À la Française Champagne ! · From Reims or Épernay
À la Française Champagne ! puts you on an e-bike for three hours through the vineyards around Aÿ, then sits you down at Le Clos Corbier for a cellar visit, four wines and lunch. Pick it if you'd rather see the slopes up close than through a van window, and you're a confident rider.
Pickup is at 9:00 at the Reims Centre station tourist office, at 9:35 at the Épernay tourist office, or at 9:45 at the domain in Mareuil-sur-Aÿ if you make your own way there. After 45 minutes in the minivan you ride for three hours through the vineyards around Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ, the hillsides UNESCO inscribed in 2015 with Hautvillers. Then two hours at Le Clos Corbier: the cellar, four wines (two champagnes, a red and a ratafia) and lunch with regional specialties. Views over Aÿ and a stop in Hautvillers close the day.
Le Clos Corbier is the visitor domain of Champagne Collard-Milesi, and the Épernay tourist office lists three blanc de blancs cuvées, Premier Cru and Grand Cru, sold only at the domain. It is the only tour here built around one named producer, which means you know exactly where you'll taste. One guest wrote at length about the Blanc de Blancs Premier Cru.
The rules are firm: no under-12s, nobody under 155 cm, and the guide may turn away anyone who can't handle the bike at the start, as e-bikes are heavier than normal ones. There's no bottled water, for eco reasons, so bring your own. From Paris it works by train: the 07:39 TGV reached Reims at 08:25 on our late-October sample, and the 07:36 to Épernay takes about 1h20; both beat the pickup. You're back at 3:15pm in Épernay or 4:00pm in Reims.
At the Reims Centre station tourist office. Épernay pickup is at 9:35, Mareuil-sur-Aÿ at 9:45.
45 minutes by minivan, then bike fitting and a check that you're steady on an e-bike.
Through Premier and Grand Cru villages on the slopes around Aÿ, with the motor doing the climbs.
About two hours: the cellar, four wines and lunch at the domain.
Views over Aÿ, then 30 minutes in Hautvillers.
Mareuil-sur-Aÿ at 3:00, Épernay at 3:15, Reims at 4:00.
★★★★★Fantastic!! Good bikes and a really great guide, Thomas! Everything exceeded expectations!!
★★★★★Beautiful day cycling through the vineyards and tasting champagne. Guide knowledgeable and helpful
★★★★★This was a great way to visit the Champagne vineyards. The e-bikes made the cycling part of the trip easy. [...]
★★★★★What a great day! Everything exceeded our expectations….guide, tour, knowledge, bikes, food, champagne, even the weather was [...]
Read next:
Not very fit, but confident on a bike. The e-bike does the climbing, but it's heavier than a normal bike, and the guide may refuse riders who lack cycling experience at the start.
Four wines at Le Clos Corbier: two champagnes, a red still wine and a ratafia, with lunch.
By train. The TGV from Gare de l'Est to Reims takes 46 minutes, and direct trains to Épernay take about 1h20. Our train guide covers both.
Late spring to early autumn, when the vines are green; in 2026 picking began between 8 and 22 August, the earliest on record. Our guide to the best time to visit Champagne goes month by month.
Ready to book
Three hours on an e-bike through the UNESCO vineyards above Aÿ, then a cellar visit and lunch at a family domain.
Three Family Domains & Lunch from ReimsThree family estates, nine glasses, Hautvillers and lunch in an 8-hour day from Reims station, 46 minutes from Paris by TGV.★ 4.8 · 8 hours · from $286
Afternoon Family Wineries Tour from ReimsTwo family growers, six tastings and Hautvillers in a 2pm to 6:30pm afternoon from Reims station, 46 minutes from Paris by TGV.★ 4.8 · 4.5 hours · from $150
Vineyard Land Rover Ride & Tasting in ReimsTwo hours in a Land Rover Defender from behind Reims Cathedral, up into the vines, with at least two glasses of brut.★ 4.8 · 2 hours · from $110