The best time to visit Champagne

What is the best time to visit Champagne?

September and October: the harvest is in, the vines turn colour, every house is open and summer crowds have gone. May and June come a close second.

Average highs and lows at Reims, 1991 to 2020, from Météo-France.

Rain is spread through the year, 621 mm in all, with December the wettest month. Cellars stay at about 10 °C whatever the weather.

One big house, two family producers and lunch among the vines, running all year with hotel pickup in Paris.

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When is the champagne harvest?

Usually from mid-August to mid-September. In 2026 it was the earliest on record: picking opened between 8 and 22 August depending on village and grape.

The official opening dates came out on 12 August 2026, reports Fortuneo, with a few plots in Montgueux in the Aube allowed from 6 August. Champagne harvests now start about two weeks earlier than twenty years ago. The 2026 yield was set at 8,800 kg per hectare, against 9,000 in 2025. Picking is by hand, so the hillsides fill with crews and crates for two or three weeks.

Want to pick? The Épernay tourist office runs Vendangeur d'un jour: three hours in the rows, €69 for adults, €19 for ages 7 to 17. The full story is in the 2026 champagne harvest.

Is summer a good time for a Champagne day trip?

Yes, if you book ahead. Every house opens, Veuve Clicquot goes daily from 29 June to 30 August, and July and August are the busiest months on the Avenue de Champagne.

Highs run around 25 °C in July and August, which makes an e-bike morning or a picnic in the vines easy and a cellar visit welcome. The Épernay tourist office names July, August and the Habits de Lumière as the busiest times on the Avenue, so book weekend tastings and tours a week or two out.

Train travellers should check one detail: France Intense, which runs the three family domains day, flags Sunday morning trains in July and August on its listing. Pick a weekday, or the afternoon tour.

Is autumn a good time to visit Champagne?

It is the best season. September has harvest energy and warm days around 21 °C; October brings colour, highs near 16 °C and thinner crowds.

Once the grapes are in, the presses go quiet and the growers have time to talk. The leaves turn gold and rust. Most houses keep summer opening into October: Mumm runs daily to 31 October, and Veuve Clicquot is open Tuesday to Sunday until 1 November.

Early November is a changeover week, so check before you book. Kateryna, after a small-group day in August: “It was a fantastic trip to Champagne with great tour guide Max and lots of champagne in one day. [...]”

What's on in Champagne in December?

The Habits de Lumière in Épernay, 11 to 13 December 2026, and the Reims Christmas market, which usually runs from late November to late December.

The Habits de Lumière reaches its 26th edition in 2026: two evenings on the Avenue de Champagne with illuminations, video-mapping, champagne bars, music and fireworks, a food day on the Saturday, and a parade of about 500 vintage vehicles on the Sunday. Book trains and rooms early, and expect the Avenue to be packed.

Reims holds one of the largest Christmas markets in France, on the Hautes Promenades. Its 2026 dates had not been confirmed by the city when we checked, so treat “late November to late December” as a guide and check the city's site. Remember that Veuve Clicquot opens Wednesday to Sunday only in December.

Which champagne houses close in winter?

Veuve Clicquot, after 3 January 2027 until spring; de Castellane, which opened only 12 March to 22 December in 2026; Mercier, roughly January to mid-February. Pommery and Moët stay open.

Opening rules from each house for winter 2026 to 2027.

The tours keep running in winter, with houses picked from those open on the day. More in champagne house winter opening 2026.

Is spring a good time to visit Champagne?

Yes, from April. The houses reopen, the vines bud, highs reach about 16 °C, and the crowds are thin until June.

In 2026 Veuve Clicquot reopened on 7 April, Mercier started its main season on 30 March and de Castellane on 12 March. Mumm runs Thursday to Monday in March and April and goes daily from 1 May. Late May brings the Fêtes Johanniques in Reims, a free medieval parade to the cathedral (30 and 31 May in 2026).

Spring is the low-risk season for an afternoon tour from Reims: frost is mostly gone, the light lasts, and the 2pm start leaves the morning for the cathedral. Nada wrote after a May afternoon: “Great Tour, guided was very easy to talk to and knowledgeable on all things champagne. Would recommend!”

What day of the week is best for a Champagne day trip?

Tuesday to Friday. Saturdays fill first, and outside high summer Veuve Clicquot and Taittinger close on Mondays.

Midweek gives you emptier cellars and more choice of tour dates. Mondays are the weak day: Veuve Clicquot opens Tuesday to Sunday from April to June and in September and October, and Wednesday to Sunday in winter; Taittinger opens Tuesday to Sunday. Mumm opens Thursday to Monday in spring and late autumn, so it is the Monday option in Reims.

Sunday works for Pommery and Moët, which open every day, and for the tours from Paris. Book Saturdays from May to October a week or two ahead.

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