Champagne Day 2026: How to Visit Champagne from Paris on October 23

Why October 23 is a good travel date

Late October combines three things that rarely line up: autumn vineyards, the winemaking that follows the harvest, and a run of seasonal events. The grapes are in by late September. By the 23rd the hillsides around Épernay, Hautvillers and the Montagne de Reims are turning yellow and gold, and in the cellars the new wine is in tank. Daylight is shorter, with the sun down before 7 pm, and the exact state of the foliage varies from year to year, so plan the vineyard part of the day for the afternoon light and keep the cellars for the morning or for rain.

Two calendar facts matter for 2026. The French school autumn holiday runs from Saturday 17 October to Monday 2 November across the whole country, which makes the region busier than in an ordinary October week; the houses’ English-language slots fill earlier. Champagne Day itself is a Friday, and the Saturday after it is likely to be busier still, with weekend visitors added to the holiday crowd. Our October and November guide covers the weather, what to wear and how the vineyards look across both months.

Reims option

Choose Reims if you want the cathedral, the major houses and a city-based day. The TGV from Paris Gare de l’Est takes 46 minutes, which leaves a full day in town. Veuve Clicquot opens Tuesday to Sunday through 1 November 2026, which makes Friday 23 October a normal visiting day there; Taittinger, Pommery, Ruinart and Mumm all run cellar visits in the city. Book any named Champagne house directly before buying train tickets: the big houses allocate timed slots, and in a school-holiday week the English visits go first.

The shape of a Reims Champagne Day: morning train, Notre-Dame cathedral, one grande marque cellar visit, lunch, then either a second house or a half-day grower tour into the Montagne de Reims, and an evening train. Reims in one day walks the route, the best Champagne houses in Reims compares the cellars, and the best Champagne tours from Reims covers the afternoon departures that reach Hautvillers and the family growers.

Épernay option

Choose Épernay if Champagne itself is the priority. The Avenue de Champagne gives you the densest concentration of houses anywhere in the region, Moët & Chandon’s visitor entrance is five minutes’ walk from the station, and Hautvillers is ten minutes away by car. The direct train from Paris takes about an hour and a quarter. It is also where the Champagne Day evening is held, so if you have a seat at the Hôtel de Ville dinner, Épernay is the base.

The shape of an Épernay Champagne Day: a late-morning arrival, one house on the avenue, lunch, a vineyard or grower tour toward Hautvillers in the afternoon, then the dinner or the evening train. Épernay in one day sets that out hour by hour, the best Champagne houses in Épernay compares Moët, Mercier, Boizel, de Venoge and Perrier-Jouët, and the best Champagne tours from Épernay compares the local departures, from a two-hour vintage-car tasting in the vines to a private afternoon with two growers.

Nearby October events

Champagne Day is the last of three events in one week of the 2026 calendar:

The first two fall on the weekend before Champagne Day. A visitor with a week in France can do Vignobles en Scène on the Saturday and Champagne Day on the Friday after. Château-Thierry is on the Paris–Épernay line, about an hour from Gare de l’Est, which puts the festival within reach of a day trip too. Event programmes are published by the organisers and the Épernay and Reims tourist offices, and individual workshops sell out. Book the ones you want instead of turning up on the day.

Best itinerary

Train from Paris → one confirmed house → lunch → seasonal tasting or event → evening return. In practice:

1. Train from Paris Gare de l’Est. 46 minutes to Reims on the TGV, or about an hour and a quarter direct to Épernay. Buy the ticket after the house is booked, not before.
2. One confirmed house. A single timed cellar visit, booked on the house’s own site, in the morning. One is enough; the production story repeats from house to house.
3. Lunch. A proper sit-down meal with a glass. Reserve it in a school-holiday week.
4. Seasonal tasting or event. In the afternoon, a grower or vineyard tour from Reims or Épernay, a Champagne Day tasting at a bar or a grower’s shop, or, if you have a seat, the Hôtel de Ville evening in Épernay.
5. Evening return. Trains run into the evening from both towns; check the last departure before you commit to a late tasting.

If you would rather not assemble any of that, the Champagne day trip from Paris with 8 tastings and lunch runs every day, including Champagne Day: hotel pick-up in central Paris between 7 and 8 am, a grande marque cellar, lunch with Champagne, two family producers and at least eight tastings, back by early evening. It is rated 4.8★ from more than 1,700 reviews, from $372 per person (our breakdown). The smaller-group alternative, the small-group Champagne day trip with six tastings, leaves lunch out and gives you a free hour in Épernay instead, 4.9★ from more than 360 reviews, from $263 (our breakdown). On a guided day the Champagne Day part is the atmosphere in the cellars and the villages, not a scheduled event, so book the Épernay dinner separately if you want it and choose the tour that drops you back in Paris in time for nothing else.

Booking advice

Do not assume Champagne Day means every house offers walk-in access. The big houses run their normal timed visits on the 23rd, and in 2026 the date sits inside the school holiday, so the opposite is closer to the truth: reserve specific cellars and workshops, and reserve them early. In order:

• The Épernay Hôtel de Ville evening, if you want it, through the Épernay tourist office. Limited seats.
• Your one grande marque visit, on the house’s own site, in English if you need it.
• Any Vignobles en Scène or Festival Champagne et Vous! workshop from the weekend before.
• A grower or vineyard tour for the afternoon; small-group departures carry eight people or fewer.
• Lunch.
• The train last, once the timings above are fixed.

Everything on this site can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before departure, which is the sensible way to hold a date you are not yet sure of.

Practical planning tips

• Reserve any Champagne house you cannot do without before you buy a tightly timed train ticket.
• Leave enough time for lunch. A Champagne day works better with a natural break.
• For a first visit, choose variety over the number of tastings.
• If you want countryside, growers or Hautvillers, a local guided tour is usually easier than arranging taxis between rural producers.
• Check the live calendar for your exact travel date, especially from November through March and around French public holidays.

Frequently asked questions

When is Champagne Day 2026?

Friday, 23 October 2026. Champagne Day is always the fourth Friday of October.

Is Champagne Day suitable as a day trip from Paris?

Yes. Reims and Épernay both work as day trips, while organised tours are useful when the itinerary includes rural growers and several vineyard areas. The ticketed Champagne Day evening in Épernay ends late, so if you book it, check the last train or stay the night.

Do I need a car?

Not for central Reims or Épernay. For rural vineyards, a local tour, private driver or organised excursion is generally easier, particularly when Champagne tasting is part of the day.

How many Champagne houses should I visit?

For most visitors, one full cellar tour plus one contrasting tasting or grower visit is enough for a one-day trip.

Should I book in advance?

Yes. Famous houses use timed visits and small-group tours have limited capacity. In 2026 Champagne Day falls inside the French school autumn holiday, which makes advance planning more important still.

Final recommendation

Pick the town for what you want from the day: Reims for the cathedral and the big houses in a city, Épernay for the avenue, the vineyards and the Champagne Day evening itself. Then book one house, one lunch and one afternoon tasting or tour, and let the day have a shape instead of a stop count. If the planning is the part you would rather skip, the guided day trip from Paris runs on the 23rd and does all of it in one reservation.

Related reading:

• Best Champagne day trips from Paris
• Reims vs Épernay
• Best time to visit Champagne from Paris
• Best Champagne houses in Reims
• Best Champagne houses in Épernay
• Champagne tours from Paris in October and November