Veuve Clicquot Day Tour from Paris

This is champagne done properly: the grand cellars of Veuve Clicquot in the morning, an authentic family vineyard in the afternoon, and nine tastings across the day — with lunch, every entrance fee, and all the Reims transportation included. Forty-five minutes from Paris by TGV, maximum eight guests, and it books up the way you’d expect.

The Facts

What You Visit

• Reims Cathedral — the UNESCO-listed coronation church of French kings, first stop off the train
• The Veuve Clicquot cellars — tour and tasting in the famous chalk crayères, with Madame Clicquot’s story told where it happened
• Avenue de Champagne, Épernay — the most valuable street in the wine world, en route
• Hautvillers — the hillside village where Dom Pérignon created champagne
• Le Clos Corbier (or similar family vineyard) — blind tastings, a champagne quiz, and a fresh lunch paired with the family’s own bubbly

The Day, In Order

The TGV covers Paris to Reims in about 45 minutes, and your guide meets you at the tourist kiosk by the station. The cathedral comes first — the coronation church of French kings, five minutes away and worth every one — and then the morning’s main event: down into the Veuve Clicquot crayères, the chalk caves quarried by the Romans that now hold millions of aging bottles at a constant cool.

The cellar tour is 250 years of history told underground: Madame Clicquot’s riddling technique — the invention that turned champagne from cloudy to crystal clear — demonstrated where she developed it, ending in the tasting room with the signature cuvées, Yellow Label Brut first among them.

The afternoon is the contrast that makes this tour: along the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay and up to Hautvillers, Dom Pérignon’s village, then to a family-owned vineyard — usually Le Clos Corbier — for blind tastings, a champagne quiz that gets competitive, and a freshly prepared lunch paired with champagne the family grew, pressed, and bottled themselves. Grand maison in the morning, grower’s table in the afternoon; you leave understanding champagne from both ends.

You return to Reims with comfortable time for the evening TGV — back in Paris about 13 hours after you left, nine tastings the wiser.

Why the Train, Why Small

• 45 minutes each way by TGV — more time tasting, less time traveling
• Eight guests maximum means real access in the cellars, not a crowd shuffling past the racks
• Grand house + family grower in one day — the pairing most champagne tours skip
• Lunch, all nine tastings, entrance fees, and Reims transportation included — no surprise costs

The Honest Notes

• The crayères hold a constant cellar-cool temperature — bring a light layer even in August
• Cellar stairs and cobbled village lanes: comfortable shoes matter
• Nine tastings is a genuine count — pace yourself and enjoy the lunch
• Seasonal: mid-March through select November/December dates; private and off-season tours by arrangement — call us
• This tour books up fast, especially September harvest weeks — reserve 3–4 weeks ahead

Frequently Asked Questions

How many tastings are included?

Nine across the day — at Veuve Clicquot, at the family vineyard, and with lunch. All are included in the price, as are lunch and every entrance fee.

How long is the train from Paris?

About 45 minutes each way on the TGV — the fastest of all our day-trip rail journeys. $555 with 2nd Class rail, $603 with 1st; both are reserved seats.

Can we visit other champagne houses?

We run separate day tours to Moët & Chandon, Mumm, and Taittinger, plus an Épernay day and a champagne e-bike tour — and private itineraries can combine houses. Ask us.

Is this tour good for champagne beginners?

It might be best for beginners — the family-vineyard afternoon includes blind tastings and a quiz that teach more in two hours than most books manage, and the guides calibrate to your experience.

What if we visit outside the season?

Private and off-season versions run by arrangement — contact us at 424-386-5222 and we’ll build the day around what’s open.

Reserve Your Veuve Clicquot Day Tour

Book in the calendar above, or call or text 424-386-5222 — and if a date matters to you, book it early. The crayères are waiting.