When 86,000 acres produces 200 million bottles of bubbly, you might say you have a popular product. Champagne is all about luxury and celebration, a tradition that started in the 10th century when it became the official drink at the coronation of French King Hugh Capet.
And isn't it impressive when your drink is so popular and well made they name it after the land? People are often amazed to learn Champagne (more specifically Champagne-Ardenne) is an actual place, not some fancy-sounding, made-up name where you pronounce the "ch" like an "sh" to seem sophisticated.
The Champagne we know today is based on trial-and-error experiments by the monk Dom Perignon and many others. Double fermentation creates those bubbles we love so well. It also makes bottles explode until you know how to make them. Every noticed how heavy a Champagne bottle is? Especially that thick base. You have to trap those bubbles. And the cork is wired on. That's a lot of containment!
Champagne is beloved and yet it is the result of grapes planted in an almost too-cold climate (by the Romans), that are almost unripe when picked, and which produces a thin example of red wine that can never match Burgundy. What do do with this mess? Let's let it sit, said the growers a few centuries ago. And lo and behold came the double fermentation. The growers could not get rid of the bubbles.... but the British liked them. And a business was born. A very quick train ride, or even a drive, from Paris brings you to the lovely countryside of Champagne-Ardenne.
via boat through an ever-changing view of nature, observing migratory birds and animals who have made their habitat along the banks.
Our Tours From Paris to Champagne
Champagne is only 45 minutes from Paris via high-speed rail. A day visit to Champagne is a perfect addition to any Paris vacation. We offer four different ways to visit champagne from Paris.
- Day trip from Paris to Moet and Epernay
- Day trip from Paris to Veuve Clicquot and Reims
- Self-guided trip to Moet and Chandon (Epernay)
- Self-guided trip to G.H. Mumm (Reims)
Champagne Map
