Every town has its main street, but few could trump Épernay’s av. de Champagne. An endless cascade of opulent mansions, the avenue holds the world’s most celebrated champagne maisons, making Épernay (ay-pare-nay; pop. 26,000) the region’s showcase. Firms Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouet, and Mercier collectively store 700 million bottles of the sparkling spirit in 100km of tunnels beneath the town. At the heart of the Route Touristique du Champagne, Épernay also serves as an excellent base for exploring the surrounding vineyards and châteaux, which offer gorgeous natural diversions once the bubbly buzz has worn off. However, such luxury comes at a price: Épernay caters to scads of wealthy tourists willing to spend and thus offers few budget values for the thrifty traveler—although it’s worth a day of splurging.
There are two streets called rue Gambetta —one near the tourist office and one across the water. Be sure not to confuse them.
The streets around place des Arcades and place Hugues Plomb are dotted with charcuteries and boulangeries. There’s a horde of pizza and kebab eateries on rue Gambetta and a Marché Plus supermarket at 17 pl. Hugues Plomb, near the post office. (☎03 26 51 89 89. Open M-Sa 7am-9pm, Su 9am-1pm.) Halle Saint-Thibault, near pl. de l’Europe, hosts a market. (Open W-Sa 8am-noon.)
The name says it all: avenue de Champagne is a long strip of palatial maisons de champagne pouring bubbly for hordes of visitors. The tours below are all offered in English or French; no reservations are required for most of the maisons, though without reservations you may have to wait up to an hour for the next tour. All include a petite dégustation (16+, at Moët & Chandon 18+) and offer more extensive (and expensive) tastings as well. Without springing for a tour, the only thing visitors get to see at the maisons are liquor-lined boutiques and lush lobbies. Caves are maintained between 10 and 12°C; bring a sweater. Each firm’s tour may give more or less the same explanation of the champagne-making process, but everything, from the dress of the guides to the design of the lobby, reflects the status and character of the producer. For a cheap alternative to the big maisons, ask the tourist office about l’esprit de champagne, a free presentation and sampling given in the tourist office by several small companies. (Presentations offered July-Aug. Th-Sa 10:45am-noon and 3-6pm; from Sept. to mid-Oct. and June F-Sa 10:45am-noon and 3-6pm.)
Moët & Chandon. The granddaddy of them all, Moët & Chandon—the producer of legendary champagne Dom Pérignon—has been “turning nature into art” since 1743. The tour and tasting are worth every euro—and with a slogan like “Be fabulous,” what else would you expect? The mansion is filled with the old-money opulence one would expect, from the elegant carvings that line the inside of ancient caves to the stately mansion rooms decorated for Napoleon I, a close friend of the Moët & Chandon family. The 1hr. tour details the process of champagne production and gives the history of champagne, highlighting M&C’s superior standards at every turn. The polished caves are the most beautiful in town, filled with statues and an ornate cask given as a gift by Napoleon I. The 5min. film is a thoroughly amusing bit of highbrow self-promotion. (20 av. de Champagne. ☎03 26 51 20 20; www.moet.com. Open from Apr. to mid-Nov. daily 9:30-11:30am and 2-4:30pm; from mid-Nov. to Mar. M-F 9:30-11:30am and 2-4:30pm. Tours €13-25, ages 10-18 €8, under 10 free. Reservations required. AmEx/MC/V.)
Mercier. If Willy Wonka were to design a champagne maison, it would be the Mercier maison; in fact, the eccentric founder, Eugène Mercier, is very similar to Roald Dahl’s favorite chocolate maker. Always an innovator, Mercier once offered dégustations in hot-air balloons and was the first to feature electricity in his caves. Less famous than nearby Moët—but equally classy—Mercier is the self-proclaimed maker of the “most popular champagne in France.” An advertising scheme that entailed sending a blimp-size cask of champagne to the 1889 World’s Fair exposition in Paris brought Mercier from rags to riches. The extravagant wood vat, which took second place only to the Eiffel Tower, now sits in the maison’s foyer. The maison offers a 30min. tour that begins with a ride in a musical glass elevator past bubbly-sipping mannequins. Visitors then embark on a roller-coaster-style ride through its caves. (70 av. de Champagne. ☎03 26 51 22 22; www.champagne-mercier.fr. Open from mid-Mar. to mid-Nov. daily 9:30-11:30am and 2-4:30pm; from mid-Nov. to mid-Dec. and from mid-Feb. to mid-Mar. M and Th-Su 9:30-11:30am and 2-4:30pm. Wheelchair-accessible. €8-15, ages 12-16 €3.50, under 12 free. MC/V.)
De Castellane. Across the street from Mercier, de Castellane offers a less romantic tour than those of M&C and Mercier but gets into the nitty-gritty of champagne production. Whereas M&C and Mercier only allude to modern advancements in wine making, this tour walks visitors through the whole mechanical process. Visitors during the week can observe factory workers unloading, corking, and labeling. Lucky groups may get to witness the dégorgement (sediment-removal process) that takes place sporadically throughout each month. A ticket also buys admission to a rather dry museum of mannequins enacting the production process, a random yet thorough exhibit on label-making, and access to a 237-step tower with sweeping views of the region. All are good ways to kill time while waiting for the next tour, though they’re not worth going out of your way to visit. (57 rue de Verdun. ☎03 26 51 19 11. Open from Apr. to late Dec. daily 10am-noon and 2-6pm; Mar. Sa-Su 10am-noon and 2-6pm. Last morning tour 11:15am; last evening tour 5:15pm. Tours in Danish, English, French, German, Danish, and Spanish. €8, extra dégustations €6-8 per glass. AmEx/MC/V.)
The quality of Épernay’s nightlife ebbs and flows with the energy (and level of intoxication) of its generally older tourists; don’t bank on a lively night out. However, Épernay is one of the few places where you can sip champagne in style at 9:30am without attracting stares. Try place de la République, place Mendès France, or place Hugues Plomb for youth-filled bars and pubs.
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For 52 years, we have published the world’s favorite budget travel guides, written entirely by students and updated every year. With pen and notebook in hand and a few changes of underwear stuffed in our backpacks, we spend months roaming the globe in search of travel bargains.
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