We will be spending five days in Paris and are interested in a wine tour. Has anyone had any experience with this? We wanted to stay fairly close to Paris so not to waste a lot of travel time -- so we
We will be spending five days in Paris and are interested in a wine tour. Has anyone had any experience with this? We wanted to stay fairly close to Paris so not to waste a lot of travel time -- so we were thinking of vineyards in Burgundy. We were thinking of going with a tour guide of some sort so we dont have to go through the hassle of renting a car, figuring directions, etc. Any thoughts would be appreciated! Thanks!
Good idea! In Paris, it's a good idea to take a wine course from O Chateau. They offer several classes which area fun, a bit entry level info but a great starter in Paris.
I would also recommend a day in Champagne from Paris. There are many tours that offer pick-up, tours and delivery back to your hotel. I agree it's the best way to do it - no renting cars, figuring it out. It's worth the money.
It's possible to do Burgundy but with only 5 days in Paris that could cut into it. I think you need two days for Burgundy but Champagne is doable in one day.
Paris really isn't in a great wine region and isn't that conducive to day tours of wine country. You can get to Beaune by train from Paris in several hours, I guess. It is known for wineeries and has shops selling wine. I'm sure their tourist office has some brochures of wine tours. When I stayed in Dijon, I saw some tours of day bus tours of wine country in the tourist office, but you coujldn't really do that if you weren't staying in DIjon, as it would take up too much time getting there from Paris (and back).
Not sure you realize how far away from Paris wine country is. You could go to Beaune for the day and putter around it (maybe, depends on the train schedules) but adding on a wine country tour to that would be difficult for a day. If you are thinking of leaving Paris for at least two days, that would be possible, of course. You might contact the Beaune or Dijon tourist offices, I don't know of any guides personally.
Why do you want to do this, anyway? The answer to that question make help decision-making. You can obviously taste all the wines you want in Paris. If you've never visited a vineyard/winery so that is the key thing, to actually see one, then I guess you do have to go elsewhere. If you just like wine and like to talk about it, etc., you could go to the Wine Museum in Paris in the 16th arr, they have some special programs there which could work. They have a one-time wine tasting class, anyway.
I stayed in Beaune (Burgundy) last spring, not too far via Dijon on the train from Paris. The tourist office books wine tours, very good and reasonably priced. I took a half day tour which was just me and a couple with the driver/guide who spoke English and was very professional. We went to a number of vineyards and then to a tasting in, if I recall correctly Pommard, where the 3 of us were entertained by the guide and his friend, the owner of the winery. It couldn't have been better.
If you decide to take the train to Beaune it's probably a good idea to have a tour booked ahead as the small group experience is so good and I'm sure they get booked up. This seems to be the vineyard/wine page from the tourist office website: http://www.beaune-tourism.com/Wine-tourism-France/capital-burgundy-wines.asp
The closest travel would be to the Champagne region ... tours are offered from Paris by several tour companies (same day tours are offered ... do a search). You can do it yourself by train to the district in about an hour and half (or less) each way. Either Reims or Epernay have several good champagne houses directly in the city. Burgundy is good but it is a longer travel trip than Champagne (I would recommend an overnight for this region).
Reims is an easy day trip from Paris on the TGV. There are several caves within a short cab or bus ride from the train station, and most of the caves offer guided tours that end with a glass of bubbly. Exploring the cathedral and having lunch in town can round out the day very nicely.
But the best to me : 2 days in center of Burgundy : TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon station to Dijon (1h15). Rent a bike to go to Beaune in 2 days (45 km) with a night spent at Nuits St-Georges in a "chambre d'hôtes" (kind of B&B) or a village closed to. Then, at the end, have a train (TER) from Beaune to Dijon. You can take bikes inside. Biking is the best way to discover wonderful landscapes of vineyards, stop at wine growers's and spend relax time. I think maps are supplied.
Here is the time from Paris to different towns closed to vineyards in TGV (with the name of the parisian station, "gare" in french) :
- Reims (Champagne) : 45 min from Gare de l'Est.
- Tonnerre (Chablis) : 2h from Bercy (not TGV but TER so very slower !).
- Strasbourg (Alsace) : 2h15 from Gare de l'Est.
- Tours / St Pierre des Corps (Loire) : 1h10 from Montparnasse.
- Orange (Chateauneuf du Pape) : 3h30 from Gare de Lyon.
- Mâcon (South Burgundy & Beaujolais) : 1h30 from Gare de Lyon.
But the best to me : 2 days in center of Burgundy : TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon station to Dijon (1h15). Rent a bike to go to Beaune in 2 days (45 km) with a night spent at Nuits St-Georges in a "chambre d'hôtes" (kind of B&B) or a village closed to. Then, at the end, have a train (TER) from Beaune to Dijon. You can take bikes inside. Biking is the best way to discover wonderful landscapes of vineyards, stop at wine growers's and spend relax time. I think maps are supplied.
Here is the time from Paris to different towns closed to vineyards in TGV (with the name of the parisian station, "gare" in french) :
- Reims (Champagne) : 45 min from Gare de l'Est.
- Tonnerre (Chablis) : 2h from Bercy (not TGV but TER so very slower !).
- Strasbourg (Alsace) : 2h15 from Gare de l'Est.
- Tours / St Pierre des Corps (Loire) : 1h10 from Montparnasse.
- Orange (Chateauneuf du Pape) : 3h30 from Gare de Lyon.
- Mâcon (South Burgundy & Beaujolais) : 1h30 from Gare de Lyon.
You might want to check out www.viator.com. I know I looked at them when I was thinking about a wine tour when staying in Paris. I have used them before and they are reputable. They have a champagne tasting cruise on the Seine, which is fun and interesting and the champagne was very good. They have day trips to Champagne from Paris, which would be fun. I believe they also have day tours and half day tours from Dijon, which is in Burgundy. You'd have to catch the train down to Dijon from the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris. You could check them out. We decided not to do the wine tour, but went to Dijon as a day trip from Paris and roamed around the city all day - interesting spot. if you spent the night there, it would probably be easier, but I think you could do a day trip from Paris. Have fun!
There actually is a working vinyard in Paris although certainly not on the grand scale of visiting wine country. You don't mention what time of the year you are going but they have a festival during harvest season in October. Check it out:http://www.frenchgardening.com/visitez.html?pid=1207244084166471
My husband and I took the Champagne tour this past April and it was wonderful. Pick up and return at our apartment. You'll enjoy it. Well worth a day. You'll be returned in time to have a nice evening out in Paris.
My husband and I took the Champagne tour this past April and it was wonderful. Pick up and return at our apartment. You'll enjoy it. Well worth a day. You'll be returned in time to have a nice evening out in Paris.
My husband and I took the Champagne tour this past April and it was wonderful. Pick up and return at our apartment. You'll enjoy it. Well worth a day. You'll be returned in time to have a nice evening out in Paris. Posted by loo2
I am going to book the Champagne tour which seems a great idea, tks. I will keep you posted about my experience.
Thanks for all the input! We are thinking of maybe doing a champagne tour. We loved our trip to napa valley and thought it would be so cool to do it up big time with French wines. We aren't much of champagne drinkers though, so I might look into small vineyards in Paris as marymo suggested. I really don't want to spend a night somewhere else, so I'm sad burgundy is so far away.
