Hi. Looking for advice on traveling with 4 adults from Paris to Epernay for our visit at Moet & Chandon. We've looked at the train, but were wondering if maybe renting a car for the day would be a better choice. Thank you for any help.
Posted by
Chicago
903 posts
I ended up doing a champagne trip to Reims, but recall that the cellars are within easy
walking distance from the train station at Epernay.
Probably the only reason I could think of for driving over taking the train would be if
you had another place you wanted to stop at on the way to or back. Or if maybe
the train schedule was totally impractical.
Otherwise, the risks are much less if you take the train vs driving, and I don't think
the costs are a huge difference. You can obviously sip to your heart's content and
take a nap home on the train.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
6234 posts
Driving in Paris can be a Royal PITA. And someone would need an IDP and be the designated driver. There are several morning trains from Gare de l'Est taking less than 90 min. And the train station is less than a 10 minute walk to the M&C winery. Bonus - no worries about blood alcohol levels.
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
2610 posts
hey hey Mike S
when is this visit and have you reserved moet & chandon visit already? always look at days/times places are open for business.
here's an option/tour we did few years back: a-l-allure-champenoise.fr (click our offers for english version)
they are husband/wife team (she speaks english/he speaks french, maybe little english now). there were 4 of us and used 2 cars. i think we did offer 5, met in front of catherdral and off we went. through the small town, off into countryside & stopped at local village winemaker private house, tasted & offered to go down below to cellar, headed back & paused in vineyards to talk about the grapes/area, drove by the moet & chandon (don't think was epernay). was so so crowded with cars/no parking, lines and wait times.
offer 6 may interest you because of epernay. i would contact them for questions & answers. we really enjoyed this tour and the champagne area, small towns & villages, views to see which ended up be an easy & fabulous day trip. had them drop us off at cafedupalais.fr (14, myron herrick square reims) we had a flight of local champagnes & an appetizer platter on the outside patio. can't remember if taxi/shuttle/walked back to train station.
day before day trip we stopped at SNCF shop/store and bought R/T train tickets and left early morning. was more interested in having local champagnes than ones i can get here in the states and there were many to try/taste.
hope your gang has fun and please do enjoy this champagne day. by the way we also did a private tour above venice in the prosecco hills/road, another fabulous tour if you plan to go to venice anytime.
aloha
Posted by
Boston
66 posts
There are lots of other small houses that do tastings close to Moet & Chandon, and it's also an easy walk to the train station. No experience driving in the area, but if you're staying in Paris, it seems like the rental & return process would just be a pain, while the train is really easy (plus, as others have noted, everyone can enjoy as many bubbles as they like). We visited Epernay on a Friday afternoon in May. I booked our train tickets back to Paris a few weeks in advance & got a deal - only €11/person (though that did lock us into a specific time). Not sure booking in advance is strictly necessary, but I think that worked about to half price, so definitely watch the SNCF website for deals. Both the fast train to Reims in the morning & the regional train from Epernay back to Paris in the later afternoon were really nice...clean, comfy seats & quiet.