These are the best places to travel this summer

Champagne

France Travel Guide

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

Shop Book
Vineyards in the mist at sunrise, Oger, Champagne, France

©Matteo Colombo/Getty Images

LONELY PLANET’S RECOMMENDED eSIM

Stay connected in Champagne

with

Saily is an affordable eSIM service that helps you stay connected and secure, anywhere in the world.

Get your eSIM

Overview

Champagne arouses the senses: the eyes feast on vines parading up hillsides and vertical processions of tiny, sparkling bubbles; the nose breathes in damp soil and the heavenly bouquet of fermentation; the ears rejoice at the clink of glasses and the barely audible fizz; and the palate tingles with every sip. The imagination and the intellect are engaged as Champagne cellar visits reveal the magical processes – governed by the strictest of rules – that transform the world’s most pampered pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay grapes into this Unesco World Heritage–listed region’s most fabled wines.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Cathedral Notre Dame in Reims, France

    Cathédrale Notre Dame

    Reims

    Imagine the extravagance of a French royal coronation. The focal point of such pomposity was Reims’ resplendent Gothic cathedral, begun in 1211 on a site…

  • The Palais du Tau in Reims.

    Palais du Tau

    Reims

    A Unesco World Heritage Site, this lavish former archbishop’s residence, redesigned in neoclassical style between 1671 and 1710, was where French princes…

  • Troyes

    16th-Century Troyes

    Troyes

    Half-timbered houses – some with lurching walls and floors that aren’t quite level – line many streets in the old city, rebuilt after a devastating fire…

  • Abbaye de Clairvaux Monastery

    Abbaye de Clairvaux Monastery

    Champagne

    Bernard de Clairvaux (1090–1153), nemesis of Abelard and preacher of the Second Crusade, founded this hugely influential Cistercian monastery in 1115…

  • Cathédrale St-Pierre et St-Paul

    Cathédrale St-Pierre et St-Paul

    Troyes

    All at once imposing and delicate with its filigree stonework, Troyes' cathedral is a stellar example of champenoise Gothic architecture. The flamboyant…

  • Musée d’Art Moderne

    Musée d’Art Moderne

    Troyes

    Housed in a 16th- to 18th-century bishop’s palace, this place owes its existence to all those crocodile-logo shirts, whose global success allowed Lacoste…

  • Avenue de Champagne

    Avenue de Champagne

    Épernay

    Épernay’s handsome av de Champagne fizzes with maisons de champagne (Champagne houses). The boulevard is lined with mansions and neoclassical villas,…

  • Musée de la Vigne et du Vin

    Musée de la Vigne et du Vin

    Champagne

    This museum is so outstanding that it’s worth planning your day around a two-hour tour. Assembled by a family that has been making Champagne since 1872,…

Advertisement

Planning Tools

Expert guidance to help you plan your trip

Best Things to Do

Experience the best of the French wine region Champagne with this guide to tastings, tours and other things to do.

Read article

Plan with a local

Get a book. Get inspired. Get exploring.

in partnership with getyourguide

Book popular activities in Champagne

Advertisement