Reims or Épernay 2026: Which Champagne Town to Visit

Booking choice: The small-group Reims and Épernay tour, from $265 per person. Check dates Tour details

The two towns sit 27 km apart, and most first-time visitors only have time for one. They are less alike than the brochures make them look. Reims is a city with a Gothic cathedral and the big houses spread across a hill on the edge of town. Épernay is small enough to cross on foot, and its houses line one street.

Here is what each town gives you, how far you walk between the houses, and the villages nearby that deserve a stop.

The quick answer

First trip, short on time: Reims, for the 46-minute train, the cathedral and the big cellars. For vineyards, growers and houses you can walk between: Épernay. To see both in one day, the small-group Reims and Épernay tour covers the cathedral and the Avenue de Champagne.

Should I visit Reims or Épernay?

Reims if you want history and the quickest train. Épernay if you want vineyards, smaller houses and an avenue you can walk end to end.

The short version, side by side.

	Reims	Épernay
Train from Paris	46 min, TGV	1 h 13 to 1 h 20, regional train
Houses	Veuve Clicquot, Pommery, Ruinart, Taittinger, Mumm, Lanson	Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët, Mercier, de Castellane
Walk between houses	Partly: Saint-Nicaise hill is a bus ride out	Yes: one avenue, 1.5 km long
Other sights	Cathedral, Palace of Tau, Saint-Remi	Few beyond champagne
Vineyards	Montagne de Reims, by car	Hillsides start at the edge of town
Best for	First visit, history, big names	Wine lovers, walkers, growers

Our take: Reims for the first trip, Épernay for the second. If you only have the afternoon and a train ticket, Reims also has more tours that meet at the station.

Can you walk between champagne houses in Reims?

Partly. Mumm is a short walk from the centre. Pommery, Veuve Clicquot, Taittinger and Ruinart sit on the Saint-Nicaise hill, roughly 40 minutes on foot from the station.

The great Reims houses dug their cellars into old chalk quarries on the Saint-Nicaise hill, south-east of the centre, where 57 km of galleries run underground. Once you are up there the houses are close together: Pommery at 5 place du Général Gouraud, Veuve Clicquot at 1 rue Albert Thomas, Taittinger at 9 place Saint-Nicaise, Ruinart at 4 rue des Crayères. Getting there is the issue. Rome2rio puts the walk to Veuve Clicquot at about 3.4 km.

Take bus C instead: Pommery says about 20 minutes from the central station to the “Pommery” stop. Mumm, at 34 rue du Champ de Mars, and Lanson, at 66 rue de Courlancy, the other two big names, sit away from the hill, so treat each as a trip of its own. Plan one house in the morning and one after lunch, not four.

Champagne bottles resting neck-down in wooden riddling racks in a chalk cellar — Under the Saint-Nicaise hill, the cellars are old chalk quarries.

Can you walk between champagne houses in Épernay?

Yes. The Avenue de Champagne starts less than 500 m from the station and runs 1.5 km, with Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët, Mercier and de Castellane along it.

The Avenue de Champagne is the easiest champagne walk in the region: mansions and iron gates on both sides, more than 100 km of cellars underneath. Moët & Chandon is at number 18, Perrier-Jouët at 26, de Castellane at 63 and Mercier at 68 to 70. The tourist office sits at number 7. Along the way, champagne bars and tasting rooms pour by the glass without a booking.

One trap: Pol Roger has its home in Épernay but does not take public visits. Some blogs list it on a walking route; you will only see the gate.

Stone mansions and iron gates along the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay — The Avenue de Champagne, a short walk from Épernay station.

Nine glasses at three family estates, a stop in Hautvillers and a drive down the Avenue de Champagne, from Reims station.

Check dates for the three family domains day from Reims

Is Reims worth visiting?

Yes, even without champagne. The cathedral, the former Abbey of Saint-Remi and the Palace of Tau are a UNESCO World Heritage site, and the town hosted 25 royal coronations.

UNESCO listed the three monuments in 1991. The cathedral is the reason to come: French kings were crowned here until Charles X in 1825, and German shelling set it on fire in September 1914. Saint-Remi held the Holy Ampulla, the oil linked to the baptism of Clovis. Give the cathedral 45 minutes at least.

Reims also holds a 20th-century story. At the Museum of the Surrender, 12 rue Franklin Roosevelt, the German surrender was signed at 2:41am on 7 May 1945 in Eisenhower's map room. It is closed on Tuesdays. Before you leave, buy a packet of pink biscuits de Reims, made here since the 1690s and traditionally dipped in champagne.

The Gothic west front of Reims Cathedral in afternoon sun — Reims Cathedral, coronation church of the French kings.

What are the best champagne houses to visit in Épernay?

Moët & Chandon for the name and 28 km of cellars, Mercier for its cellar train, and de Castellane for its 66 m tower. Perrier-Jouët pours in its Belle Époque cellier.

Moët & Chandon: visits from €48 for 90 minutes; the house suggests its €65 Signature tour for first-timers. Book online, since walk-in places are limited.
Mercier: tour and tasting €25 to €45, with a ride on a little train through part of its 18 km of cellars, 30 m down. Good with older children.
de Castellane: tours from €20, and a 66 m tower to climb. Open only 12 March to 22 December in 2026.
Perrier-Jouët: tastings from €20 in the Cellier Belle Époque, opening at 11:30.
Smaller houses: the tourist office also lists Boizel, De Venoge, Alfred Gratien, Leclerc Briant, Gosset and Charles Mignon.

Full prices and booking rules in our guide to the houses.

Charles Mignon in Épernay, Pommery's press house in Aÿ and Hautvillers, with hotel pickup in Paris.

★ 4.9 · 12 to 13 hours · from $292

Explore the cellars tour with a sommelier Tour details

What is the best town to visit in the Champagne region?

For a small place, Hautvillers: Dom Pérignon's village, about 5 to 6 km from Épernay, with vines on every side. Aÿ is the other one, a Grand Cru village on the UNESCO hillsides.

The Épernay tourist office calls Hautvillers the cradle of champagne. The monk Dom Pérignon lies under a plain stone slab in the abbey church, which is open to visitors; the abbey itself is private. Almost every tour here stops in Hautvillers, because there is no train and the view over the Marne valley is the best near Épernay.

Aÿ has the train, a stop on the Ligne des Bulles, and the vineyards of Aÿ, Hautvillers and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ form the hillsides part of the UNESCO site. The e-bike tour rides those slopes and lunches at Le Clos Corbier, and the sommelier tour visits Pressoria, Pommery's pressing centre in Aÿ.

A narrow street of old stone houses in a hilltop wine village — A hilltop wine village above the Marne.

How far is it from Épernay to Reims?

About 27 to 28 km by road and 34 minutes by the local train, roughly hourly. Doing both towns in a day works if you keep it to one house in each.

By car the drive takes around half an hour across the Montagne de Reims. By train, the Ligne des Bulles runs through the forest and vineyards with stops in four villages. A DIY two-town day looks like this: TGV to Reims, cathedral and one house, the TER to Épernay after lunch, the Avenue de Champagne, and the direct train home from Épernay.

Or let a van do it. The small-group tour from Paris visits Reims Cathedral, a family producer, a well-known house and the Avenue de Champagne in one 12-hour day. Vanessa, after the trip: “At first I was hesitant to pick this tour but I’m so glad I did! [...]”

Small-Group Champagne Tour: Reims & Épernay

Reims Cathedral, a family producer, a big house and the Avenue de Champagne in one day, eight guests at most.

★ 4.9 · 12 hours · from $265

Explore the small-group Reims and Épernay tour Tour details

Which Champagne tours visit Reims, Épernay or both?

The small-group tour and the three family domains day touch both towns. The private Veuve Clicquot trip stays in Reims; the sommelier tour stays around Épernay and Aÿ.

Tour	Reims	Épernay	Villages
Small group from Paris	Cathedral, a house	Avenue de Champagne	A family producer
3 family domains	Start and finish	Avenue de Champagne drive	Hautvillers, 3 estates
Private Veuve Clicquot	Veuve Clicquot, cathedral	No	No
Sommelier tour	No	Avenue, Charles Mignon or Mercier	Hautvillers, Aÿ
8 tastings & lunch	Varies	Varies	Two family producers
Afternoon wineries	Start and finish	No	Hautvillers, 2 growers

The 8 tastings day picks its big house on availability, so it can land in either town.

One big house, two family producers and lunch with three champagnes, from your Paris hotel.

Check dates for the day trip with 8 tastings and lunch

Frequently asked questions

Is Épernay or Reims better for champagne tasting?

Épernay, by a nose: the houses are on one street, tasting bars pour without a booking, and the vineyards start at the edge of town. Reims has the bigger names and the cathedral.

How many champagne houses can you visit in a day?

Two booked visits is comfortable, three is a stretch. Each cellar tour takes 60 to 90 minutes, and in Reims you need a bus between the centre and the Saint-Nicaise hill.

Is Reims Cathedral free to visit?

The cathedral is a working church and you can walk in. The small-group tour gives it 25 minutes, the private Veuve Clicquot trip half an hour.

Where should I stay, Reims or Épernay?

Épernay for a vineyard stay, with the Avenue on foot and Hautvillers close by. Reims for the restaurants, the faster train and the tours that start at its station.

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