On day 4, we hopped on the French high-speed train (TGV) to the Champagne region!
One thing to note is that if you're planning on rail transport in France, it is crucial to buy your tickets in advance from the SCNF website!
Apart from a guaranteed seat, it is almost always cheaper if you get it online and most of all, you don't have to queue at the station tickets counter! Seriously, the length and speed (of lack of it) of the queue is no joke, especially if you intend to take a train on the same day.
Although some of the automatic ticket machine also allow you to buy tickets for the same day, the downside is that they don't accept all foreign credit cards (and no cash payment). Hence in short, always book online beforehand.
To get to Champagne region which is east of Paris, the TGV to Reims runs from Paris Gare de l'Est (FYI est = east in english)
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| Paris Gare de l'Est |
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| Comfortable and modern high-speed trains |
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| Arrived at Reims in an hour only! |
A major site in Reims is the Notre Dame de Reims (Our Lady of Reims) Cathedral. It is also the seat where kings of France were crowned. From the museum at the side you can also climb all the way up the tower for a panoramic view of the champagne region.
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| the back of the Cathedral where the chevet is |
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| unfortunately the front facade was undergoing restoration |
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| still amazed at the statuary |
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| Interior of the cathedral |
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| Rose window framed in an arch |
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| Beautiful stained glass art on the rose window |
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| Photo doesn't do justice to the beauty of the stained glass |
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| Close up of a panel - every window has a different design |
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| Each window tells a different story |
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| A model of the cathedral |
The top thing to do in Champagne is of course to take a cellar tour in a champagne house.
Most of the tours require reservation in advance. If it is a non-peak season it is possible to try your luck at the tourist office or walk-in to some of the smaller houses.
Since we've got a rented car, I wanted to avoid tours that are too commercialized and visit those with a more personal touch. Based on local recommendation (our B&B owner was immensely helpful) and tripadvisor reviews, I originally wanted to book a tour at Ruinart. However, their website wasn't very user friendly and it was hard to make an online booking. Although I eventually managed to do so, they only have one English speaking tour in the morning per day at 10am. Unfortunately our train from Paris only arrives at 11am!
Another one with great review of their tour was Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin. I was initially a little skeptical since they are part of LVMH group and we see them everywhere in Singapore. But it turned out to be the best tour we had in my opinion.
Our guide spoke very good english, was very patient and effective in teaching us the process of making champagne and general knowledge of the champagne region and AOC. I would definitely recommend joining the Veuve Clicquot-Ponsardin tour!
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| Arriving at the gates of the VCP house |
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| We started of learning about the history of the champagne house and how Veuve (widow) madame Clicquot-Ponsardin grew the business after her husband passed away |
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| We were then brought outdoors to learn about the geography of champagne region and the AOC |
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| We were also taught how to differentiate the different grape varieties for making champagne - between pinot noir, meunier and chardonnay |
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| then it was time to explore the crayeres! |
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| after a long flight of stairs we arrived underground |
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| Crayeres are different from normal cave cellars as they have an opening at the top of the dome. And they used to be chalk quarries. |
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| A map of all the crayeres of VCP! very complicated system! |
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| One crayere leading to the next |
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| Here we learned about the various stages of fermentation |
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| Every crayere is named after an employee who has worked in VCP for at least 30 years! They are like family here |
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| Wonder how long these bottles have been (will be) sitting here |
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| it's common to have chalk carvings of Bacchus (roman god of wine) |
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| This is apparently one of the oldest surviving bottles that was once lost in a shipwreck some 170 years ago |
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| Following the timeline of the house back to present day |
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| Some tastings to wrap it up! |
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| first 2 champagnes of the day (I tried brut and brut rose) |
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| Pommery also came highly recommended and you can actually walk in without reservation |
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| the estate is beautiful |
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| Across Pommery is a old gothic mansion Villa Demoiselle which carries its own line of champagne |
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| Your can join a tour of the mansion only with reservation with very limited space |
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| I decided to just go for tasting instead |
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| too pretty and happy |
The husband then drove us out to the country side along the champagne tourist driving route. I couldn't drive since I drank. ;)
There are several scenic champagne routes recommended for visitors. We did the montagne de Reims (Reims' mountain route) to Epernay.
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| Never ending fields of grape vines |
We stopped at Verzenay to visit the lighthouse at the top. You may wonder why there is a lighthouse at the side of a mountain that is nowhere near any sea. Well, apparently it's for show and it houses a champagne museum.
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| La Phare de Verzenay |
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| A boardwalk across grape fields to get to the lighthouse |
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| Random friend who was hanging out near the lighthouse |
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| Lighthouse which give a panoramic view from the hilltop |
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| we even found an hectare that belongs to Pommery |
After which was a scenic drive through the mountains en route to Epernay which shall be covered in my next post :)
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