Epernay with Kids: Age Limits, Cellar Trains and What Works
The short answer. Yes, with the right choices. Mercier's cellar train takes children free under 10 and at EUR 12 from 10 to 17, and the wine museum is free under 13. The vintage van and the private open-top bus state no age limit. Most tasting days do: from 4, 10, 12 or 16 depending on the tour.
The worry most parents have is simple: is a champagne town any fun for a child who cannot drink? The honest answer is that some of it is and some of it is not. Before any Epernay booking, check two things: the tour's minimum age, and what your child does while you taste. Here is each, tour by tour and house by house.
Is Epernay worth it with children?
For a half day, yes. A cellar train, a van ride in the vines and a museum with a park are things a child enjoys for their own sake. A long tasting day is not. Ten hours from Paris with eight tastings is a day built for adults, and several operators say so plainly.
The rule of thumb: pick formats where the vehicle or the cellar is the attraction, and keep the tasting short. Leave the full days for a trip without the children.
The age limits, tour by tour
| Tour | Minimum age | What a child does |
|---|---|---|
| Vintage van in the vines | None stated | Rides the van, sees the vines |
| Private open-top bus | None stated | Soft drinks are on board |
| Day from Paris, eight tastings | 4 | A ten-hour day, mostly adult |
| Afternoon with lunch | 10 | Lunch, the village, a cellar |
| E-bike day with lunch | 12, and 155 cm tall | Rides an e-bike, eats lunch |
| Family wineries from Reims | 12 | Two cellars, a village stop |
| Paris day with the cathedral | 16 | Grape juice at the tastings |
The private half days from Epernay sell adult places only, so they are not a family option. The small-group day from Paris with hotel pickup takes under-18s and pours them grape juice instead of champagne.
What children enjoy most
Mercier's cellar train
Mercier tours its 18 km of cellars on a driverless train, 30 m under the avenue. Children under 10 go free, 10 to 17-year-olds pay EUR 12, and adults from EUR 25. Mercier has a lift and a wheelchair entrance, and it opens every day from 6 April to 15 November 2026. The Epernay champagne houses lists its other visits and prices.
The vintage van
The vintage van in the vines is two hours in a refurbished Renault van, with stops in Aÿ and at Hautvillers and a tasting outdoors. It costs $57 per person and states no age limit. The tasting is champagne, so bring a drink for your child.
The open-top bus
For a bigger family or two families together, the private Impériale bus takes up to 15 people for two or three hours through the vineyards. It carries soft drinks for minors and a speaker for your own music. The fare is $1,521 for the whole bus.
The museum and its park
The wine museum at Château Perrier, 13 avenue de Champagne, is free under 13 and costs EUR 10 for adults. Everyone gets in free on the first Sunday of the month. Its park is open from 8:00 to 21:00 from April to October, a good place to let off steam between visits.
What to prepare for
- The cold underground. Cellars stay at 10 to 12 °C all year, so pack a jumper even in August.
- Cellar access. Ask the house about steps before you book; Mercier publishes a lift and a wheelchair entrance.
- Long drives. The Paris days spend about four hours on the road.
- Outdoor tastings. The van pours in the vines in rain, cold or wind.
- Age bands at booking. Some listings only sell adult places.
With teenagers: the e-bike day
Once your children are 12 and at least 155 cm tall, the e-bike day opens up. It collects you at 9:35 am at the Epernay tourist office, or at 9:00 am at the Reims station, and hands out electric bikes and helmets in the vineyards. You ride through the vines for about three hours, stop at Hautvillers, then visit a family domain's cellar and sit down to lunch.
The adults taste two champagnes, a red wine and a ratafia. A teenager gets the ride, the cellar and the meal, which is most of the day. The fare is $218 per person, lunch included. In bad weather the tour switches from the bikes to a people carrier, so the day still runs.
Which days to leave for another trip
Some formats suit children badly, whatever their age limit says:
- The days from Paris. Ten to twelve hours, around four of them on the road, and a tasting at every stop. Fares start at $262 a head.
- The Moët & Chandon walking day. Seven hours between three houses and a long lunch, built around seven glasses, and non-refundable once booked.
- The half days with local spirits. Built for adults, and sold as adult places.
If one of you wants a long tasting day, split the trip: one parent takes the children to the museum while the other goes to the villages.
Dates that work for families
Two events on the avenue suit children as much as adults. On 14 July the Soirée Blanche fills the Avenue de Champagne. In December, Habits de Lumière runs on 11, 12 and 13 December 2026, with video-mapping and shows on the Friday and Saturday evenings. Check the museum's days too: from April to October it closes on Tuesdays.
A family day in Epernay
- Morning: Mercier's cellar train, booked ahead.
- Lunch: in town, then the museum's park.
- Afternoon: the vintage van to Aÿ and Hautvillers, back on the avenue two hours later.
That day costs a family of four with two children under 10 about EUR 50 at Mercier plus four van fares, and nobody spends more than two hours in a vehicle. Where to stay in Epernay helps you pick a base near the station, the visitor guide covers the trains, and Epernay weather by month tells you what to pack.
For the rest of the trip, how to visit Epernay covers trains and bookings, and the villages around Epernay explains where each ride goes.
Two rides that take children of any age
From Epernay : Champagne tasting with a vintage car
Two hours in a vintage Renault van to Aÿ and the slopes above the Marne, with champagne poured among the vines. Sabrage is EUR 15 extra.
From $57 per person
Check Availability
Private Tour of Epernay and Vineyards by Bus with Champagne
An open-top double-decker for your group of up to 15, two or three hours in the vines with three sabered bottles and soft drinks for the children.
From $1,521 per group, up to 15
Check AvailabilityNext: choose the ride your children will remember, and book the grown-up tasting around it. Every fare sits side by side on Epernay Tours.