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Three Nights, two days, in Reims - day tours recommendations for Reims and Epernay?

Hi All,

Following some other adventures, my spouse and I will be training from Dijon, to Reims for three nights/two days (arrive on a Thursday and depart on Sunday) - then train to depart from CDG. This is too short, of course, but we had a couple of days and she really wanted to visit on our way out of France - we'll likely return for more time, but this was too favorable a circumstance to not drop in for a couple of days.

So, we were considering a day tour in Reims, and a day tour in Epernay? Is this reasonable? Our strategy in cases like this - ie, without enough time, has been to offset the lack of time with money - for joining tours or even sometimes paying for a private tour (we kinda like the small group tours, though).

Could the assembled offer their thoughts on how we might best optimize our time - and, see both Reims and Epernay - especially with specific recommendations on which tours/tour company? We could also stay in Epernay and visit Reims, but the train schedules to/from Epernay/CDG don't look as efficient.

We have a reservation at a small place in Reims called Loft Royal de Promenade (near park across from the gare), but always would consider another B&B, hotel, etc. Recommendations?

Thank you, All!

Posted by
2409 posts

george,
I'm happy to hear you will visit Reims. With two full days you can enjoy the city. If it were me, I would allocate one full day to a tour of the vineyards/seeing Epernay/tasting champagne. The other full day is easily a walkable one, as most of what I would visit is doable on foot. We didn't use a guide and didn't feel we missed out because we had read up a bit on the history of Rheims ahead of time. Here's what you can do in a one day walkabout:
The cathedral is where almost all of the French kings were crowned. Loads iof history here and beautiful windows.
The Musee de Reddition where the Germans surrendered at the end of WWII. Impressive, not too large, worthwhile.
A tour of a champagne house. We walked to one and had a very good tour with tasting. Alas, it was in 2017 and I can't recall which one, but it was very enjoyable and worth the price.
Enjoy!