rishijd

Hi,

Advice needed please! On any points below.

My wife to be and I will be spending 4 nights in Paris, and would like to go to Reims just to see the Veuve Clicquot champagne house which we are excited to see I contacted them and they said I can book via email for a 1130am tour (1.5 hours total). We have never been to France, so would appreciate some advice:

1) After looking at posts online and posting messages myself, I understand that it is best to get a PREMS fare on the TGV train for low cost, while I still can (we will be travelling end August). The timings I think should work for us are as follows:

Leaving from Paris to Reims:
at 08h57 (45 mins journey)

Leaving from Reims to Paris:
16h15 - REIMS STATION, reaching 17h00 - 17h00> via PARIS EAST (45 mins journey)


Any advice - is this the perfect option? I believe it allows enough time to get to the 1130am tour and get back to Paris..without any rush.


2) How does one go about in Reims..are cabs the norm? If I want to go to the train station to Veuve Clicquot (1, place des droits de l'Homme, 511000 , Reims) around how much should I expect to pay? As a tourist should I bargain or is there a set fee?

3) Any other advice about Reims, if it is more a walk around place or not (e.g. we can walk over to a cafe and eat after the tour) and stuff... Any important info would be appreciated

Many thanks!

StCirq

Sounds like a good train schedule to me. I would ask the Veuve Cliquot folks you booked with about the best way to get there. There might be options other than a cab. If you do take a cab, though, no, you don't bargain. There will be a meter.

You can find loads of information online at the Reims tourist office website, as you can for most any town in France.

mes2525

You may need a cab to get to Veuve Cliquot. I know Tatinger and some of the other champagne houses are a long walk from the train station. If you have time visit the cathedral and the downtown area. The Kings of France were crowned there. Reims has outstanding antique stores a nice shopping area and some great Michelin starred restaurants that are in the guidebooks. I spent three days in Reims one year and there is plenty to do there and in the surrounding area.

Michel_Paris

I did the day tip to see Taitinger. In my case, I used the SNCF train. From the train station it is an easy walk to the Cathedral, which I think is a must see in the city.

GraceN

Hi Rishijd, my DH and I visited Veuve Clicquot last month and took their 10am tour. It was a great experience, the staff were very knowledgeable and friendly. The tour comes with a free tasting of their brut champagne, and you can buy one more glass after the free tasting. What we did was we took the 7:57 TGV from Gare de L'Est, then took a cab from the train station. There's a taxi stand right outside. It rained cats and dogs the day we went and there was a long line at the stand. After about a 20 minute wait we got a taxi, so you might want to budget your time accordingly. The taxis were metered, and the ride cost about 10 euros (plus tip). Just write down the address of the champagne house and show it to the driver. After the tour at VC, the receptionist called a taxi for us to take us to the Cathedral. At that point it was around lunch time, we went to the tourist information office (to the left side of the cathedral, when you are facing the front), got a free map, and looked up some local restaurant information. If you like crepes, you can try this creperie that we went to: http://www.atelier-des-crepes.com
Enjoy your trip!

bilboburgler

Guidance above very good. Haggling in Western europe is just aboout gone. You might, for instance, haggle over hotel rooms if you turn up at 8pm and try to push the rack rate but for most thing they have prices etc

ButterflyGirl06

Does anyone have a ballpark price on the tgv round trip from Paris to Reims?

Sue4

I recently paid €13.70 (each way) for tickets to Reims in October.
I think the earlier you get them, the cheaper they'll be. My tickets are not PREMS (the cheapest), as I'm going to Reims straight on arrival from the U.S., and didn't want to take a chance on the plane being late. I can exchange these for a €10 fee if I have to.

ButterflyGirl06

I checked them today at the SNCF kiosk at gare de l'est for travel this week. I like Champagne and all but not for 135 euro for two roundtrip!

wren

I think if you are not traveling during peak hours it might be less expensive as well.

PeggyE

I am planning a trip like this for next May. Has anyone drove the champagne road between Paris & Riems? Our onward destination being Brugge Belgium. Perhaps I should start a separate thread. Thanks for the info so far though!

paris1953

My daughter and I just did this very trip on September 9th. We took the TGV to and from Reims. Walked around the city and visited the cathedral (it is a lovely city). We took a cab from the train station to Veuve Clicquot and the receptionist was more than happy to call a cab for the return trip. The tour is lovely, informative (and the history of the house is unique) and of course, the champagne is wonderful.

I purchased my PREM tickets online while still here in the US; printed out our tickets and had absolutely no problem using them. We took our passports with us, but were not asked to present them (so maybe leave them in your hotel safe). I just mention this because I wasn't sure about taking them or the necessity of having them. Price for two tickets was 68 euros. I think you have allowed plenty of time for the tour. BTW, there is a lovely park outside of the train station; nice place to sit and wait for your departure train.

Christina

The ticket to Reims isn't that expensive from Paris, anyway, if you don't get a PREM, but no harm in getting one if you know the exact date and time you want and cn. I just bought a regular open-ended ticket which gave me a lot more leeway as to when to leave the city, but that was before the TGV so they don't have as many TER runs any more (not sure if they have any direct like they used to). The TGV costs about 25-38 euro one-way normally, about 12-18 euro when a PREM.

Reims isn't a small town, it's large. The usual way to get around would be different for tourists, though, than residents. They have bus lines, I used a bus for part of the time, but walked the other part. You'd have to be willing to get the maps and figure out the bus lines, for one trip to a champagne house, I wouldn't bother. A cab can't cost that much. I didn't go anywhere as far as as I think some of those champagne houses are.

Kyliebaby3

How much was the tour at Veuve? Thinking about doing it in two weeks when I'm there. Had a great experience taking the tour at Pommery, and would like to go back. Thanks!