|Champagne tours from Paris|
Paris to Champagne : Go on a private tour to discover the secrets of champagne, the king of wines! The region of Champagne is composed of 4 departments Aube, Ardennes, Haute-Marne, and Marne. Kings of France, Joan of Arc, abbots Dom Pérignon and Ruinart, Louis XIV the Sun King, Napoleon, Voltaire, Renoir, Rimbaud, La Fontaine, Charles de Gaulle, Camille Claudel… Champagne has so many things to tell you about the history of France.
A little bit of history
Champagne is a former French province of 1065 from a county palatine (a high-level official attached to imperial or royal courts in Europe since Roman times) around Provins, third metropolis of the Kingdom of France, of counties resulting from the dismantling of the western fraction of Merovingian Austrasia, the north-east of France.
It covered the former Champagne-Ardenne administrative region, the south of the Aisne department and most of the Seine-et-Marne department up to French Brie. The administrative region was formed in 1956, consisting of the four departments Aube, Ardennes, Haute-Marne, and Marne. On 1 January 2016, it merged with the neighboring regions of Alsace and Lorraine to form the new region Grand Est. Its rivers, most of which flow west, include the Seine, the Marne, and the Aisne. The Meuse flows north.
The name Champagne, written Champaigne refers to the Campanenses, the people of Champagne mentioned under this Latin name for the first time in the High Middle Ages. The future extension of the county of Champagne and its natural geographical area then correspond to six dioceses from Antiquity, those of Lingons de Langres, Senones de Sens, Tricasses de Troyes, Rèmes de Reims, Meldes de Meaux and of the Catalans of Châlons. This province becomes in the Middle Ages a major economic center.
In 1129, the Counts of Champagne, protectors of Jews such as Rashi, acquired the most prestigious of abbeys, the Paraclete, and the first banking network. Peers of France having reigned for a time over England, they had a political role at least as important as that of the bishops of Reims, who crown the kings of France. During the time of the kingdom of the Franks and then of France, the advent of the new king was legitimized by the ceremony of his coronation with the crown of Charlemagne at Notre-Dame de Reims.
In the Middle Ages, there were Champagne fairs. In the 16th century, the Parliament of Paris, worried about the qualitative decline of the wines of the Parisian crown, voted an edict which prohibited any supply of cabarets within 90 km of the capital, thus placing Champagne in the front row. Taking advantage of the Marne, a tributary of the Seine, the wines from the Mountain and the River of Champagne then come to supply Paris.
Paris to Champagne
From Paris to Champagne, breathe in the scents of the vines… Open the doors of the cellars to meet the winegrowers and share their passion. Visit Epernay, whose incredible Avenue de Champagne attracts 2 million visitors each year, as well as Hautvillers, a small village between vineyards and forest overlooking Epernay, known to be the cradle of Champagne with Abbé Dom Pérignon.
From Paris to Champagne, you should start with Reims. Reims is a town of art and history, with many sites listed by UNESCO World Heritage:
- The Notre-Dame cathedral and its remarkable Chagall stained glass windows,
- The Palais du Tau, a museum hosting the cathedral’s works,
- The Basilica of Saint-Remi that houses the Holy Ampulla and the tomb of Saint-Remi
- The Abbey of Saint-Remi Museum, dedicated to the bishop who baptised Clovis
- The Colline Saint Nicaise de Reims Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars
The Notre-Dame cathedral of Reims
The city nicknamed is “the city of the coronations” or “the city of kings”. Indeed, it is on the site of the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Reims that Clovis, first king of France, is baptized by Saint Remi and that were sacred a large number of Carolingian then Capetian kings for more than 10 centuries from Louis the Pious in 816 up to to Charles X in 1825.
In 1429, “nothing really went more graceful in the kingdom of France, when God raised a girl native of Domremy, Joan of Arc, to awaken the staggering energies and overcome the oppositions to liberate Orleans and lead to Reims cathedral Charles VII who was to receive the holy unction and become king of France. Walk in the footsteps of Joan of Arc, this girl of 17 years old who saved the country from the British occupation.
Notre-Dame Cathedral, a majestic jewel of Gothic art, is an architectural marvel. Striking architecture, dazzling stained glass windows, moving statuary, tumultuous history. Reims Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral located in Reims, Grand Est. Its construction began in the early thirteenth century. It is later than the cathedrals Notre-Dame de Paris and Notre-Dame de Chartres, but earlier than the cathedrals Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, Notre-Dame d’Amiens and Beauvais. From Paris to Champagne – Reims, it is about one hour and a half drive.
Dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Reims Cathedral was completed in the fourteenth century. Above all, it suffered a very significant destruction during the First World War. It is one of the major achievements of Gothic art in France, both for its architecture and for its statuary which has 2,303 statues. As such, it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. Mecca of Champagne tourism, it welcomed 1,500,000 visitors in 2007. All the kings of France were crowned in the city of Reims from 1027 to 1825 except 7 Kings of France including Hugues Capet, Henri IV. Reims Cathedral has been called a “martyred cathedral” because, in 1914, shortly after the outbreak of hostilities, it began to be bombed by the Germans. On October 8, 2016, a plaque with the names of the thirty-one kings sacred in Reims was placed in the cathedral in the presence of Mgr Thierry Jordan, Archbishop of Reims, and Prince Louis de Bourbon, heir to the throne of France.
Houses of Champagne
The Houses below are at the origin of the notoriety and prestige of Champagne wines in the world and have invented the champagne myth. Their talent lies in the elaboration of cuvées which reflect the characteristic style of each Brand by the assembly of grape varieties. Each house has its very own story and talent. From Paris to Champagne, meet the winegrowers for a wine tasting tour, with small and famous houses such as :
- Bollinger
- Dom Pérignon
- Krug
- Louis Roederer
- Moët and Chandon
- Mumm
- Pommery
- Ruinart
- Taittinger
- Veuve Clicquot
- …
The cultivation of the vine and the production of Champagne wines obey strict rules that are among the most restrictive in the world. Each step requires rigorous know-how, a mark of Champagne excellence. Discover the main stages of champagne making :
- Harvest
- Winemaking
- Assembly
- Riddling and disgorging
- Corking and dressing
Enjoy a custom private tour with a private driver about Champagne, the king of wines. Champagne is one of the greatest places in the history of France by the coronation of the kings of France, the great fairs of the Middle Ages, the terrible battles of the First World War and then the Franco-German reconciliation. For centuries, this heritage has been shaped by the Champagne Houses, to the glory of the king of wines.
Emy,