Things to Do in Epernay

Hours, prices and access verified by the Epernay Tours team — last checked 2026-09-18.

Epernay is one avenue, one museum and a ring of vineyard villages. You can walk the avenue in an afternoon for free, and the museum costs EUR 10. The villages are where an Epernay tour earns its fare, because someone else drives.

Walk the Avenue de Champagne, number by number

The Avenue de Champagne runs 1.5 km from the town centre. Since 2015 it has been part of the UNESCO listing, with Fort Chabrol, and 110 km of cellars lie under it. Start at the tourist office and walk east. These are the doors, in order:

No.	What	What you can do
7	The tourist office	Where most tours meet; next to the Hôtel de Ville
11	Maison Belle Epoque	Perrier-Jouët's lunches and dinners, Tuesday to Saturday
13	Château Perrier	The Musée du Vin de Champagne; the park is free
18	Moët & Chandon	Cellar tours from EUR 48
25	Esterlin	The avenue's only cooperative
26	Perrier-Jouët	Cellier Belle Epoque, tastings on the terrace
33	de Venoge	Tastings in the old stables
46	Boizel	Cellar tours and tasting workshops
63	de Castellane	The 66 m tower and the label room
68	Mercier	The driverless cellar train, from EUR 25

The walk is free, and so is the park at Château Perrier. The tourist office puts the avenue's cellars under 20 minutes' walk from the centre. Add the length of any cellar slot you book on the way.

What each house's visit costs is on champagne houses in Epernay.

Château Perrier and the Musée du Vin de Champagne

Château Perrier was the home of a champagne merchant. It now holds the Musée du Vin de Champagne et d'Archéologie régionale, at 13 avenue de Champagne. The museum tells the story of the region from the chalk under your feet to the bottle.

Season	Hours	Closed	Adult fare
1 April to 31 October	11:00–19:00	Tuesdays	EUR 10
1 November to 31 March	13:30–18:00; weekends 10:00–18:00	Mondays and Tuesdays	EUR 10
First Sunday of the month	As above		Free for everyone

Reduced fare: EUR 6.50, for ages 13 to 25, over-65s, students and groups of ten or more.
Children: free under 13.
Audio guide: in the fare, in ten languages including English.
Last entry: an hour before closing. It closes on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May.

You can also walk in through the park, from the Parking des Arts on rue de Reims. The park opens every day, to 21:00 in summer and 20:00 in winter.

An old round wooden grape press beside a crate stamped Champagne

Hautvillers: Saint-Sindulphe and the view over the Marne

Hautvillers is 6 km north of Epernay, on the slope above the Marne. Its Benedictine abbey of Saint-Pierre was founded around 650. Dom Pierre Pérignon arrived in 1668, aged 29, and ran the abbey's property for 47 years until he died in 1715.

Nobody invented champagne. Hautvillers calls itself the cradle of champagne, and some tours say Dom Pérignon invented champagne. Champagne.fr says it was not invented by anyone. He improved the abbey's wines through blending, and the region was the first to set out to control the second fermentation.

You can visit his tomb. It is in the choir of the church of Saint-Sindulphe, which is open all year. The abbey buildings are another matter: Pierre-Gabriel Chandon bought them in 1823, they belong to Moët & Chandon, and they are not open to visitors.

Most grower tours stop here. So if a listing says “visit the abbey”, read it as the church and the village streets.

The statue of Dom Pérignon before the stone inscription naming him cellarer of the abbey of Hautvillers, 1638-1715

Aÿ and the Côte des Blancs villages

The growers are in the villages, and each area grows something different:

Aÿ and Mareuil-sur-Aÿ

East of Epernay, on the TER line to Reims. Their historic vineyards are in the UNESCO listing with Hautvillers. Mareuil-sur-Aÿ is now part of the commune of Aÿ-Champagne.

Cramant, Oger and Chouilly

South-east, on the Côte des Blancs. Nicolas Feuillatte is in Chouilly. The grower tours taste in Oger and drive past Cramant.

Pierry

Just south of Epernay. Vollereaux's cellar hour is at 48 rue Léon Bourgeois, and you make your own way there.

Hautvillers

North, above the river. The church, the vine slopes and the view down the Marne valley. Almost every grower tour stops here.

The villages have no cellar you can walk to from the station. That is the part of the day a tour is for.

The villages need a driver

A tour takes you to the family growers in Aÿ, Oger and Hautvillers, with the tastings in the fare and nobody at your table driving.

See Epernay tours Epernay vineyard tours

On foot and by bike: greeters, the Véloroute 52 and the shuttle

A greeter walk: the tourist office lists walks with a local greeter. Ask at the desk at 7 avenue de Champagne.
By bike: hire one near the station and ride the Véloroute 52 along the Marne. The e-bike tour rides the vineyards for you, from Le Clos Corbier.
The Esprit de Champagne shuttle: eight seats, from May to October, three times a day. You book it at the tourist office.
By local bus: lines run to Dizy, Aÿ, Pierry, Moussy, Chouilly and Mardeuil.

On a rainy day

Go underground. The cellars stay at 10 to 12 °C whatever the weather, and a house visit runs the same in rain or sun. The museum is indoors too, with its audio guide in the fare, so a wet day can be a full one.

Sundays, Tuesdays and evenings

On a Sunday: Moët & Chandon lists visits every day. The museum is free on the first Sunday of the month.
On a Tuesday: the museum is closed all year. Plan it for another day.
In the evening: the Soirée Blanche fills the avenue on 14 July, and Habits de Lumière lights it on 11 to 13 December 2026.

Things to do questions

What is there to do in Epernay besides champagne?

Visit the Musée du Vin de Champagne at Château Perrier, which covers geology and archaeology as well as wine. Walk up to Hautvillers, or ride the Véloroute 52 along the Marne. In December, come for Habits de Lumière.

Is the Avenue de Champagne worth walking?

Yes, and it is free. It runs 1.5 km past Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët, Boizel, de Castellane and Mercier, and it has been on the UNESCO list since 2015.

Can you visit the abbey at Hautvillers?

No, the abbey buildings belong to Moët & Chandon and are not open to visitors. The church of Saint-Sindulphe, where Dom Pérignon is buried, is open all year.

How much is the Château Perrier museum?

EUR 10 for an adult and EUR 6.50 reduced, with an audio guide. Children under 13 go free, and everyone goes free on the first Sunday of the month.

Did Dom Pérignon invent champagne?

No. Champagne.fr says champagne was not invented by anyone. Dom Pérignon improved the abbey's wines by blending, and the region was the first to set out to control the second fermentation.

How far is Hautvillers from Epernay?

6 km, as the Hautvillers tourist office gives it. There is no station, so you go by car, bike or tour.

Where these facts come from

The avenue's addresses come from the Epernay tourist office, the museum's hours and fares from its own site, and Hautvillers from its tourist office. The UNESCO details are the World Heritage Centre's.

Short trips out to the villages above the Marne

From Epernay : Bubble Champagne Tour 6 tastings

Three and a half hours from the Epernay tourist office: a grower's cellar in Oger, three champagnes, then ratafia, fine and marc in Cramant. No lunch.

From $189 per person

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The Connoisseurs from Epernay (Private Half day Champagne Tour)

Three and a half hours with your own guide-chauffeur, ending with a family grower in Oger on the Côte des Blancs. Six champagnes and three spirits; two minimum.

From $333 per person, 2 minimum

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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

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Next: see the house tours on champagne houses in Epernay, find each door on the Epernay map, or compare every tour on Epernay Tours.