GO GO TOURS · Reims and Épernay
A driver-guide collects up to eight guests at their Paris hotels for a family producer, Reims Cathedral, a well-known house, the Avenue de Champagne and one more tasting. It costs about the same as the cheapest day but adds hotel pickup, a blind tasting and a sabre opening a bottle.
This is GO GO TOURS' smaller, cheaper day, and it reverses the usual order: the family-owned producer comes first, with a cellar tour and tasting, before the big name. Then a short stop at Notre-Dame de Reims, the cathedral, and a guided tour and tasting at a prestigious house. The listing names Veuve Clicquot, Moët & Chandon, Taittinger or Nicolas Feuillatte, all "subject to availability".
Two extras set it apart. The listing includes a blind tasting, where you guess what is in the glass, and a sabrage demonstration, the trick of opening a bottle with a sabre. After a photo stop on the Avenue de Champagne in Épernay comes a final 70-minute stop with another tasting. Guests write about the guide adjusting the route to what the group asks for, which is easier with eight people than with sixteen.
The catch is lunch. You get free time to choose a restaurant, but the meal is not included, so budget for it. The day is also long: the listing says 12 hours, an hour more than most. It is newer than the operator's cathedral and lunch day, and the early guest reviews are warm.
Your driver-guide sends details by message the day before, then about two hours east by minivan.
A cellar tour and tasting at a family-owned Champagne estate.
A short visit to the coronation cathedral.
A guided tour and tasting. Veuve Clicquot, Moët & Chandon, Taittinger or Nicolas Feuillatte, subject to availability.
Free time for lunch at a restaurant of your choice, and 20 minutes on the Avenue de Champagne.
A last stop with a tasting, then about two hours back to your hotel.
It was simply one of the best days of our stay in France!
Max is a fantastic guide! Incredibly friendly, and he has a very good feel for his customers.
The best part was customisation of the tour based on group asks on the route.
Exceptional! Max was an amazing guide who looked after our group so well.
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No. The listing includes free time for lunch at a restaurant you choose, but you pay for it.
Opening a bottle of Champagne with a sabre: the blade slides along the neck and snaps off the top with the cork. On this tour the guide demonstrates it; the listing does not say guests try it themselves.
The listing names Veuve Clicquot, Moët & Chandon, Taittinger or Nicolas Feuillatte, subject to availability. You find out closer to the day.
Under-18s get grape juice instead of Champagne, the listing says. Check the age policy with the operator when you book.
Ready to book
A family producer, a big house, a blind tasting and sabrage, with hotel pickup and at most eight guests.
Small-Group Champagne Day with Six TastingsThe lowest price from Paris: Reims Cathedral, a family winery, Nicolas Feuillatte and Hautvillers. Six glasses, max 8.11 hours
Champagne Day with Cathedral & LunchTwo Champagne houses, Reims Cathedral and a three-course lunch in Épernay, with pickup at your Paris hotel.11 hours
Champagne Day Trip with 8 Tastings & LunchA big house in the morning, a family estate or co-op after a long lunch, 8+ tastings in a van of eight.10 to 11 hours