Champagne is just one of those words that brings joy. Simply say the word "champagne" and I guarantee there will be a smile on your face.

While often saved for celebrations and special occasions by many, champagne is a wine that Dave and I enjoy regularly to simply celebrate life and love! So when picking a spot for our destination wedding, the Champagne Region of France was an easy choice. And let me tell you, it was absolute paradise. Rolling hills, miles of grand cru grapes, and famous champagne houses dot the landscape of this region, which sits about 100 miles northeast of Paris.

View from the ground level of the Royal Champagne Hotel looking towards the towns of Champillon, Ay and Epernay

And for those willing to splurge on accommodations, there is no place better than Le Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa. In all fairness, part of me hesitates to tell the world about this sleek and modern slice of heaven situated in the town of Champillon (about 10 minutes outside of Epernay), but honestly, it was just too good not to share! Plus, Le Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa was recently honored with the distintion of three Michelin keys - 1 of only 2 hotels in Champagne (and roughly 20 in all of France) to receive the distinction. As described on the Michelin website-

Three MICHELIN Keys: an extraordinary stay
It’s all about astonishment and indulgence here – this is the ultimate in comfort and service, style and elegance. It is one of the world’s most remarkable and extraordinary hotels and a destination in itself for that trip of a lifetime. All the elements of truly great hospitality are here to ensure any stay will live long in the memory and hearts.

Le Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa delivered as promised!

Now, don’t get me wrong. I am pretty sure every room in this hotel is amazing - even the garden view ones, but we were definitely spoiled by our accomodations at this stunning property. Since it was our wedding and we knew family, friends, and the wedding photographer would be in and our of our room, we booked the Royal Champagne’s version of the presidential suite - the Josephine Suite! The hotel’s website describes it as fit for an empress. 100% accurate! This beautiful and spacious one-bedroom, one and a half bath suite with a dining area, giant walk in closet and multiple terraces made the perfect spot for relaxing, wedding preparations and wedding photos. If only we had stayed a few more days at this property to actually relax after the wedding!

In addition to beautiful accommodations and over the top service, this hotel has a fantastic gym, spa, indoor and outdoor pools, two restaurants - a bistro and a Michelin star restaurant, and a fantastic bar. There’s also a tennis court a short walk away (too bad we didn’t have time to play), and for those seeking the ultimate luxury and don’t want to be bothered by a train or car, the hotel has its own helipad to welcome VIPs. Plus, the hotel is surrounded by vineyards and the picturesque village of Champillion.

The hotel is built into the hillside with the spa and pools on the second floor, rooms on the third and fourth floors and all the food and beverage spots on the fifth floor which also boasts a giant outdoor rooftop terrace. Seriously, the views are outrageous in every direction.

View of the Royal Champagne Hotel from the vineyards below.

I’m literally sitting here daydreaming about going back to this hotel and have suggested to Dave more than once, let’s go back to the Royal Champagne. But enough about this fantastic hotel, let’s get to the real topic - champagne!

Named a UNESCO world hertiage site in 2015, the Champagne Region of France boast some very strict regulations and accordingly, only certain grapes grown in the region and sparkling wine produced in this region according to its rigorous standards can legally be called “Champagne.” Move over sparkling wine, prosecco, cava, cap classique, and cremant — the real deal champagne is in the house. And speaking of houses, there are more 350 registered champagne houses in the region. Hold my glass of champagne, we’re going to be here awhile if I want to visit them all! All jokes aside, many of the houses are private and do not offer access to just anyone. Instead you need to know people, specifically wine people and somms, who can maybe get you access to some of these houses. For the rest of us, there are still plenty of houses to visit and champagne to drink!

Now, to some highlights from the houses we visited and some tips that we picked up along the way. And as a general proposition, we wanted to explore some of the lesser know champagne brands and avoid the big names.

Best tour, tasting and exploration of the underground caves - Boizel (Epernay)

In addition to learning about Boizel’s production process and tasting delicious champagne, the tour included a trip down to the underground crayères - french for chalk quarry or the “caves.'“ In these cathedral-like limestone caves, there are miles of underground galleries, and millions of bottles of champagne carefully laid to age for long periods. These cellars, dug into the chalk, ensure a constant temperature, humidity and darkness, all of which are essential to the champagne production process.

Best bespoke wine and food tasting experience - Henri Giraud (Ay)

Located in Ay, Henri Giraud is small house by comparison, but boasts some unique and facinating champagnes. And while at the end of the day the very fancy champagnes weren’t our favorite, this private lunch experience with the Giraud family’s personal chef inside the champagne house was a very unique and enjoyable experience that I would highly recommend. This champagne first lunch was delicious and it was so informative and interesting to watch the chef cook in front of us, while also learning about the champagne and family. Plus, the Giraud ratafia was the best we had in France (it was served at Le Jules Verne in the Eiffel Tower - and yes, we ordered it)!

Best Champagne Activity - Sabering - Comtesse (Epernay)

The champagne was just so so, but this was a fun tour and sabering experience. Clearly, I take sabering champagne very seriously! And its way less scary after the first bottle!

Other Champagne House Stops -

Perrier-Jouet - Located on the Avenue d’ Champagne in Epernay, this house also has a great walk-in bar and restaurant area that we stopped at for lunch.
Mercier - Located a short walk off the Avenue d’ Champagne in Epernay, this is one of the oldest houses in Champagne - but also one of the cheesiest. Felt like a tourist trap and the champagne was not good.
Leclerc Briant - Located on the Avenue d’ Champagne in Epernay and partially owned by the same people that own the Royal Champagne Hotel, we found this champagne to be delightful. More than 1 bottle was left in the room for us during our stay and we ordered a few bottles to the States after our trip :)
Moet & Chandon (Epernay) - As over the top as you’d expect complete with a gift shop and light show on the Avenue d’Champagne.
And while we did not visit these houses, we drank fantastic champagnes by Louis Roederer (hello wedding champagne!), Champagne Geoffroy (excellent champagne and still wines), Franck Pascal (Tolerance), Franck Bonville, and Marie-Noelle Ledru Brut (unicorn wine that isn’t made anymore - thanks Greg Rubin from Horseneck Wines for the recommendation)! Honestly, there are so many great small producers - too bad many of these are difficult to impossible to get in the US.

A few tips and suggestions -

How to get there: The Champagne Region is an easy train ride from either CDG (45 minutes) or Paris city center (Gare de I’Est) (60 minutes) on the high speed TGV train. The Champagne-Ardenne TGV station is located between Champagne’s two primary cities - Reims and Epernay. The Royal Champagne is about a 30 minute drive from the TGV station.

We opted to rent a car since we knew there would be a decent amount of shuffling and errands surrounding the wedding. There’s even a small Sixt outpost across the street from the TGV station.
Unlike some wine regions, where you can simply walk in for a wine tasting, in Champagne you have to have an appointment to visit champagne houses. Some of the larger houses - think Moet & Chandon, Veuve, Tattinger and others have their own online booking systems, but it can be difficult to make appointments at smaller houses. I am happy to share my tips with you!
The Champagne region generally speaking is large. Pay attention to where each champagne house is located and coordinate visits accordingly. The big name houses are spread out between Reims, Epernay and other small towns - some easily an hour or more driving distance apart. And in the category of obvious, you’ll likely need a driver - especially if you are visiting more than 1 house.
For a large number of champagne houses in proximity to each other, the Avenue d’Champagne in Epernay is a great place to visit and you can easily walk between houses.
We stopped in Reims before returning the rental car and heading back to Paris. And while I am glad we stopped to see the famous Notre Dame of Reims, I am so glad we stayed in the country-side and closer to Epernay. Reims felt like any big french city full of tourist, and after a quick lunch at Restaurant Gabrielle (great view of the cathedral), I was happy to be leaving!