Tourist First: France: A Taste of Champagne Country

Wednesday, August 13, 2025

France: A Taste of Champagne Country

Dom Perignon, a winemaker at a French abbey in the 1600s, is celebrated
as the father of Champagne. He may not have invented it, but he perfected
the methods for making it. Moet & Chandon puts his name on their
Champagne in exceptionally good years. This is outside Moet's
sprawling operation on Avenue de Champagne.

The Champagne towns of Epernay and Reims were all-new territory for us as we planned our spring 2025 trip to Europe. Although we wanted to visit both of the two main Champagne centers, we had trouble deciding which to stay in (there are about a half-hour apart), but I think it was my fondness for Moet's bubbly that put us in Epernay. Turns out that Epernay, with only about 22,000 residents, is a much cozier and easier place to visit. You really don't need a car in Epernay, though you'd want one in Riems (population 180,000) because most Champagne houses there are not within walking distance of each other.

We did have a car, having picked up an Avis rental in Dijon, and GPS easily led us to Clos le Raymi, a small hotel within an easy walk of the Avenue de Champagne. Along this boulevard you'll find Champagne houses one after the other, some that you've never heard of along with superstars such as Moet & Chandon and Perrier-Jouet, which are next to each other at the western end of the avenue. Both have huge, restaurant-like spaces offering Champagne by the glass and in flights along with limited food menus. Without reservations, we sat at tasting bars in both and still had a grand time. Moet, by the way, has a bronze statue honoring Dom Perignon, who is credited with perfecting the wine that lets you drink stars.

The only Champagne house we visited twice was Michel Gonet, much farther east on the avenue. Here we found vintage Champagne with the mushroomy (or earthy) flavor that you'll find in vintage Dom Perignon. We also liked its low-key outdoor seating and the neighborhood party ambiance.

We stopped in at Besserat de Bellefon, which operates a small hotel in addition to its tasting room a block off the Avenue de Champagne at its western end. Once again, excellent Champagne and a nice conversation with an American couple who were visiting from their home in Germany. Nearby is the Place de la Republique, one of the avenue's end points. The other end is at the Place de Champagne, about a kilometer east.

Probably our best meal in Epernay was our first night, May 29, a Thursday, at Le Central, a brasserie with expansive outdoor seating on the Place de la Republique. It was burgers. While writing this post, I learned that Le Central permanently closed in July and the building that housed it has been gutted for renovation There are a number of other restaurants of all descriptions in the jumble of streets off the Place de la Republique, but we had not made reservations. We had a lunch at an Italian place, a dinner at an Aisan fusion eatery and another dinner at a Portuguese place, but I can't recommend any of those.

Our three nights at Clos le Rayme gave us two full days in Champagne country. On Friday, we made the quick drive to Reims, which also has an Avenue de Champagne, but it's a street with a lot of traffic and no appeal for stollers. We had a wonderful lunch and Champagne at Ruinart, possibly the best of all the Champagne houses. Its restaurant and tasting area are tucked into magnificent gardens that abut the property of Pommery, aother major Champagne house. We had to drive back out into the chaos of Reims traffic to reach its parking lot, but it appeared that to be admitted for a tasting we had to pay for a tour that we didn't want, so we left and went back to Epernay. The next day we were back in Reims to return our rental car, and therein lies a tale.

When we were planning this trip, we envisioned driving around Champagne country from tasting to tasting. That was not a good plan. For one thing, one of us would hardly be able to drink. And if we had simply stayed within Epernay, we wouldn't have needed a car at all. We should have taken a train to Epernay and skipped Reims altogether. But we had the car, and because of a French holiday, we had to pick it up in Dijon the day before we were leaving, and we had to return it on a Saturday in Reims because we couldn't return it in Epernay where we had booked a Sunday morning train to continue our trip. (We took a train back to Epernay from Reims.) We should have returned it on the Friday we went to Ruinart because it turns out that the office was closed Saturday and we had to put the car in a public parking garage and leave the keys in a drop box. If we had returned it when the office was staffed, we could have gone with an agent to look over the car. But leaving it as we did, we had little recourse when Avis claimed that we returned the car with hundreds of euros in new damage. Even appealing to a French mediation service was of no use. So now we're resolved to not pick up a rental car without having an agent document every possible bit of damage on the car, and insisting on an immediate inspection in our presence when we return it. Also, I'll not use Avis again.

Despite restaurtant and rental car disappointments, we enjoyed Epernay and I'd recommend it to any oenophiles planning a visit to France. On Sunday, June 1, we took a train to Paris, got on a northbound Eurostar train and were in Brussels in time for a late lunch.

Here are some photos from our time in Champagne:

Clos le Raymi is just a few blocks from Avenue de Champagne. There are just seven
rooms, and that second-level right window was in ours.

The sign says it belongs to the town of Epernay.
I wonder if some tourists try to steal the signs.

This is near the western end of the Avenue de Champagne.

Chateau Perrier, one of many landmarks along Avenue de Champagne, was built in the mid-1800s
as the residence and cellers for Charles Perrier, the heir and director of Perrier-Jouet.

The tasting room for Perrier-Jouet is on the other side of the avenue.

This vintage Renault Alpine was parked outside one
of the Champagne houses in Epernay.

Art works are scattered about the gardens at Ruinart in Reims.

The Ruinart sales and tasting space is housed in this starkly modern structure. Our
lunch was on a terrace on another side of this building.

These are Ruinart's Blanc de Blancs,
Champagnes made using only
white grapes.

Pommery is practically next door to Ruinart just off
Reims's Avenue de Champagne. We parked here but
left quickly without taking the tour that seemed to be
the only way to get to a tasting room.

For me, Moet has always been what Champagne should be:
bubbly, dry and with a hint of yeast. In Champagne country
I discovered that many other brands share those characteristics.

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Argentine Patagonia

They are called what they look like: Mexican hats. They occur naturally in the highlands above the town of El Calafate. The water in the distance is glacier-fed Lago Argentino. An hour's drive east of El Calafate, near the headwaters of the lake, visitors can hike on the Perito Moreno glacier and take a boat ride among icebergs that have fallen off the several glaciers in the Parque Nacional des Glaciares. El Calafate is basically a summer (Nov. to Feb.) tourist town, and there are a number of hotels at all price points. We stayed at Esplendor El Calafate, a very stylish hotel with a full restaurant and bar. The South American picker-upper drink mate is available at breakfast. The hotel is an uphill walk from the commercial area, but that's not much of a drawback. Click on the photo to visit the Esplendor online.

Dominica

Probably the greenest island in the Caribbean, in terms of color and ecological awareness, is Dominica, just north of Martinique. It was named by Columbus, who sailed past it on a Sunday. The island nation is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, but it is rich in friendly people and natural attractions, including a boiling lake, hot and cold waterfalls, a parrot jungle and hill after hill of dense green jungle. There is also a cable-car ride through the jungle canopy (http://www.natureisland.com/AerialTram.html). I wrote about Dominica years ago, and much of that article is still relevant: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/travel/winter-in-the-sun-an-island-where-less-is-more.html?scp=2&sq= Unfortunately, one of the hotels I mentioned, Petit Coulibri, has since closed. Fortunately, there's still a wonderful eco-resort called Papillote Wilderness Retreat http://www.papillote.dm/), four acres of lush gardens, hot-spring-heated soaking pools and modest cottage rooms.

Palm Springs

Palm Springs, Calif., is a great destination for nature lovers -- Mount San Jacinto State Park is a wonderful gondola ride (shown above -- click on it to visit its website) away, and Joshua Tree National Park is a short drive away. It's also a great destination for naturists; there are several major clothing optional resorts in the area -- and for fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture. For a dose of mid-century style, stay at the Orbit In (http://www.orbitin.com/), which does ask that you keep your clothes on.

Pompeii

If you're driving from Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't want to visit the Amalfi Coast, you should plan to spend a night in the modern city of Pompei, adjacent to the ancient city of Pompeii. Above are the murals depicting an unknown ritual in what's called the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. If you can, devote most of a full day to exploring the site. Afterward, you'll want a good hotel. Click on the image for info about Hotel Amleto, a small and friendly hotel in the heart of the new town and an easy walk from the ruins.

St. Vincent

This is one of the "rooms" at Petit Byahaut, an isolated (access by boat only) eco-resort on St. Vincent, the largest island in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bequia, mentioned above in this column, is one of the Grenadines. The photo above is of the living deck and doesn't show a relatively enclosed area that had a real bed. Did you notice I said "had"? That's because the place has closed. To read about the property in its heyday, click on the image for a New York Times article I wrote. The article has a link to a slide show with more images of the resort.