We hadn’t planned on introducing R to Champagne quite so early. But there we were, rattling through the vineyards on Le Petit Train des Vignobles de Champagne, R wide-eyed on my lap.
The Champagne region of France is one of those destinations that sounds like it shouldn’t work with a baby or toddler. And yet we’ve now been five times – several as a couple with our dog Cleo, and last summer with R after a stint in Normandy – and every visit has left us wondering why more British families don’t make the trip.
It’s closer than you think (less than three hours door-to-door from London via Eurotunnel), far less crowded than the South of France, and beautiful in a quiet, rolling-hills sort of way. The villages are historic and unhurried, the food is excellent, and the Champagne tastes better when it’s merely metres from the vines it came from. The growers and Champagne houses are also very welcoming, even if you arrive with a pram.
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Here’s everything you need to know about visiting the Champagne region of France with kids.
Getting to the Champagne region from the UK
The Champagne region sits in north-east France, a straight road down from the Channel Tunnel and 45 minutes by fast train from Paris. For British families, there are two easy options:
Via Eurotunnel
We usually drive through the Eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais – 35 minutes on the train itself, then around three hours’ drive to Épernay along motorway almost all the way. On the way home, it’s worth stopping at the Cité Europe shopping centre right by the tunnel exit to stock up: Champagne is considerably cheaper in France than back home, and the supermarkets in and around Épernay and Reims are an even better bet than the tourist shops.
Via Eurostar
If you’d rather not drive, the Eurostar from London St Pancras gets you to Paris in around two hours 20 minutes, from where Reims is just 45 minutes by TGV. It’s a civilised journey with a baby or toddler (read more about our experience taking R to Lille). The downside is that you’ll need a hire car once there, as the villages and vineyards aren’t well connected by public transport. We’d recommend searching for the best car hire rates with Auto Europe, which compares all the major rental companies.
Things to do in Reims with kids
Reims is the largest city in the Champagne region and one of the more underrated family city breaks in France. It has a cathedral that rivals Notre Dame, remarkable art deco architecture, fascinating war history, excellent restaurants, and some of the best Champagne house visits in the region. It’s also easy to reach by TGV from Paris in under an hour, which makes it a natural starting point for a Champagne region trip.
Much of Reims was rebuilt after World War One destruction in the art deco style, and the results are beautiful. Highlights include the free-to-visit Andrew Carnegie Library and Café du Palais-— a wonderful, cluttered brasserie with a stunning stained glass ceiling and excellent food, including a children’s menu. The Halle Boulingrin market is also worth a visit for cheese, charcuterie and the architecture alone.
1. Notre-Dame de Reims cathedral
The cathedral is free to enter and is one of the finest gothic buildings in Europe, where the Kings of France were crowned for centuries. It’s festooned with over 2,000 statues and surprisingly calming inside despite its scale.
2. Champagne house visits in Reims
Several of the great Champagne houses are based in Reims and offer tours that work well with children. Our top pick is Pommery, which combines a cellar tour with an extraordinary art installation: giant sculptures, a floating feather installation representing Champagne bubbles, and bas-reliefs commissioned by the original founder Louise Pommery. The 116 steps down into the cellars feel like an adventure for small people, and children get fizzy grape juice at the tasting. The onsite restaurant Le Réfectoire is excellent with children’s options too.
Taittinger is also based in Reims and this is one of the tours we did when we first visited the region. The cellars are former Roman chalk quarries and sheltered civilians during World War One (the graffiti from that period is still visible). The new visitor centre is polished and impressive.
3. The Surrender Museum
World War Two in Europe ended in Reims, when the Nazis surrendered to the Allies at Dwight Eisenhower’s base – a quiet, unassuming college building that you can still visit today. The Map Room, where the surrender was signed, is intact. The maps, battle statistics and supply lines are genuinely fascinating for adults and older children alike.
4. Hautes Promenades park and the REIMS sign
A free, easy outing near the Surrender Museum. The park has splash fountains that young children will love on a warm day, a World War One memorial at the top, and the city’s iconic REIMS tourist sign for photos.
5. Fossier biscuit factory tour
France’s oldest biscuit producer (famous for its delicately pink biscuits de Reims) offers factory tours with tastings and a short film. Children will love seeing the hands-on process and the factory outlet shop at the end. There’s also a store in the city centre if you can’t make it to the factory.
6. Place du Forum
The city’s main square is a lovely place to end a day with outdoor tables and a relaxed atmosphere that’s quintessentially French. Good for a drink and people-watching too.
Things to do in Épernay and the Champagne villages
1. Ride Le Petit Train des Vignobles de Champagne
A little tourist train that trundles through the vineyards, includes a cellar visit, and a tasting. We took R on it last summer and it was cheap, fun and novel. I highly recommend it as a first activity in the region.
2. Walk Avenue de Champagne in Épernay
The town of Épernay is pleasant for lunch and a wander, and on a sunny day we like to sit in one of the Champagne house gardens on deck chairs. It’s home to the most famous street in the wine world (Avenue de Champagne), lined with the grand headquarters of Moët & Chandon, Pol Roger, Perrier-Jouët and more. Worth a walk as the architecture and scale of these houses is remarkable.
3. Mercier’s cellar tour by mini train
If you want to do a Champagne house cellar tour in Épernay with children, Mercier is the one to choose. The tour runs by mini train through 100km of cellars beneath the town, with an enormous historic wooden vat at the entrance that children find genuinely impressive. It’s more accessible and child-friendly than most of the big houses.
4. Pressoria: sensory Champagne museum in Ay-Champagne
Just five minutes from Épernay, Pressoria is an interactive museum that opened in 2021 and is designed for families. It takes a sensory approach to explaining how Champagne is made — touching, smelling, seeing — rather than the standard cellar tour format. It’s another of the better family-friendly activities in the region.
5. Champagne house tastings in Hautvillers
We took R to Jean-Philippe Doury on our last visit, as I always prefer to support the small growers where I can. It’s right in Hautvillers village with a lovely garden. Family-run growers like this are almost always more welcoming to families than the big houses.
Another family-run grower we’d point you to is G. Tribaut, also in Hautvillers. We shipped this over to Italy for our wedding toast and they’re very unpretentious and welcoming. We’ve seen families with children here and no one bats an eyelid, and the tasting flight is excellent value.
6. Walk (or picnic) above Hautvillers
Hautvillers is a picturesque village in the region in the form of a steep, flower-filled hillside village with an abbey at its centre where Dom Pérignon is buried. Iron signs on every house show the historic trade of each family – worth a slow wander around. Above the village there’s a wonderful viewpoint over the Marne valley and vineyards, perfect for a picnic, but pick up supplies from the boulangerie or the supermarket in Épernay.
7. Boat trip from Cumieres
The village of Cumieres on the Marne is the starting point for gentle boat trips. It’s also a great place for flat, peaceful and very manageable walks with young children – a nice way to see the landscape from ground level. It has some interesting metal structures along the water too.
8. Walk along the river at Ay-Champagne or in the Montagne de Reims Natural Park
Ay-Champagne is a good place to take a gentle riverside walk through vineyards along the Marne. It’s easy with a pram, flat, and beautiful in summer when the vines are full.
We always bring Cleo (our dog), and the Champagne region is brilliant for it. The Montagne de Reims Natural Regional Park has miles of well-marked forest trails – plus they are flat enough for a pram on most paths.
9. Phare de Verzenay
Halfway between Épernay and Reims, a lighthouse sits improbably in the middle of the vineyards. Climb around 100 steps for a 360-degree view over the Champenois vines.
10. Réserve Biologique des Faux de Verzy
With ancient beech trees with twisted, gnarled branches that look like something from a fairy tale, the Faux de Verzy are one of the stranger but magical sights in the region. The forest paths near Verzy village are relatively flat and pram-accessible, although we chose to use a carrier.
11. Hot air balloon over Épernay
On one of our pre-kids visits we did a tethered hot air balloon ride over Épernay – lifted high enough to get the full panorama of the vineyards. A tethered balloon is more suitable for those who don’t like the idea of floating freely and it was a pretty special experience. I don’t think this runs all year and it seems to pop up sporadically these days.
Where to stay in the Champagne region with kids
Accommodation here is wonderfully varied, from village gites and vineyard B&Bs to hotels in Reims and Épernay. Here are our suggestions across different styles and bases:
Montagne de Reims
Our usual base is Saint Imoges, a small village tucked into the forested hills between Reims and Épernay. Quiet, green, authentically French, and roughly 10 minutes’ drive from both Épernay and Hautvillers. We’ve stayed in a cosy Airbnb here (one bedroom, works well as a couple but tight with a toddler – worth looking for a gite or larger self-catering property).
Hautvillers
Hautvillers is the most picturesque base in the region, right in the heart of the historic village above the Marne. Several Champagne producers are within walking distance and the abbey and vineyards are on the doorstep. Given its history as Dom Perignon’s home it attracts quite a lot of tourists.
Bouzy
We’ve also stayed in Bouzy, a quiet Premier Cru village in the Montagne de Reims known for its Champagne and a rare still red wine, Bouzy Rouge. Quieter and less visited than Hautvillers, with some lovely gites and B&Bs.
Épernay
Staying in Épernay means walking distance to the Avenue de Champagne and the Mercier cellar tour. It would work well for those without a car or who want to be centrally located, with plenty of restaurants around.
Reims
For a city option and the easiest base if you’re arriving by Eurostar and TGV, Reims is worth considering. It offers good hotels and apartments at a range of price points, everything walkable from the centre.
Where to eat and drink
The Champagne region has a quietly excellent food culture that doesn’t get nearly enough attention. Beyond the obvious, you’ll find great bistros, markets, and some delicious charcuterie and cheese.
In Reims, Café du Palais is our top recommendation with its beautiful art deco interior with a stained glass ceiling, excellent food and a good children’s menu. Brasserie du Boulingrin is a classic 1920s brasserie worth a dinner booking. For something more casual, Place du Forum has plenty of outdoor options for drinks and light meals.
In Épernay, the town centre has good bistros and brasseries, and most are child-friendly with high chairs and child-friendly menus. The market is worth a morning stop for local cheese, charcuterie and Champagne from growers you won’t find at home.
Supermarkets in and around Épernay and Reims are excellent value for Champagne too and considerably cheaper than buying at the Champagne houses or back home. We always fill the boot before getting on the Eurotunnel.
Practical tips for visiting the Champagne region with a baby or toddler
Late spring (May-June) and early autumn (September-October) are our recommended times. Warm but not overwhelming, beautiful vines, and quieter than peak summer. Harvest time in September-October is special as the vines are golden and there’s an extra dose of activity around the Champagne houses.
Vineyard and forest paths are generally ok for prams given they are flat and well-maintained. A car is essential unless you’re staying in Épernay or Reims and happy to stay local or pay for a tour. The villages and best walks aren’t on bus routes.
French supermarkets stock all the basics from nappies to formula or baby food. Most restaurants in the region have high chairs.
Our score: Champagne region, France
1. Getting there — ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Under three hours door-to-door from London via Eurotunnel and it’s a very easy drive (French toll motorways are excellent)
- Also easy via Eurostar + TGV to Reims for those who prefer not to drive
2. Pramability — ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Vineyard and forest paths excellent
- Village streets (especially Hautvillers) can be cobbled
- Épernay and Reims city centres mostly flat and manageable
3. Adult fun factor — ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
- One of the best food and drink destinations in France
- Beautiful countryside, historic villages, exceptional walking
- Champagne tastings, cellar tours and grower visits are world-class
- Reims is a lovely and easy to navigate city that many British visitors don’t consider
4. Cost — ⭐⭐⭐⭐
- Champagne is significantly cheaper at source
- Self-catering accommodation good value, especially in the villages
- Many activities are low-cost or free (walking, picnics, cathedral, markets)
The Champagne region of France is not a flashy destination (despite how it sounds) – the Champagne houses are well worth the trip alone but it offers so much more with beautiful national parks that are great for families who like spending time outdoors. R will get his turn with the Champagne eventually!
Allie, Jack & R x
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, more than you’d expect. The countryside is beautiful and easy to explore, the villages are safe and unhurried, and several smaller Champagne growers are genuinely welcoming to families. Reims offers a full day of child-friendly sightseeing. It works best with a car and self-catering accommodation.
Notre-Dame cathedral (free), Pommery Champagne house (combines cellars with art installations, children get grape juice at the tasting), the Surrender Museum (fascinating war history), Hautes Promenades park with splash fountains, and the Fossier biscuit factory tour. You could easily fill two days in Reims.
The easiest route is via Eurotunnel from Folkestone to Calais, then roughly two hours’ drive to Épernay. You can also take the Eurostar to Paris and then a TGV to Reims (45 minutes).
We’ve taken R to tastings at Jean-Philippe Doury and G. Tribaut in Hautvillers and been made completely welcome. Pommery in Reims is also great for children. The big house tours are more formal and better suited to adults or older children.
Late spring (May-June) and early autumn (September-October) are ideal — warm, beautiful, and less crowded than peak summer. Harvest time in September is particularly special.