Choosing a Veuve Clicquot Tour: Named Visit, Guide and Start

This guide sorts every Veuve Clicquot tour on offer by the four things a listing title hides. Does the fare name the house? Who comes into the cellars with you? Where does the day start, and what does the fare cover? Settle those four and the choice comes down to a handful of days.

Does the tour visit Veuve Clicquot at all?

Most do, by name. The fare names the house's cellar tour and carries its ticket, and the first line on the card says so: Veuve Clicquot ticket included. You know before you pay which house you will stand in.

A few Champagne days make no such promise. They visit "a famous house such as" Veuve Clicquot, and you learn which house nearer the date. Their cards say House may vary.

A third group sits between the two. Tour Up in Europe's small-group day from Paris and France Intense's private day from Reims name the house, then add "if available on the selected date" or "subject to availability". Their cards read Veuve Clicquot if available. If this one house is the reason for your trip, book a fare that names it outright.

What does "a famous house such as" mean?

It means the operator books whichever big house has space on your date. My Winedays' shared day from Paris names Veuve Clicquot, Mumm, Lanson or Nicolas Feuillatte, "based on availability". Its private VIP day names Moët & Chandon or Veuve Clicquot. Withlocals names Pommery or Veuve Clicquot, and its own itinerary lists Pommery. Best of France Tours names Veuve Clicquot, Ruinart or Moët & Chandon.

These are good Champagne days. My Winedays' shared day carries 678 reviews at 4.8 stars. But you cannot choose the house, so we never sell them as Veuve Clicquot tours. Best of France Tours also leaves the entrance and tasting fees out of its fare: you pay each house on the day.

Who comes into the cellars with you?

The house's own guide leads every cellar tour at rue Albert Thomas. What changes from one fare to the next is who spends the rest of the day with you.

• A guide all day. The shared days from Reims, Uncork, À La Française's private day, the TGV day and Le Tour de Vigne, whose guide holds WSET level 3. Your guide explains the vineyards and the growers between the houses.
• A chauffeur who is not a guide. Clewel Travel's private Mercedes days and Galaxytour's car. Your driver drops you at the door, waits and drives you back. The house guide takes over underground.
• Not stated. Tour Up in Europe's listing does not say whether a guide rides with you.

A chauffeur day suits you if the house itself is the point and you want a quiet car. A guided day suits you if you want the region explained between the glasses.

Paris or Reims: where should the day start?

Days from Paris collect you at your hotel, or put you on the TGV, and run 7 to 12.5 hours door to door. About four of those hours are on the road. Days from Reims meet at the tourist office on the station forecourt at 9:20 am and run 8 to 9 hours, all of them in Champagne.

The TGV reaches Reims in 45 minutes, by Reims Tourisme's figure. France Intense recommends the 8:28 am from Paris-Est, Monday to Saturday, which arrives at 9:14. So a Reims day is open to you from Paris too, for the price of a train and an early start. Set the Veuve Clicquot tours from Paris against the Veuve Clicquot tours from Reims before you choose; the day from Paris is worked through hour by hour in the Paris day-trip guide.

What is in the fare?

Here is every fare side by side: the house, who is with you, the start, lunch and the price per person. Read across your row before you book.

On every fare that names the house, the house's ticket and its tasting are in the price. Lunch is the line that moves. It is included on the shared days from Reims, on À La Française's private day, on the TGV day and on most of the Champagne days that may include the house. On the Clewel days you eat in Reims or Épernay at your own cost. Le Tour de Vigne books a table for you, and the meal costs you about 20 to 40 euros.

How many houses and glasses do you get?

Some listings count the glasses. À La Française's shared day pours nine in all. France Intense's grower day pours four at the house and three at a family grower. The TGV day pours ten, and My Winedays' shared day more than eight. Clewel's two-house days pour two glasses at each house on the standard level, and let you choose a higher level at booking.

The houses vary too. The cellars-only private days visit this house alone. Clewel's pairs add Moët & Chandon in Épernay, or Ruinart or Taittinger in Reims. The grower days add one or two family producers, where the person pouring often made the wine.

Private or shared?

A shared day puts you in a minivan of eight at most, with strangers who booked the same date. You pay less: $375 to $382 per person from Reims station, lunch included.

A private day puts only your party in the vehicle. Every fare is still priced per person, and several need two people to book. From Reims the private days cost $520 to $838 per person; from Paris, $521 to $996. You set the pace, you choose the tasting level on the Clewel days, and nobody waits for a latecomer. The Veuve Clicquot private tours set them side by side, and the prices guide explains the gap.

What happens if the house is full?

The house caps visitor numbers, and several listings plan for it. If Veuve Clicquot has no place on your date, Clewel offers another house, a higher-level visit or a free cancellation before the day. À La Française says its visit "may be replaced with a similar house if unavailable".

It does happen. One traveller on Clewel's 7:30 am half day was moved to Moët & Chandon when the house changed its opening days. Book early, and check the house's own calendar before you fix a date: outside summer it closes on Mondays, and from 4 November on Tuesdays too.

Which tour suits which traveller?

• A first visit on a budget: À La Française's grower day with lunch, or France Intense's day from Reims station from $375. Both pair the house with a family producer.
• A couple from Paris who want two big houses: the Grand Vintage day takes you to Moët & Chandon and this house by Mercedes, at the tasting level you pick.
• A wheelchair user, or a family with a baby: Uncork's private day from Reims is marked wheelchair accessible, with stroller access and infant seats. Tell the house about reduced mobility when you book.
• A wine learner: Le Tour de Vigne's private day from Paris, with a WSET level 3 guide and over two hours at the house.
• You only have a morning: Clewel's half days from Paris, back by about 4 pm.
• You hate minivans: the TGV day, or no tour at all. Read visiting the house without a tour.

What do the lower-rated reviews warn you about?

They are worth reading, because they show where a day goes wrong. One 3-star review of Uncork's private day found it dear next to booking the houses direct. A traveller on France Intense's local-domain day missed Reims Cathedral because the train home left at 4:15. A traveller on the TGV day found the return train late, and changing it cost extra.

None of these is about the cellars. They are about price, time and trains. So price the house's own ticket before you book a tour, and book your train home after the tour ends, never before.

Frequently asked questions

Days that name the house, from each start

Reims or Epernay: Full day Veuve Clicquot family grower & lunch

Meet at the Reims station tourist office at 9:20 am, or Épernay's at 8:30 am, for the house's cellars, Hautvillers, lunch at a family winery and nine tastings in all. Eight people at most.

From $382 per person

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Grand Vintage Private Champagne Moet Chandon Veuve Clicquot

A chauffeur collects you in Paris at 7:30 am for Moët & Chandon and this house, each at the tasting level you pick, with Hautvillers and the cathedral between. Back at about 8 pm.

From $802 per person

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Veuve Clicquot Tasting and Fun Private Tour in Champagne

Your own guide from Reims station: the house's tickets, the cathedral, a walk through the city and a boutique producer at Rilly-la-Montagne. Marked wheelchair accessible.

From $520 per person

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