A Weekend in Champagne

January 29, 2015

Champagne is known for its champagne, of course, but it is also home to fine dining and beautiful countryside, and yet only about an hour’s drive from Paris.

IMG_3673
Along the Route de Champagne

I always thought of Champagne as quite flat, but actually the countryside where the champagne grapes are grown is fairly hilly. In fact, the vines grow on the south side of slopes, finding just the right angle to the sun for the perfect viticultural product.

IMG_3655IMG_3654
My 3-course meal at l’Assiette Champenoise: Homard bleu, Scallops (above) and Tarte Tatin (below)

In late October, I was lucky enough to visit the region with a couple of locals. We started the weekend on a real high note–at what is possibly the best restaurant in the region, one of the finest restaurants in France, the 3-Michelin star Assiette Champenoise. The food and the whole experience were amazing. Luckily, I didn’t find out how much the meal cost until months later (175 euros for the lunch menu)!

Assiette Champenoise
40, avenue Paul-Vaillant-Couturier
51430 Tinqueux

IMG_3656IMG_3711
Champagne rosé at Ruinart

We stayed overnight in Reims, the largest city in the Champagne region, and explored the city in the evening. The cathedral of Reims, completed in 1275, is where the kings of France were traditionally coronated through the early 19th century.

IMG_3677
Along the Route de Champagne

We had the perfect balance of champagne tasting. We spent Saturday afternoon at Ruinart, a high end brand known worldwide. It is the oldest champagne house, founded in 1729. To visit the Ruinart cellars, you must book well in advance. The tour takes about two hours and includes a tasting at the end (two coupes), for 70 euros. The cellars are geologically impressive and the tour is very informative. It isn’t cheap, but it’s worth it.

Ruinart
4 rue des Crayeres
51100 Reims

photo 2photo 1
In the Ruinart cellars

Sunday, we followed one of the champagne trails between Reims and Épernay and explored small town, family-run vineyards. I had the privilege of visiting (and tasting!) the family-run champagne vineyard of Ridoux-Cousin in the town of Venteuil-Arty, where my friend had worked the harvest several years back in college. Their champagne is delicious–I bought a case!

There are several “routes de champagne,” labeled with brown signs so they are easy to follow in your car. We took the route touristique de la Montagne de Reims (about 70km), which I would highly recommend.

Do you have a favorite champagne vineyard to visit?

Related Posts

Penultimate GR34 Update

Penultimate GR34 Update

Having finished all the mainland segments of Brittany's coastal trail (the GR34) and many of the islands, I'm now at 1,461 miles logged since November 2014. Here are all my GR34 photos to date. Bay of Quiberon I plan to finish the last few remaining pieces of this...

Semaine du Golfe

Semaine du Golfe

At the end of May, I was in Brittany for the biennial week-long festival, the Semaine du Golfe. This "Week of the Gulf" is a celebration of the boating history of the Gulf of Morbihan. There is no racing, but numerous other boat-related festivities, including a...

Scotland: The Full Itinerary

Scotland: The Full Itinerary

Old Man of Storr, Skye I have posted our full Highlands itinerary under Longer Trip Itineraries. Hiking near Glencoe I’m not sure there’s anything I would have done differently in terms of our itinerary except perhaps hoof it all the way to Tarbert on the first night...