Champagne tour

I mentioned on another thread that I did a fantastic tour with Cris-Event. They picked us up at the Reims train station. We did the half-day tour that cost 65€ per person and was fantastic and the pours on their tour are very, very generous. There were 3 people in my group and 3 other customers in the van. It is run by a husband and wife team. The husband led our tour and he was terrific. We happened to bump into the wife on the way when her all-day tour and his half-day tour met up at the same champagne house -- and a good time was had by all. A few years ago we did a self-directed tour from the Reims train station. We took a taxi to Taittinger and did their tour and that was okay. Taittinger is a big corporation and the tour felt very corporate though the cellars themselves were pretty cool. We have not done the Ruinart tour but I have heard that it is excellent -- that is another one that you would probably want to get to by taxi if you do a self-guided tour. We took a taxi to and from Taittinger but I think you could get there or to Ruinart by bus or tram from the train station. Champagne Charles de Cazanove is a less than 10-minute walk from the train station and Mumm is about 15 minutes (never been to Mumm). For both you go left after you exit the station. http://www.reims-tourism.com/Discover/Champagne/The-Champagne-Houses can help you find the various locations. About a month to six weeks or so before you are ready should be enough time to get a reservation for a time (and language) that you want. I made my reservations for mid-May in January but I do not think that was necessary.

At least two Champagne houses are walkable from the train station in Reims. They aren't vineyards, they are in town. I chose to tour Mumm's because they make the best wine. They require a reservation, which isn't difficult. There is a tourist information right by the train station, have them call to make a reservation for you when you arrive. Assuming you have a couple of hours wait for an English tour, you can walk or tram (can't recall if the tram goes in front of the train station?) to the cathedral to see one of the best cathedrals anywhere. Afterward, walk or tram, back down toward the train station to the Porte de Mars to see a great Roman ruin (it was wrapped in scaffolding when I was there this May). From there, you're about 1500 feet from Mumm's. The other champagne house (Taittinger?) is a block or two before that. I think there is also one more house in the same area. All of this can be done easily in a morning or afternoon. If you have more time before your train back to Paris, there's a giant pedestrian strip that runs perpendicular to the front of the train station (across the green area and roads) with dozens of restaurants where you can have a nice meal/coffee/drink.

We did a day trip to Reims and toured a champagne cellar (Taittinger) which was quite interesting; it is not something you need a tour for. In addition to many champagne houses which most offer tours of their cellars, there is also a good war museum, a magnificent cathedral, the basilica St. Remy, and many places that offer champagne flights and champagne tasting. The local public transport of trams and buses is easy to use. The city is reached in 45 min from Paris by TGV. If you buy tickets early you can get the low priced PREM tickets.