THE CHAMPAGNE CHICK

It seems like ages ago that I sat here in Reims, and yet it was only last month.  A few weeks before this, I realized I had not been to the region in almost 2 years and thought I would just out of interest have a look at ticket prices, and before I could even blink, the ticket was booked.

I’ve had lots of requests about my full trip itinerary, so this is going to be a long post, as I’m going to take you through my time in Champagne briefly covering all my discoveries, visits and experiences and then over time I will be doing individual blog posts on all the visits which will be longer and more detailed.  I will cover my trip in three parts, first Reims, then in Part 2 Épernay and the villages, and finally Paris in part 3.  Please bear with me, I might be repeating certain things.

DAY 1:

First things first, if you’re visiting for the first time and landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport, getting to Champagne is as easy as walking to the TGV-terminal from the arrivals hall.  I have always pre-booked my TGV tickets so I’m not sure whether one can simply buy a ticket on the spot.  You can book and pay online for TGV tickets HERE.  Champagne is about 160km from Paris and the train trip takes not even 30 minutes.  The TGV arrives at Champagne-Ardenne station, 8km outside of Reims (the very first time I visited, it actually stopped at Reims station).  Take my word for it and pre-organize transport from the station to wherever you are staying, I arrived around 3pm on a Saturday and assumed there would be a line of taxi’s outside the station, this was not the case, not a single taxi in sight.  Uber had only landed in Reims about 2 weeks prior and I tried about 3 times to book a car and kept getting No Car Available.  My phone was also not activated for international roaming so I couldn’t even phone a taxi.  I eventually managed to email my Airbnb host, who organized a taxi pick up for me.

Accommodation wise for this trip, I opted to Airbnb most of my accommodation.  I don’t have unlimited funds, our exchange rate is very weak and I wanted to spend whatever I had extra on tours and experiences rather than fancy accommodation.  I found a fabulous apartment overlooking Drouet d’Erlon square, a hub of great restaurants and bars, smack bang in the centre of Reims.  It had a great view over the treetops towards the Subé Fountain and I could walk everywhere from there.

I had just enough time to check-in at my accommodation in the heart of Reims and then hot-footed it down to Reims station to grab a taxi as I had booked a visit to Perching Bar … a tree-top champagne bar in the heart of the National Regional Forest where you get to sit in a swing while sipping champagne.  Perching Bar is about 20km from Reims and the taxi ride there cost me a whopping €40 and another €40 back.  You can read my full blog post about Perching Bar HERE.

DAY 2:

Sunday morning was spent cruising the streets of Reims, taking in the sights.  I visited the Reims Cathedral, lit a candle for my dad and mom-in-law and and just strolled around.  Most shops are closed on Sundays although I found a few of the champagne boutiques around the cathedral open and picked up some keepsakes.

I had pre-booked a tour and tasting at Champagne Mumm for Sunday afternoon and took a walk there after lunch.  Visits to Mumm are booked and paid for on their online booking system and all information and details are in my full blog post HERE.

That evening after dinner I took a stroll back to Reims Cathedral to watch Regalia Reims, a spectacular light show portrayed on the façade of the Cathedral reliving the Rite of a King.  It runs from 25 May until 23 September, with a session at 10.30pm and another at 11.15pm.  On certain dates there is only one show, but you can find all the information on their website HERE.  Go early and grab a seat and expect to be blown away.  My photo’s are doing it no justice at all.

DAY 3:

Monday mid-day was my visit to Champagne Taittinger – all tours and tastings are booked on their online booking system.  I was staying pretty central in Reims, it was a bit of a walk, but I had time, the weather was great and I needed to walk off some champagne calories.  I’ve already done a full blog post on my Taittinger visit and you can read all about it HERE.

The rest of the afternoon I did some sightseeing around Reims, popped in at Fossier to stock up on my favourite pink biscuits, strolled to Rue de Tambour to have a look at the pretty painted cobbles, and popped in at a few champagne shops around the Reims Cathedral.  First one was Le Parvis, a must visit, they have a great champagne selection as well as a tables outside on the square where you can order by the glass or bottle.

Right next door you will find Les Delices Champenoises, their selection is much smaller, but the owner is usually on hand and he is very charming, helpful and accommodating.

I ended off the afternoon with drinks at Le Bar, the incredible Champagne Bar at the Best Western Hotel de la Paix, which may not necessarily be on your must-visit list, but trust me and make time to visit their bar, Le Bar, purely for their incredible champagne list … 4 full pages of champagnes to choose from starting from €65 per bottle up to a credit card bending €400 bottle, however very few options available by the glass.

For Monday evening I had a Sunset Champagne Tour scheduled with My Vintage Tour Company.  The tour takes you through the villages and vineyards stopping at a vantage point for champagne and snacks and to watch the sun setting over the vines.  This was definitely one of my top experiences on this trip with the highlight sabering a bottle of champagne in the middle of the vineyards overlooking the village of Sacy.  The tour is in a vintage Renault Estafette from the 1980’s called Marie.  My Vintage Tour Company offer a number of different tour options and you can read all about it on my full blog post HERE.

DAY 4:

The next day was a busy one, I had two tours scheduled, first at Champagne Lanson and an afternoon visit at Champagne Ruinart, the oldest producer in Champagne.

Champagne Lanson was a bit too far to walk from my accommodation, so I took a taxi.  I had a public tour followed by a private tasting with Lanson’s Chef de Cave, Hervé Dantan, which was organised for me by Lanson’s importer and distributor in South Africa.

A special touch at Champagne Lanson was seeing the South African flag flying when I arrived.  This is done by some champagne houses when they have special guests visiting.

Our tour at Lanson started with a walk down the road to Clos Lanson, a two century old 1-hectare walled plot at the top of a hill adjoining the Lanson cellars planted with Chardonnay, from which their vintage cuvée Clos Lanson is produced, and which I was privileged to have during the tasting with the Chef de Cave, Hervé Dantan.

We then proceeded through to the winery to continue the tour and you can read my full blog post on my Lanson tour and tasting HERE.  Ending off the tour with an incredible tasting inside the cellars with Chef de Cave, Hervé Dantan and his assistant winemaker overlooking the barrel room where all Lanson’s reserve wines are kept.

Tours to Champagne Lanson (offered in English, French and German) is by appointment only and requested via email – visites@champagnelanson.com – available from Mondays to Fridays (no tours on weekends, bank holidays or during August).

My afternoon visit with tour and tasting was at Champagne Ruinart, the oldest producer of champagne, making it continuously since 1729.

I had a complimentary tour at Ruinart as part of a public tour.  Tours are small and intimate, there were only 7 of us in the group.  And because tours are small and limited, tastings are conducted in a beautiful sitting room after the tour.

You can also get your art on at Ruinart as they have beautiful works and installations throughout the Maison.  Tours start with an introduction to the house by the host and then a tour through the cellars followed by a tasting.  There is only 1 tour option available which includes 2 tastings and it costs €70 per person.  Bookings are done online HERE.  And you can read the full BLOG POST of my Ruinart visit HERE.

After my Ruinart tour, I popped in at the boutiques of Veuve Clicquot and Pommery – 2 houses I had visited on a previous trip – and below are a few images to show you what’s available in their boutiques.

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing a bit of shopping, I popped in to the Reims Tourist Office, they have a nice selection of goodies and I picked up a few cute mementoes and keepsakes, like this fun ring.

Right opposite my Airbnb was a huge Monoprix supermarket and I was super impressed with their huge selection, rows upon rows of champagne at incredible prices.  Back home you would only find a selection this size in a few large premium liquor retailers.

It was my last evening in Reims, so I went to dinner at Le Wine Bar, voted by many as the best bar in Reims.  I had a fabulous Laherte Frères Bdb Brut Nature and as the menu was entirely in French I decided to throw caution to the wind by not asking google translate and ordered the one dish I found with a word I recognized, chorizo … and I was not disappointed.

Getting around Reims and surrounds proved to be challenging, as I was travelling solo I did not hire a car as I could obviously not drink and drive.  I walked a huge amount, but sometimes I just had to taxi.  Where I could, I used uber and even though I could often not get a car because of limited availability, when I did, it was around 35% cheaper than a taxi.  So once more cars come online in Reims, uber will definitely be the way to go.

I will be doing detailed blog posts on all of my visits and tours in the weeks to come and will link them in here once they are live.

Next up, Epernay.

Pop, Fizz, Clink
The Champagne Chick
xo