Champagne in Reims

This is second hand. We did a tour at Taittinger (you might actually want to do that, visiting the cellar was really interesting) The first 4 houses we tried to book had tours that were full. On the train on the way back two guys who had also done Taittinger were sharing their Veuve -Cliquot champagne with us. They told us that after the Taittinger tour (where you dont' do 'tastings' but rather get a glass of champagne -- or two if you buy a ticket that includes two) they just walked into Veuve Cliquot and did a tasting and they raved about how well they were treated. Don't know what the fee was for a tasting.

I bought tickets on the TGV the day before on line and got PREM tickets which usually sell out months in advance so I lucked out. Our tickets were 20 each way; it is closer to 40 each way if you don't get them well in advance. The town itself is lovely and in addition to the Cathedral there is an interesting abbey church the Bassilica of St. Remy that you should see. It is easy to move around town by bus and there are ticket machines easily used. It is a small enough town to walk but in the heat you won't want to. We picnicked having purchased filled baguettes and drinks at a bakery but there are plenty of cafes near the cathedral. Champagne is sold by the glass all over so you don't need to go to a champagne house to try out some champagnes. When we stopped for coffee and pastries in the afternoon the people on both sides of us at the pretty little cafe were drinking champagne.

Thank you Janet! I really appreciate your information. I read your posts all the time as well as your blog. You are a wealth of information :).

Even the cafe at the train station had at least 3-4 champagnes by the glass. I took the Tattinger and Martel tours in Reims and Mercier in Epernay. All were interesting and different. And on a hot summer day, wouldn't it be nice to spend half an hour in a cold cave?

By the way, there are many regions of France (and other countries too) that produce sparkling wines, often called Crémant. And you can get Crémant wines by the glass in Paris too. "Champagnes" are those sparkling wines produced in the Champagne region.

This is a good reliable site to look for and book trains in France. It used to be called "Capitaine". It shows availability on the 9.28 train (arriving at 10.14) for both today and tomorrow at €22.

Reims can be done as a day trip from Paris if you get an early morning start and plan on a late return. You might want to consider staying in Reims one night as there is a lot to see and do there. We went to the Martel cellar with a small group just using the public bus system from a point just outside the train station. We had reservations so I don't know about trying it without a booking in advance. The tour was something that was most interesting. There is the cathedral that is steeped in history and is within walking distance. Also within walking distance of the train station is the Museum of Surrender where the treaties ending WWII with Germany were signed. Some of the best food we had in Reims was at a restaurant named the "Continental" or something similar. It was directly across the street from the Hotel Continental but is a separate business altogether.

I went to Mumm because my girlfriend said they had the best champagne. I don't know of a simple wine tasting option sans tour. Tattinger is supposed to be available without a reservation but making a reservation isn't that hard. If you don't have a phone, you can stop in a TI and ask them to help. I think I called about 2 pm and had a reserved primarily English tour at Mumm at 4, maybe the last tour of the day.

The tour was roughly an hour. At Mumm they give you three options of tasting at the end. The first is the basic, the second is a better champagne with a pairing, the third is a couple of champagnes. There were a group of young British men there who may have been having a stag weekend, they seperated from everyone at the end and had lots of bottles open for their consumption.

We did the Pommery one recently and loved it.

We also did the Pommery tour and loved it. The tours are more interesting than you might be thinking and don't take too long - that escalator down, down, down to where the barrels are stored was very cool. And a second vote for the Museum of Surrender.

Thank you to everyone who replied!
Melissa