Trip to Champagne: a 4-day tour of north-eastern France

A call to anyone torn between sea and mountains, a road trip and a single destination, comfort and adventure; whether meticulous planners or last-minute enthusiasts, Flawless suggests an elegant compromise: a journey across the Alps to explore the sweeping landscapes of Champagne-Ardenne. Expect endless rows of vines, grand cellars, charming farmhouses for romantic dinners among the vineyards and, above all, the refined world of north-eastern France’s most iconic creation: Champagne. If you appreciate gentle rolling hills, the timeless feel of centuries-old villages and exceptional wine, simple words hardly do it justice. From May to October, the Champagne region shows its best colours: long sunny days, landscapes shifting gradually into autumnal gold, and lively harvest festivals that make for an unforgettable experience.

A timeless hallmark of sophistication, Champagne is broadly divided into six categories: Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, Demi-Sec to Doux, Rosé and Millésimé (vintage). Each brings its own complexity and aromatics, crafted by blending varying proportions of grapes selected since the 19th century and limited to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier. The result is a fine balance between sweetness and acidity that defines this world-renowned sparkling wine, shaped heavily by the terroir where the vines take root. Most prized are the soils rich in chalk outcrops, clay and particularly limestone—highly draining minerals that encourage balanced ripening. This unique terroir, and the resulting fruit quality, also determines the Champagne crus: entire villages classified by the refinement of their yield into Grand Cru (17), Premier Cru (41) and Cru (255). Highly regulated, the production and distribution of this fine wine rests on both the celebrated Maisons de Champagne and the Vigneron: independent or cooperative small growers who work exclusively with fruit from their own vines.

Our journey is a four-day itinerary visiting Troyes, Reims, Hautvillers and Epernay—a captivating tour best enjoyed by car from your home town (giving you plenty of room to bring back a few cases of fine French wine) or by hiring one after flying into Paris. Step into an age-old craft, polished by time and perfected by generations of winemakers; set off whenever you are ready.

Troyes

If you are driving up from northern Italy, we recommend making your first stop in Troyes, a charming medieval town whose architecture reflects an ancient winemaking heritage, famous for city ramparts shaped like a Champagne cork. Full of character and strong civic pride, Troyes also stands out for its well-preserved 16th-century timber-framed houses, making it an ideal base to soak up a storybook atmosphere for a day or two.

Where to stay

Hôtel La Maison de Rhodes & Spa

An atmospheric five-star residence set in the heart of Troyes, close to the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul, La Maison de Rhodes is a historic mansion once owned by the Order of the Knights of Malta (hence its name). Today, this thoroughly restored property houses a luxury 11-room hotel with a spa and private courtyard garden, combining pastoral elegance with the intact charm of more than eight centuries of history.

Where to eat

Château de Courban

A brilliant option if you want to break up the journey between Milan and Troyes with lunch in the French countryside. Château de Courban is a hotel and Michelin-starred restaurant about an hour’s drive from town; its idyllic setting and cooking earn it an effortless spot on our itinerary. In the kitchen, Nicolas Thomas oversees the precise dishes that make up the tasting menu.

Le Quai de Champagne

For those who prefer staying in town, Le Quai de Champagne is a refined restaurant set inside a 19th-century villa just steps from the cathedral. Contemporary interiors preserve the historic character of the building, while the seasonal menu created by chef Jean-Paul Braga, recommended by the Michelin Guide, celebrates inventive, unpretentious French haute cuisine.

What to see

Cattedrale di Saint Pierre et Saint Paul, a colossal Gothic cathedral rising 66 metres above the rooftops of Troyes, famed for the stained-glass windows illuminating its apse.
Casa del Fornaio and Torretta dell’Orefice, two architectural gems of the town, beautifully restored to showcase its medieval past.

Vignerons

Bernard Depoivre, an eco-conscious pioneer of a winery now run by Sébastien and Pauline Depoivre. Drawn from their chalk-rich soils, their Chardonnay offers notable finesse and clarity, alongside an appealingly fruity Pinot Noir.
Comte de Montaigne, producers of expressive cuvées from vineyards across the Côte des Bar. The house focuses on vineyard care over cellar manipulation, creating a strong, transparent bond with the local terroir.

Reims

Back in the car to head to the second stop on our tour: Reims, the region’s largest and most significant city. For over a millennium, Reims served as the coronation site for French monarchs, and it retains a grand aura woven into a bustling wine culture: fascinating underground cellars (such as Maison Lanson), Champagne museums, scenic vineyard paths winding through estates, prestige tastings and relaxed sunny days in historic hamlets—all reflecting a remarkable harmony between human skill and nature.

Where to stay

Chateau de Sacy

An elegant manor set amid the rolling hills of Sacy, this château is a standout of French luxury hospitality. Bedrooms and suites take their names from French monarchs and luminaries—Marie Antoinette, Madame de Pompadour, Le Roi Soleil—each individually styled. Featuring a spa and every amenity expected of a five-star stay, Le Chateau de Sacy also invites you to sample regional flavours in its restaurant overlooking the vines.

Hôtel & Restaurant les Avisés Selosse

Designed in the spirit of a classic country residence, Les Avisés is a private haven in the village of Avize. Well placed for exploring the next legs of our tour, Epernay and Hautvillers, it pairs modern wellness facilities with an exceptional restaurant championing French terroir on the plate and in the glass.

Where to eat

Café du palais

Sculptures, paintings and an eccentric decorative flair far from minimal restraint: Café du Palais welcomes diners into a vibrant vintage dining room dominated by deep burgundy, gold, antique mirrors and upholstered banquettes. An essential stop in central Reims, it serves generous, comforting local dishes meant to be paired with a fine glass of Champagne.

Le Jardin les Crayéres

Just beyond the historic centre of Reims, Le Jardin is the contemporary brasserie at the acclaimed Domaine des Crayères. Bright, airy and featuring an open kitchen, the restaurant bears the touch of chef Philippe Mille, delivering refined classics including the best escargot salad in the area.

What to see

Cattedrale di Notre Dame, the younger sister of the renowned Notre Dame de Paris, the Cattedrale di Reims was the coronation site of every French king from 987 AD. Majestic and solemn, it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in the ’90s.
Porte de Mars: dating from the 3rd century, this is the widest Roman triumphal arch still standing.
Palazzo Tau and Abbazia di Saint Remi: founded in the 8th century, the abbey is the city’s second most prominent religious site after Notre-Dame. Next to it stands Palais du Tau, formerly a Roman villa transformed into an archbishop’s palace to host post-coronation royal banquets, listed by UNESCO in 1991.
Chocolat Vincent Dallet: the top address for picking up authentic pink biscuits roses de Reims.
Cantine Crayères: an evocative subterranean route through the chalk cellars where Ruinart ages its Champagne.

Grandes Maisons

Cantina Lanson, founded in 1760, is one of the oldest Champagne houses in France. Meticulous fruit selection, traditional vinification, extended cellar aging and a deep reserve wine library make Lanson bottles exceptional expressions of winemaking craft. These complex, lively, fruit-forward wines reflect generational know-how; their vineyards encompass over a hundred crus, half of which are classified as Grand Cru or Premier Cru. To enrich your visit, we recommend tasting four representative cuvées: Le Black label Brut (a vibrant blend of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier with expressive fruit), Le Rosè (pale salmon in hue, delivering notes of strawberry, redcurrant and pomelo), Le Blanc de Blancs (100% Chardonnay, showing pale gold tones and aromas of sesame, candied citrus and marzipan), and Le Vintage 2012 (from an exceptional vintage, blending Pinot Noir and Chardonnay with notes of ripe apricots, toasted almonds, acacia honey and gentle spice).
Do not miss a stroll around Clos Lanson, an enclosed urban vineyard growing pure Chardonnay right in the city.

Champagne House Vranken-Pommery: in central Reims, this 19th-century estate features over 18 km of underground galleries lined with bas-relief carvings, ideal to explore while admiring its contemporary art collection over a glass of fizz.
Veuve Clicquot: an impressive maison offering guided tours highlighting Barbe-Nicole Ponsardin, the pioneering woman who ran the house and invented the riddling rack (table de remuage) to clarify wine.
Krug: based in central Reims since 1843, crafting prestige cuvées across six generations by building on the vision of founder Joseph Krug. ‘The true essence of Champagne is pleasure’ remains the guiding principle behind this historic family house.
Taittinger: among the most prestigious names in Champagne, Taittinger not only produces superb cuvées but also preserves significant heritage sites, including the 13th-century Saint-Nicaise abbey vaults where bottles mature.

Mumm: famous worldwide for its red sash label, the house runs the ‘Expérience Cordon Rouge’ tour, taking visitors 7 to 14 metres underground for tastings and an engaging museum tracing the estate’s history.

Vignerons

Champagne Henriet-Bazin: established in 1890, this family estate tends nearly eight hectares of vines across Premier and Grand Cru terroirs. Winemaker Marie-Noëlle Rainon-Bazin also focuses strongly on sustainable practices and biodiversity.

Where to buy Champagne at fair prices

Les Caves du Forum: an atmospheric wine shop nine metres beneath the streets of Reims, ideal for sampling and buying regional bottles.

Hautvillers

An emblematic village located about 30 minutes’ drive from Reims, Hautvillers combines manicured vineyards, slate roofs and rolling country vistas. Above all, it is revered as the burial place of Benedictine monk Dom Pérignon, the legendary pioneer of Champagne.

Where to eat

Au 36: moments from Dom Pérignon’s resting place, this wine bar and bistro is the best spot to sample regional specialities and buy bottles at cellar-door rates, all out on a terrace draped in wisteria.

What to see

Abbazia di Saint Pierre and Tomba di Dom Pierre Pérignon: inside this former Benedictine abbey lies the grave of Dom Pérignon. Beyond monastic records, the monk remains celebrated as a visionary innovator who refined early sparkling winemaking techniques.
Le Cave Aux Coquillage: the remarkable subterranean cellar created by Patrice Legrand of Legrand-Latour, combining wine expertise with geology. The excavated chambers reveal prehistoric marine fossils trapped millions of years ago in regional limestone strata.

Vignerons

Eric Taillet: based in an off-the-beaten-track corner of the Vallée de la Marne, this producer champions traditional non-mechanised farming to yield rounded, expressive Pinot Meunier.
Legrand-Latour: an intriguing cellar offering underground tours that link geological history with Champagne production.
Gaston Chiquet: founded eight generations ago by Nicolas Chiquet, this house pioneered the ‘Récoltant Manipulant’ model—estate-bottled Champagne produced exclusively from self-owned parcels, upholding rigorous quality standards.
Maurice Grumier: with family roots dating to 1743 and commercial winemaking launched by Amand Grumier in 1928, today’s generation crafts refined cuvées exported widely to Italy, Switzerland and Japan.

Epernay

Around 40 minutes’ drive from Reims, Epernay sits on nearly 100 km of underground cellars and hosts world-famous Maisons de Champagne (including Pol Roger, Perrier-Jouët, Moët & Chandon and Mercier). Alongside the marquee names, a thriving community of independent vignerons offers deep insight into Champagne’s distinct micro-terroirs.

Where to eat

Le Bellevue Restaurant

A refined French and Italian haute cuisine destination inside the luxury hotel Royal Champagne & Spa. About five kilometres from the centre of Epernay, Le Bellevue Restaurant offers a 180-degree view over the hills and an intimate, bright setting to enjoy top local produce, skilfully crafted by chef Paolo Boscaro to bring out the very best of Champagne-Ardenne’s flavours.

L’Ecurie

A welcoming Champagne bar and shop where you can enjoy traditional local dishes and pick up bottles at approachable prices.

C-Comme

Perfect for a casual lunch without cutting corners, this compact venue in central Epernay offers simple dishes and the chance to taste pours from artisanal producers in an easygoing setting.

What to see

La Via dello Champagne: often called ‘the most expensive street in the world’ for the vast fortunes resting in cellars beneath the paving stones. Strolling down Avenue de Champagne reveals stately 19th-century mansions and grand headquarters of premier houses.

Grandes Maisons

Möet et Chandon: one of the region’s benchmark houses, boasting the largest estate vineyard area and 28 km of chalk cellars beneath Avenue de Champagne. Guided tours conclude in the central courtyard near the statue of Dom Pérignon.

Maison Mercier: offers tours aboard an underground train taking visitors 30 metres below ground before returning for a tasting. Look out for the colossal oak barrel built by Eugène Mercier for the 1889 Paris Universal Exhibition, where it was narrowly beaten to first prize by the Eiffel Tower.
Pol Roger: among France’s most respected houses, renowned for structured cuvées long favoured by the British Royal Family. Pol Roger maintains nearly two centuries of family stewardship.
Perrier Jouët: celebrated for the floral character of Chardonnay grown across the Côte des Blancs. The house also hosts tours of the Maison Belle Époque, home to an exceptional collection of European Art Nouveau treasures.
Dom Perignon: the quintessential prestige name, dedicated exclusively to vintage Champagnes known for silky texture and precise harmony across both young Vintage releases and aged Plénitude editions.

Ruinart: founded in 1729, holding the title of Champagne’s oldest established house. Its Gallo-Roman chalk quarries (Crayères), acquired in 1768, provide ideal cellaring conditions, backed by a strong focus on sustainable viticulture and biodiversity.

Vignerons

A-Chauvet: located in Tours-sur-Marne, producing elegant, approachable sparkling wines balanced between fruit and crisp freshness since 1848.
Maison Duménil: five generations producing Champagne crafted entirely from Premier Cru vineyards in Ludes and Sacy.
Couvent Fils: based in Trélou-sur-Marne, specialising in expressive cuvées made predominantly from Pinot Meunier.
F. Barbier: in Avize, producing Grand Cru Champagnes exclusively from Chardonnay grown in six villages across the Côte des Blancs and Côte des Bar.
Collet-Cogevi offers visitors a cultural exploration of the ’20s, the golden age of sparkling white wine.
Laherte Frères: an established family producer dating from 1889, crafting low-intervention Champagnes that strongly express their underlying terroirs.

Assailly-Leclaire et Fils: a jewel of the Côte des Blancs, working 10 hectares in Avize classified as Grand Cru.
Pierre Gimonnet: managed by Olivier and Didier Gimonnet, carrying forward a three-century heritage with vineyards dedicated solely to Chardonnay.
De Venoge: creators of the first illustrated Champagne label in 1838 and recognisable by the blue ribbon of the Knights of the Holy Spirit, based in a stately manor in Epernay.
Bernard Remy: established some 60 years ago in Allemant, producing lively, refreshing Champagnes versatile enough for any occasion.

Where to buy Champagne at fair prices

Couvent Fils: this small producer in Trélou-sur-Marne offers reliable quality, informative cellar visits, tastings and direct bottle purchases at sensible prices.
L’Ecurie: mentioned earlier as a bistro, it also features an extensive retail selection to bring home for a special occasion.
C-Comme: an ideal spot in central Epernay for unhurried tastings and good-value bottles directly from local growers.