while in Paris for my birthday I%26#39;d love to take a side trip to visit the small champagne houses. This is our first trip to Paris, so we are clueless! I%26#39;d also like to know if we should we spend a few days in Champagne. I%26#39;m looking forward to trying some unique wines. Any help would br greatly appreciated!
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If you have the time, it%26#39;s definitely worth going to the Champagne region. In the interest of good disclosure, I%26#39;ve only been to Paris twice and my trip to the Champagne region was in September 2002 so some of my %26quot;details%26quot; might be off.... Having said that much, here we go.
My girlfriend and I did a daytrip from Paris to the region. I believe we caught an RER train, at the station that is most close to the Montparnasse (we were staying at the Meridien hotel there - it felt like being in in New York City). We did get off at Reims, which is the larger of the two %26quot;big%26quot; towns in the region. I forget which of the houses are in Reims, as our ultimate destination was on to Epernay. BUT, if you go to Reims, you MUST see the Cathedral Notre Dame of Reims - in my opinion it is more stunning than Notre Dame of Paris. Why? Because although they were built at about the same time, remember that in the 13th century Paris was %26quot;big%26quot; and this little village of Reims - barely 50-70 miles from the %26quot;big%26quot; city - builds this spectacular cathedral. It is breathtaking. It might be an urban myth, but I recall the tour guide within the church saying something to the effect that during the German occupation of France in WWII, there was a harsh punishment for any German soldier caught defacing this beautiful place....
We went on to Epernay, and ended up touring the Perrier-Jouet house (my spelling is likely wrong). It was great. The town was also very nice, and very picturesque. I believe the Dom Perignon house is also in Epernay but I might be wrong (I recall a statue of the good priest that was in Epernay).
Most of the houses were fairly easily accessible. We had NOT made any reservations or serious advance planning beyond figuring out our train tickets. I seem to recall that we went to the Perrier-Jouet house, made a reservation, waited about an hour or so and then toured the house (complete with tasting). In other words, it all came together without too much stress or work.
I seem to think that we probably arrived in Epernay around 12:30 or 1:00, and I think we caught something like a 5 or 6:00 train back to Paris.
Again, if you can spare a few days, I can only imagine how much more of the countryside you would be able to enjoy. But, our short daytrip was most memorable and we still got to say we had been to the Champagne region.
Hope this helps your decision making!
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thanks so much, I really appreciate it!
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Reims is forty-five minutes away by train from the Gare de l%26#39;Est.
Piper Heisdeck has a neat tour. You travel through the cellars on a self propelled vehicle with comentary in one%26#39;s choice of language.
Train schedules:
http://reiseauskunft.bahn.de/bin/query.exe/en
For what it%26#39;s worth, the last time we visited Reims we rented a car upon our arrival at CDG and drove to the Chateau de Fere and spent the night, then went on to Epernay following the back roads.
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The Musée de la Reddition (The Surrender Museum) is fairly close to the Reims station and an interesting place to visit. This was Gen Eisenhower%26#39;s headquarters and where Germany surrendered in 1945.
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Whether to do a day trip or side trip depends if you have time constraints on your travel. I was in Paris for the first time in November and we took a train to Epernay: took a tour at Moet %26amp; Chandon, stayed at a B%26amp;B, meandered about town and the next morning took the train to Reims, took a tour at Vueve Cliquot and went to the Cathedral, had lunch, and walked around town. In retrospect, I would have just gone to Reims for the day and enjoyed an additional day in Paris. Look through the posts on the Champagne forum to get a taste of the different houses to visit and places to see.
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I took the train to Epernay a few years ago and visited the Moët et Chandon caves. The tour was fascinating (unless you%26#39;re already an expert in champagne manufacture), and I highly recommend it. The only disappointment for me was that they didn%26#39;t include Dom Perignon in the tasting at the conclusion of the tour--but we were able to try some interesting newer styles.
It was a relatively easy walk from the train station to the tour--but most of the other houses were closed when we walked past, so you may want to double check hours.
The page is empty on Trip Advisor, but I found this link at Fodors:
frommers.com/destinations/epernay/A25843.html
After the tour we enjoyed a nice lunch in the town centre. It was an easy day trip and I%26#39;d definitely do it again.
-ng
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thanks, everyone! The info is very helpful and I really appreciate your time to respond!
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The statue of Dom Perignon is in the garden of the Moet %26amp; Chandon location -- because it%26#39;s part of their product offering.
Each of the tours has its own appeal - and if you%26#39;ve ever been to Moet %26amp; Chandon in California, it%26#39;s really interesting to compare the two.
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The Musée de la Reddition (The Surrender Museum) -- Second the recommendation
This museum in Rheims is well worth a visit -- very nicely done.
And the cathedral roof melted in the fires when it was attacked during WWII and they have some interest artifacts of this melted lead that rolled down through the gargoyles -- on display at the cathedral
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For those of you who took the train to Reims, how long did it take to get from the train station to Veuve. We are looking at catching a 1:00 from CDG which gets to Reims at 1:45 with a tour beginning at 2:00.
Will that work? Do we need a taxi inside Reims?
Thanks
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