Good afternoon, everyone!

My husband and I have decided to take a day trip from Paris into Reims and Epernay. I found a lovely, small family-owned champagne house and will be making a reservation for an English speaking tour. We thought that a trip to the area would be a great way to spend a Sunday, especially since the train connections to and from the region are so easy. However, it just occurred to me that we may have difficulties finding restaurants that are open on Sunday. What are your thoughts on this? Should we make this trek on a weekday instead? Any suggestions or thoughts on the subject will be most appreciated and welcome.

hi, dlb,

you'll have no problems finding comewhere on a sunday - there is along tradition of french families eating out on sundays. Monday would be far more difficult.

in fact, you might like to think about booking a table rather than riskingthe restaurant of your choice being fully booked.

regards, ann

Ann,

Thank you so much for your gracious and helpful reply. This being my first time in the Champagne region, I do not have a restaurant of choice, but I will do some more research on that subject.

Best regards,
Donna

hi, dlb,

you might like to start by looking at the restaurants recommended by michelin [www.viamichelin.com] and at the establishments in www.logisdefrance.com, which are usually country hotels, but often have nice restaurants.

do not miss Reims cathedral - I've been several times, and it never fails to amaze.

regards, ann

Another good suggestion, Ann. I will do that.

The cathedral at Reims is definitely on my list, as is Hautvillers in Epernay. We plan to tour Champagne Tribaut. I saw it on a travel program on PBS and was quite charmed with it.

Thank you again for your assistance.

hi, dlb,

I've never been to the places in epeernay you mention, so I'll be interested in your thoughts about them.

we did go to Verve Cliquot in reims - quite wonderful though they were a bit mean with the free samples!

hope you have a good time,

regards, ann

We did a day trip to Reims specifically to see the cathedral (we're not really "into" champagne). The concierge at our hotel booked a rest. for lunch. It was delicious , not fancy and filled with locals. It appeared they expected most people to reserve. I would expect that to be even more the case on a Sunday.

Ann,

My first thought was to take a tour of Veuve Clicquot because it is my favorite champagne, bar none. However, when I saw Champagne Tribaut on a PBS special I thought it might be nice to do a tour of a smaller, family-run operation. I will definitely post my findings on this particular venue.

Grandma,

Thank you for the suggestion about letting my hotel concierge in Paris book my restaurant reservation for me in either Reims or Epernay. I honestly have no idea where I might want to go and perhaps he will have some suggestions.

Thank you all again for your assistance.

Donna