(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- For the casual traveler, it’s never been all that easy to visit the orderly, chalk-toned 19th century buildings at Ruinart, the oldest house in France’s Champagne region, founded in 1729. Until recently, getting in required paying a high fee, knowing someone important in the wine world or booking a coveted brunch reservation—and advance planning.
That changes in October as part of a broader embrace of tourism in the region. The general public will be welcomed to the vast estate through the new Nicolas Ruinart Pavilion—a showpiece added to 5 acres of landmarked woodlands, where visitors can kick off tours and tastings or simply stop by for a glass of bubbles. Designed by the Japanese architect Sou Fujimoto, the curved-roof structure was built in an existing clearing using local stone and glass. Beams of natural light mimic the cathedral effect in the estate’s Gallo-Roman chalk-quarry cellars, called crayères, set 125 feet underground.
The wow factor kicks in fast when you step beyond the vestibule’s sliding door, as Ruinart’s U-shaped headquarters and a wide array of contemporary sculptures dotting the green courtyard come into view through bay windows—one small piece of a free-to-all art park with works from 20 major international artists, including Eva Jospin and Marcus Coates. A sparkling glass carousel displays hundreds of bottles opposite the reception area. Just beyond it is a new bar, where guests can walk in without a reservation, a rarity in the region.
Getting to Champagne is an easy trip from Paris: A high-speed train reaches Reims in 45 minutes; it’s then a 10-minute drive to many iconic houses. But while it’s a great day trip, it’s only recently become amenable to visitors sticking around.
Unlike that of other storied wine regions such as Bordeaux, with its multiday river cruises, or the Loire Valley, which has royal châteaus and nearly 500 miles of bike paths, the Champagne experience had long been the province of wine and hospitality industry pros. As it democratized in recent years, insufficient accommodations meant it was limited to day-trippers hopping from one marquee house to the next. Most maisons charged great fees for entry with basic visits and tastings, if they granted it at all.
But thanks to a new crop of hotels and more welcoming policies at the wineries, longer stays are becoming the norm. History and World War II buffs can visit Reims and its almost destroyed royal cathedral, where French kings were crowned. Nature fans can take in vine-covered hillsides and villages by bike, quad or hot air balloon.
And for those who just want to taste the local elixir, many of the almost 400 houses and independent winemakers are finally making it easier to do that, too.
In 2015, Champagne’s hillsides and cellars earned Unesco World Heritage status, and the local government has spent the nine years since busily investing in heritage and oenotourism experiences—including Pressoria and the Champagne and Regional Archeology Museum, two new museums devoted to winemaking history—around the region’s flagship cities. So did the vineyards.
“Everything accelerated from there,” says Mathieu Roland-Billecart, the seventh-generation leader of the prestigious Billecart-Salmon. “Before that, most houses were fairly closed off. Once leisure travelers took serious interest, the broader tourism offering needed to catch up to match the demand.”
The pandemic provided the next boost. “Covid ended up being an opportunity to make plans and set projects into motion that are seeing the light of day now,” says Vitalie Taittinger, president of her family’s Champagne house. “In our case, that meant restoring our historic facilities, including our chalk-pit cellars that date back to the fourth century, and rethinking the visitor experience.”
Tourism traffic to Taittinger had grown 45% since 2015, to 90,000 annual visitors, before it closed for renovations at the end of 2022. When the estate reopened to the public in July, the goal wasn’t to bring in more people, Taittinger says, but to offer a fuller experience. Visitors can now choose among three tours (from $45 to $88 per person), including cellar access and a food and wine pairing experience—something of a teaser for a restaurant that Taittinger will open next year.
Industry juggernauts Veuve Clicquot and Moët & Chandon have also been busy, adding permanent opened café and bar concepts this year on their estates. LVMH’s Belmond brand rolled out Coquelicot, the seventh of its cruise-ship-like barges, this spring. Designed by star Parisian design firm Humbert & Poyet with nature-inspired colors and motifs, it has a spacious outdoor deck and luxe indoor lounge, and three double cabins with marble ensuite bathrooms that sleep six for $80,000 weeklong private cruises of the Marne River.
Leclerc Briant, a leading biodynamic Champagne producer, expects to open the five-room Villa des Trois Clochers by yearend. Champagne Thiénot and Champagne Bollinger also have large-scale tourism projects in the works, including hotels.
At Ruinart, the new sculpture park represents more than just an architectural glow-up and a welcoming stance; it’s part of what Ruinart President Frédéric Dufour says will make the house an arts destination as much as an oenological one. “It’s part of a shared vision with the city of Reims, which has launched several cultural projects and renovations in recent years,” Dufour says, referring mainly to the Musée des Beaux‑Arts and the former palace of the archbishop of Reims, the Palais du Tau, both reopening in the next two years. “We want to contribute to this emerging artistic ecosystem.”
Where to StayA 10-minute drive south of bustling Épernay, the 50-year-old country-style Hostellerie Briqueterie & Spa (from $276) reopened in the spring with a new look for its 40 spacious rooms. It also has a Maison Caulières spa, a colorful kids club and a new chef with Michelin ambitions. Also 10 minutes from Épernay is the Royal Champagne Hotel & Spa (from $763), an erstwhile coaching inn. The five-star lodging, perched on a hill with sweeping views of the Marne Valley, has been the glitzy gold standard in the region since it opened in 2018. There are 47 rooms and suites and a phenomenal Champagne selection, but don’t skip the lavish 25-meter (82-foot) indoor pool (there’s also a 16-meter outdoor pool) and spa.
La Caserne Chanzy Hotel & Spa (from $250), a former fire station, occupies prime real estate in the heart of Reims across from its famous cathedral. It has 89 rooms, two popular restaurants on-site, a spa and a well-stocked Champagne bar with 280 options by the glass. The exquisitely restored eight-room Résidence Eisenhower (price on request) mixes contemporary furnishings and antiques and occupies a restored belle epoque private mansion in Reims from the early 20th century. It honors General Dwight Eisenhower, who took residence there in 1945, when it was known as the Hôtel Mignot.
Where to EatPerrier-Jouët’s Belle Époque Society is an exclusive culinary experience that plays out in the Maison Belle Époque, a Unesco-listed 18th century private mansion that houses Europe’s most extensive private collection of French art nouveau. As many as 12 guests get a tour of the works before sitting down to a multicourse pairing meal (lunch or dinner) created by chef Sébastien Morellon and the house’s cellar master, Séverine Frerson, for $387 per person. A less expensive neo-bistro experience sits across the street at Cellier Belle Époque.
Book a Chef’s Escape with travel concierge Juliana Angotti and get a two-night experience with chef Arnaud Lallement (from $2,900) that includes a tasting dinner at the triple-starred L’Assiette Champenoise, private tastings of rare vintages and cooking workshops. Bonus: The chef will unlock access to his favorite, elusive Champagne producers. For more straightforward dining experiences, focus on the hottest tables du moment, such as Arbane, the new contemporary French tasting restaurant by acclaimed chef Philippe Mille, or the two-Michelin-starred Racine, which shows off chef Kazuyuki Tanaka’s masterful work with top-shelf products, a paintbrush of seasonings and lighter preparations.
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