Champagne

Champagne is the furthest of the French regions in The Heart of Europe, a little over four hours by road from Basel, and the one most often planned around a single purpose: the houses themselves. A few days between Reims and Épernay combine cellar visits, the cathedral of the coronations and some of the finest tables of north-eastern France, with Paris about 45 minutes away by TGV.

Reims and Épernay are the two capitals of Champagne. Reims holds the Gothic cathedral of Notre-Dame, where the kings of France were crowned for centuries, and on the Saint-Nicaise hill the great houses keep their wines in crayères, chalk pits first dug in Gallo-Roman times. In Épernay, the Avenue de Champagne is lined with the mansions of the houses, built above many kilometres of cellars.

The vineyards spread across three main areas: the Montagne de Reims, the Vallée de la Marne and the Côte des Blancs, where Chardonnay dominates around Cramant, Avize and Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. The Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015, with Hautvillers, the village of Dom Pérignon’s abbey, among the sites. Beside the great houses, many growers make and sell their own wines, and a visit to a small family estate is often the most revealing of a stay.

From May to September the vineyards are at their fullest and the houses receive visitors most widely, although most visits are by appointment all year. The harvest, by hand under the appellation rules, usually begins between late August and mid-September and lasts about three weeks; the slopes fill with pickers and the houses are at their busiest.

Autumn is calm and golden across the Marne valley. In December, Épernay lights the Avenue de Champagne for the Habits de Lumière festival and Reims holds its Christmas market beside the cathedral. The cellars stay at around ten to twelve degrees all year, so a warm layer is useful in any season.

Two houses define a stay in Champagne. Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa stands on the hillside at Champillon above Épernay, looking over the vineyards of the Marne valley, with a spa and a Michelin-starred restaurant; in 2026 it became the first hotel in the Grand Est region to receive the French Palace distinction. In Reims, Domaine Les Crayères occupies the former Polignac family residence in a seven-hectare park close to the great houses, and its restaurant, Le Parc, holds two Michelin stars.

LVXE books Royal Champagne through LHW VITA and Domaine Les Crayères through Relais & Châteaux Preferred Partner — at the official hotel rate, with the privileges each programme attaches to the stay. For other houses in the region, LVXE advises on the stay and arranges it directly with the hotel. Visits to the leading houses and to smaller growers are best requested when the stay is booked, particularly during the harvest.