanson's page lists child prices: EUR 20 for ages 13 to 17, EUR 15 for 7 to 12. Ruinart runs 12 people to a visit, so book it first.
What each house charges at its own door
| House | Town | Cheapest visit | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicolas Feuillatte | Chouilly, by Épernay | EUR 20 | Guided tour, 1 glass |
| Mercier | Épernay | EUR 25 | Cellars by train, 1 glass |
| Mumm | Reims | EUR 30 | Cordon Rouge tour, 1 h 30 |
| Lanson | Reims | EUR 32 | Cellars and a tasting, about 2 h |
| Veuve Clicquot | Reims | EUR 36 | Cellars, 1 h |
| Moët & Chandon | Épernay | EUR 48 | Impérial tour, 1 h 30 |
| Pommery | Reims | EUR 48 | Crayères, 2 h, 2 tastings |
| Ruinart | Reims | EUR 90 | Chalk pits, 2 h, 12 places |
Taittinger welcomes visitors all year; book on its own site for the current price. Every other price is the house's own adult fare for 2026.
How do you get there from Paris?
By train, to either town. The TGV reaches Reims in about 45 minutes, Reims Tourisme says, at Reims-Centre in the middle of the city or at Champagne-Ardenne TGV, linked to the centre by tram. The direct train from Paris Gare de l'Est reaches Épernay in about 1 hour 20.
A BlaBlaCar bus takes about two hours to Reims Bezannes, the Épernay tourist office notes. Driving is possible, but part of Reims is a low-emission zone open to Crit'Air 1 to 3 cars, and a day of tastings is a poor day to drive.
Which houses can you reach from Reims station?
Mumm is in the city, at 34 rue du Champ de Mars, and Lanson at 66 rue de Courlancy. Ruinart is at 4 rue des Crayères, and Taittinger's cellars lie under the former Saint-Nicaise Abbey. Veuve Clicquot's own page puts its visit centre a 30-minute walk from the city centre, or 15 minutes by car from Reims-Centre station, so look up each walk before you set out.
The city's buses help. Lines 4, 6, 11 and 40 stop at Saint-Remi, and the tram links Reims-Centre with Champagne-Ardenne TGV station. For a one-hour taste without walking far, the city tasting at 25 rue Henri IV pours three glasses from $51.
The Avenue de Champagne on foot
This is the easiest self-guided day in the region. Épernay station is five minutes' walk from the Avenue, and Moët & Chandon, Champagne de Castellane and Mercier are within 500 m of each other. The tourist office at number 7 offers the Bulle Verte, an audio commentary on your phone for the Avenue and the town.
The Avenue also pours growers' wine. At number 1, a tasting room serves the cuvées of three estates, Patrick Boivin, Vincent Testulat and Janisson-Baradon. The wine museum at Château Perrier, number 13, costs EUR 10 and is free on the first Sunday of the month.
A day without a tour, in Épernay
Take a morning train and walk five minutes from the station to the Avenue. Moët & Chandon opens at 9:30; its Impérial tour takes 1 hour 30. Walk up the Avenue for lunch, then take Mercier's cellar train in the afternoon, or the wine museum at Château Perrier, open from 11:00 from April to October and closed on Tuesdays.
Finish with a glass at the tasting room at number 1, and take the TER back to Reims or a train to Paris. Everything on that list sits within a short walk of the station.
What does a self-guided day cost?
Two houses in one town cost EUR 62 to EUR 138 a head at the prices above: Mumm and Lanson in Reims at the low end, Pommery and Ruinart at the top. In Épernay, Mercier and Moët & Chandon together cost EUR 73.
Add your train and your lunch. The rail fare depends on the day you book, so check it with SNCF before you compare. The guided walk between three Épernay houses costs $632 with lunch; doing it alone costs less, but you plan every step.
Can you reach the growers without a car?
In part. Mouvéo buses leave Épernay's bus station, under five minutes from the train station, for Dizy, Aÿ, Pierry, Moussy, Chouilly and Mardeuil. The TER between Reims and Épernay stops at Rilly-la-Montagne, Germaine, Avenay-Val-d'Or and Aÿ-Champagne.
From May to October, the Esprit de Champagne shuttles leave the Épernay tourist office for cellars, activities and heritage sites: eight seats a shuttle, three shuttles a day, booked at the office. Nicolas Feuillatte sells a package with a taxi shuttle from Épernay station and back, three glasses and a guided tour, about three hours, for EUR 60.
Bikes are for hire near Épernay station, and the véloroute 52 follows the Marne. Book any grower ahead.
Where do you get help on the day?
In Reims, the Office de Tourisme du Grand Reims is at 6 rue Rockefeller, by the cathedral, on +33 3 26 77 45 00. A second information point stands on the station square, in 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.
In Épernay, the tourist office is at 7 avenue de Champagne, on +33 3 26 53 33 00. It books the summer shuttles and sells the Avenue's partner experiences. Bring a warm layer and shoes with grip wherever you go: the cellars stay at 10 to 12 °C.
Where a tour is worth the fare
- Family growers. The Reims half days put two in one afternoon, six glasses, for $140 to $152.
- Hautvillers and the hillsides. Most full days stop there; alone, it is a taxi.
- Anyone who wants to taste freely. On a tour, nobody drives.
- Winter. The shuttles stop after October, and a tour keeps the villages within reach.
Self-guided vs a tour, side by side
| By train, on your own | A tour from Reims or Épernay | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay | EUR 20 to 90 a house, plus train and lunch | $51 to $386 per person shared |
| Houses | Any that has a slot | Named on some days, by availability on others |
| Growers | Only those you book and can reach | Two or three, booked for you |
| Getting around | On foot, TER, bus, shuttle in summer | In the guide's van or car |
| Best for | Two houses in one town | Growers, villages and a full day |
If the houses are what you came for, go alone. If the villages are, book the Reims champagne tours or the Épernay champagne tours.
Frequently asked questions
Do you need a tour to visit the champagne houses?
Do I need to book a house visit in advance?
Can I visit a grower without a car?
Can children visit the houses?
Which station do you arrive at from Paris?
Can you buy champagne at the growers?
Are champagne tours wheelchair accessible?
Champagne tastings that start in town, no car needed
Reims City Center: Champagne Tasting
An hour at a tasting table in central Reims: three glasses with a sommelier, and how champagne is made.
From $51 per person
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Day tour Tasting at Moët & Chandon and 2 Big Houses in Epernay
Three houses on the Avenue de Champagne on foot, seven glasses and a three-course lunch, with each house's own guide.
From $632 per person
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Épernay and Champagne Open-Top Bus Tour with 3 Tastings
An open-top bus from the Épernay tourist office through Hautvillers and Aÿ, with soft drinks and snacks on board beside the champagne.
From $105 per person
Check AvailabilityNext: Decided a tour is worth it after all? Compare every one on Champagne France Tours.