Champagne

About 160 km east of Paris, the only place that can call its sparkling wine champagne.

Rows of vines leading up to a hilltop church. Photo by Sue Winston on Unsplash.

Champagne is a wine region in north-eastern France about 160 km east of Paris. Wikipedia says it is the only area where EU law and most national laws allow the name champagne for sparkling wine. It has five districts, the Aube, the Côte des Blancs, the Côte de Sézanne, the Montagne de Reims and the Vallée de la Marne, and its main grapes are chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier.

Its boundaries were legally defined in 1927, and the Comité Interprofessionnel du Vin de Champagne was formed in 1941.

Highlights

What to see

Reims Cathedral

Not a chateau but the traditional coronation site of the kings of France: Wikipedia says all but seven future kings were crowned there, the last being Charles X in 1825. The previous church burned on 6 May 1210 and the new cathedral was begun in 1211. UNESCO listed it with the Abbey of Saint-Remi and the Palace of Tau in 1991.

Avenue de Champagne, Épernay

A street in Épernay lined with champagne houses, including Moët et Chandon, Mercier and De Castellane. It is part of the 2015 UNESCO listing, Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars.

Food and wine

Wikipedia also names still wines such as Coteaux Champenois and Rosé des Riceys, Ratafia de Champagne and Marc de Champagne.

When to go

We could not confirm an official best season or harvest dates for Champagne, so we do not give them here. Our when to go page has monthly weather for Reims.

Good to know

A few facts

Wikipedia says the Épernay cellars and Avenue de Champagne joined the UNESCO list in 2015.
UNESCO's pages would not load, so the UNESCO details come from Wikipedia.
Neither Reims Cathedral nor the Avenue de Champagne is a chateau.

Keep planning

Other regions

Questions

Quick answers

Why is it called champagne?

Wikipedia says Champagne is the only area where EU law and most national laws allow the name for sparkling wine.

Who was crowned at Reims Cathedral?

Wikipedia says all but seven future kings of France were crowned there, the last being Charles X in 1825.

Sources

Facts on this site come from gov.uk, Atout France, regional tourism boards, UNESCO and the operators named, each listed at the foot of the page. Check dates, prices and entry rules with the provider before you book.