Épernay, the Avenue de Champagne and its cellars, an hour and twenty minutes from Paris by train.

Why Épernay and not just Reims?

Reims has the cathedral; Épernay has the champagne street. The Avenue de Champagne gathers over 1.5 km the mansions of the great houses, and beneath them, in galleries dug into the chalk, rest some 200 million bottles. Since 2015 it has been part of the "Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars" UNESCO World Heritage property. It is smaller and quieter than Reims, can be walked in full and has the vineyard in view from the town itself.

How do you get there from Paris?

By direct train from the Gare de l'Est: an hour and twenty minutes. On leaving the station you cross the town-hall park and in under ten minutes you are at the tourist office, at number 7 on the avenue. From Reims it is thirty minutes by train through the Montagne de Reims, so the two cities can be combined in a weekend.

By car, the tourist office reckons an hour and a half from Paris on the A4; Reims is 27 km away. Park at the Jard, with the first hour free, or in the Arts car park, next to the office. If you fly from Spain to Charles de Gaulle or Orly, the train from Gare de l'Est is simplest: the RER B drops you at Gare du Nord, a few minutes' walk away.

Which cellar should you visit?

The first visit is usually Moët & Chandon, at number 18: an hour and a half through its galleries and a tasting, from €48 for the Instant Impérial, in French or English and with a booked time. Cheaper and with views is the Castellane tower, next to the railway tracks: 237 steps up to a height of 66 metres and a glass of Brut Croix Rouge for €20. Its cellars are temporarily closed, so Castellane is the tower and the collection, not the cellars.

If you want to see the vineyard, the Estafette tour by My Vintage Tour Company leaves at 10:00 and 14:00 from in front of the tourist office: two hours over the slopes of the Marne valley in a vintage van, with a Spanish-speaking guide and a glass among the vines, from €49. That way nobody drives after the tasting.

Between visits, the Champagne wine museum, in the Château Perrier, tells of the chalk, the region's archaeology and the history of champagne; it costs €10 and is free for under-13s.

How much time and when?

A day gives you one cellar, the tower or the museum, lunch and the route through the vines. Two days allow you to add Reims or the villages of the Champagne Tourist Route. Go from May to October to see the vineyard alive; September is the harvest. In December, the Habits de Lumière fill the avenue with lights and fireworks from 11 to 13 December 2026.

Where to eat and sleep?

For Sunday lunch, La Cave à Champagne, home-style regional cooking with champagne from growers, or Chez Max, in Magenta. For a special meal on the avenue, Bulles & Bonheur, with a €50 lunch menu. For dinner grilled over the coals, La Grillade Gourmande, Tuesday to Saturday.

To sleep, the Hôtel Jean Moët, twelve rooms in the centre with breakfast included, and La Villa Eugène, a five-star with a pool and parking on the avenue itself.