France, Champagne & Loire Valley – Chateaux & Champagne Small Group Tour

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Duration
5 Days
Travel Style
Food & Wine Small Group
Product Code
FRRHEFIWT

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If you're visiting Paris and would like to explore two wine regions in a short period of time this small group tour is perfect.

Starting in Reims you spend two days taking in what Champagne is all about - touring and tasting bubbles at the famous brand Houses like Veuve and Pommery! You will also see Reims Cathedral and visit the Avenue of Champagne, nearby Epernay and the home of Dom Perignon, Hautvillers.

The TGV will speed you west for two nights in the Loire Valley, home to the most beautiful castles in the world. Take guided tours of Amboise, Clos Lucé, Chenonceau, Chambord, Blois and Cheverny as well as enjoy two separate wine tastings in the unique surrounds of the chalk caves of the region.

Staying in quality four star hotels, this small group (max 8 people) could be just what you are looking for.

Pommery, Hautvillers, Reims, Epernay, Estate Tasting

Pick-up at 9.20am from the Reims Centre Train Station forecourt, or 9.15am from your hotel (depending on your arrival).

Pommery Tour & Tasting
Pommery is the first Champagne Maison to introduce a self-guided and commented tour of its cellars via the use of a downloadable app and audio itinerary. It will assist you to discover the magnificent Elizabethan style buildings and the famed cellars 30 metres below the ground. Experience every aspect of the wine-making process and view the contemporary art exhibition. At the end of your visit, taste two glasses of the house’s emblematic cuvées.
Note – Pommery may be replaced by Moet & Chandon on some occasions in March & April.

Reims Sightseeing
We’ll drive through the bustling streets of Reims to show you some famous Champagne Houses, the beautiful City Center and its imposing Cathedral, and point out places like the Royal Square, the majestic City Hall, Roman Oratory Ruins and the widest standing Roman Arch in the world! On the UNESCO World Heritage List, the 13th-Century Notre-Dame de Reims is one of Europe’s most important Gothic structures – and is where most of the Kings of France were coronated through the ages.

Hautvillers
On the way to Epernay, we take you via the Marne River Valley, where we’ll pause in picture-perfect vineyards before meeting a prestigious personality of the area: Dom Pérignon, Champagne Wine’s Spiritual Father. He contributed significantly to the fame of Champagne and is now buried in the church of the former Benedictine Abbey, in the charming hillside village of Hautvillers. We’ll pay our respects there before heading to the meticulously manicured slopes into Epernay for lunch at your leisure.

Avenue de Champagne Epernay
Located in the beating heart of Epernay, the town internationally known as the “Capital of Champagne”, is its stunning main street featuring a half-mile long exhibition of opulent mansions housing some of the most illustrious “Maisons de Champagne”: Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouet, Pol Roger, Mercier, etc. Not to mention the miles and miles of naturally climate-controlled champagne production and storage tunnels deep below the pavement!

Family Estate Tour & Champagne Tasting
Before returning to Reims, journey into the countryside where you will meet the real faces of Champagne with a tour and tasting at a family estate. More than 4000 family winemakers in the region contribute to the production of grapes and juice each year for the famous Champagne houses. Visit their vineyards, followed by a tasting of several cuvées.

Drop-off is at approximately 5.45pm at your hotel.

Overnight Hotel de la Paix Reims

Meals B, T(Champagne) x 2

Veuve Clicquot, Reims Cathedral & Family Domain

Pick-up is at 9.15am from your hotel.

Guided tour of Reims
Your day will start by sightseeing the vibrant City Centre, a place full of charm, layers of unique history and regional culinary delights.

Veuve Clicquot
Founded in 1772 by Philippe Clicquot this House became famous thanks to Madam Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin. You will learn about this visionary young widow who built an empire, and became a legend in her time, known as “la Grande Dame of the Champagne region”. Take some time to connect with the heart of this House, its heritage, its savoir-faire; discover its unique chalk-cellars and the intricate process of making Champagne.

Guided tour of the Cathedral of Reims.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the 13th Century Notre-Dame de Reims Cathedral is one of Europe’s most important Gothic structures. You will be captivated by the enormity, the hypnotizing stained glass windows and the exceptionally rich statuary (there are over 2300 figures – and among them the famous Smiling Angel). Here King Clovis was baptized late in the Fifth Century AD, giving birth to the Kingdom of the Franks and started a lasting tradition: between 1027 and 1825 all but two Kings of France were coronated here!

Lunch at your leisure in Reims

Reims Mountain Grand Cru Vineyards
We’ll leave the city and drive through the Grand Cru vineyards on the Mountain of Reims, where the Scenic Route of Champagne winds its way between fields of barley, vineyards, forests and picturesque villages such as Verzy, Verzenay and Mailly. Realm of the Pinot Noir varietal, the Mountain of Reims is known for its special “terroir” that gives Champagne much of its power and character. We’ll take a tranquil, picturesque pause in such a vineyard to take it all in.

Tour & Tasting at a Champagne Grower’s Family Domain
In the heart of the Champagne’s Vineyards, you will be welcomed at a beautiful Champagne Grower’s Family Estate. More that 4000 family winemakers contribute to the prestige of Champagne, keeping the tradition alive from generation to generation with a common goal: the true expression of Champagne. The lovely afternoon will finish with another tasting of different Champagnes. After heartfelt thank-yous and goodbyes we’ll gently return you to the city of Reims.

Drop off at your hotel at 5.30pm.

Overnight Hotel de la Paix Reims

Meals B, T(Champagne) x 2

Transfer from Champagne to Loire Valley

Check-out after breakfast and take a taxi transfer from your hotel to Reims Champagne-Ardenne train station.

TGV transfer from Reims Champagne-Ardenne TGV train station to Saint-Pierre-des-Corps train station (via Paris).

Taxi transfer from Saint-Pierre-des-Corps train station to your hotel.

Overnight Hotel l’Univers, Tours

Meals B

Blois, Cheverny & Chambord

Pick-up is at 8.45am from your hotel.

Chateau of Blois Guided Tour
The Chateau of Blois is unique in its combination of four styles: Medieval, Gothic, Renaissance and Classical. Home of Kings Louis XII and François I, it stands for the memories of a tragic event in history.

Organic Winery Tour & Tasting
Enjoy an exclusive and convivial tasting of Cheverny and Cour-Cheverny wines, King François the 1st’s favourite wines, at a local winery. Then wines of the domain and terroir specialities.

Lunch at your leisure.

Chateau of Cheverny Guided Tour
This chateau has been owned by the same family since the 13th Century. Thanks to some of the most beautiful furniture in the Loire Valley, The Marquis Hurault de Vibraye succeeded in giving warmth and life to his chateau. The chateau, which led to the creation of Moulinsart in the famous comic book Tintin, is also famous for the tradition of the horse-back hunt and its impressive pack of 100 dogs. You may have a chance to witness the spectacular daily event of “the dogs’ soup”.

Chateau of Chambord Guided Tour
Drive to the Estate of Chambord, whose national game reserve is as large as the city of Paris! The Chateau de Chambord is a unique monument as defined by its architecture and proportions. Leonardo da Vinci likely took part in its conception. With more than 400 rooms and the double spiral staircase, Chambord is a highlight of the Loire Valley.

Drop-off around 5.30pm at your hotel.

Overnight Hotel l’Univers Tours

Meals B, T(Wines)

Chenonceau, Caves Ambacia, Amboise & Clos Lucé

Pick-up is at 08:45 AM at your hotel.

Chateau of Chenonceau Guided Tour
Arriving in the Loire Valley, you’ll start your day tour touring the Château de Chenonceau. The “Chateau des Dames”, bridge built across the Cher is famous for the prominent women who lived in it (Diane de Poitiers, Catherine de Medicis) and for the beauty of its Renaissance Gardens.

Caves Ambacia Tour & Tasting
Pascal and his team welcome you to his caves, the ancient tuff-stone quarries, for a tour followed by a tasting of 3 local wines.

Lunch at your leisure.

Royal Chateau of Amboise & Clos du Lucé Guided Tour
After lunch, you will tour the Royal Castle of Amboise, residence of Charles the 8th and young François d’Angoulème, (the future Francois the 1st). Here you discover perfect examples of the transition from Gothic to Renaissance styling, as well as the Saint Hubert Chapel which shelters the final resting place of Leonardo da Vinci.
The tour would not be complete without taking you to meet The Genius in his Chateau du Clos Lucé, only a few short steps away from the Royal Castle.
This is where da Vinci spent the last three years of his life and passed there in 1519. After touring his bedroom, office, reception room and kitchen, stand in awe at the Invention Room, where models of Leonardo’s most spectacular machines are on display.

Drop-off around 5.30pm at your hotel where your tour concludes.

Overnight Hotel l’Univers Tours

Meals B, T(Wines)

Inclusions

Transportation in a comfortable full optioned minivan
Small group English speaking escort guide
Two nights Hotel de la Paix Reims with breakfast daily
Entrance fees & tastings at Pommery
Tastings at two family estates in Champagne
Avenue des Champagne tour, Dom Perignon with Hauvillers stop
Tour of Reims Cathedral
Sightseeing of Reims Grandes Maisons de Champagne
Entrance fees and tastings at Veuve Clicquot
Three nights Hotel l’Univers Tours with breakfast daily
Entrance tickets and guided tour of Chateaux of Amboise and Clos Lucé
Entrance tickets and guided tours of Chenonceau, Chambord, Blois & Cheverny
Two tours and wine tastings at a cellar caves in the Loire Valley
TGV transfer from Champagne to Loire Valley
Two local private transfers by taxi

Accommodations

Hotel de la Paix Reims is located in the heart of Reims, in an exceptional setting, a stone’s throw from the Cathedral and the shops. Hotel de La Paix combines modernity and cultural heritage. Among contemporary lines, designer furniture, old stones and colourful variations, there reigns a serene, fluid and light atmosphere.

hotel de la paix
The Hotel l’Univers is set in a fashionable shopping area one kilometer from the Old Town. This hotel has been the most prestigious address in Tours since 1846 and many notables of Europe and the New World have stayed here. The celebrated portrait gallery only underlines its rich and historic past, while continuing to offer all the comfort of a grand hotel established in the best traditions of hospitality and elegance “à la Française”.

univers tours facade