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The Champagne widows

A day of stories, in the footsteps of the widows who ran the great Champagne houses: the chalk cellars of Reims in the morning, the Marne Valley in the afternoon. Between tastings, your chauffeur tells their story on the road.

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  • 8 hoursfrom about 9:30 am to 5:30 pm
  • 3 visitsa great house, two estates in the valley
  • €660 (~$740 USD)per vehicle, by sedan

Widows at the head of the houses

In 19th-century France, a married woman could not run a business without her husband’s consent. A widow could. In Champagne, several of them took over their husband’s house instead of selling it, and what they decided is still in your glass today: a wine cleared of its sediment, rosé made by blending, and brut, the dry style.

The day follows their trail. In the morning, the crayères, or chalk cellars, of a great house in Reims whose history runs through one of these women. In the afternoon, the Marne Valley: the estate of the château the Widow Clicquot built at Boursault, then a woman grower working today. Between stops, your chauffeur tells the story.

Length
about 8 hours, door to door
Pickup
your hotel, the train station or your address in Reims
Visits
a great house in Reims, the Boursault estate, a woman grower in the Marne Valley
Lunch
in Épernay, at a table booked for you
On site
tours, tastings and lunch are paid at each place

Reims, Épernay, then the Marne Valley

A sample day, starting at 9:30 am.

  1. 9:30 amReims

    Setting off from Reims

    Your chauffeur picks you up at your hotel, the train station or your address. The story starts in the car: Reims, 1805, a widow of twenty-seven.

  2. 10:00 amA great house in Reims

    Into the crayères

    A guided tour of the cellars dug into the chalk, where the house’s history was made, then a tasting at the end. The exact time depends on the house’s guided tour slots.

  3. 12:15 pmÉpernay

    Lunch in Épernay

    Thirty minutes’ drive through the forest of the Montagne de Reims, then lunch in town. Allow an hour and a half at the table; you pay for the meal at the restaurant.

  4. 2:00 pmBoursault

    The château estate

    The château Barbe-Nicole Clicquot built in the 1840s looks out over the valley. It is private and not open to visitors. The château’s Champagne estate, however, does welcome guests: the press house, the fermentation room, cellars dug beneath a 16th-century manor house, then a walk through the vines of Madame Clicquot’s former walled vineyard, with the château in view.

  5. 3:45 pmMarne Valley

    A woman grower

    A little farther along the valley, a family estate run or co-run by a woman, who hosts you for a guided tasting. The same story, in the present tense.

  6. 5:30 pmReims

    Back through the valley

    The drive back follows the valley, then crosses the Montagne de Reims, to your hotel or the train station.

Times are approximate: each house sets its own time slots, and we build the day around them.

What each one changed

Their names are on labels you know. Here is what they decided once they were alone at the helm.

  • 1805

    Barbe-Nicole Clicquot

    Widowed at twenty-seven, she kept her husband’s house. In 1816, she had a table drilled with slanted holes to hold the bottles upside down: the sediment slid down toward the cork and the wine came out clear. In 1818, she blended red wine and white wine to make a rosé Champagne.

  • 1874

    Louise Pommery

    Left a widow, she set her sights on England, where people liked their Champagne less sweet than in France. In 1874, she launched a Champagne with almost no sugar, often described as the first brut. Beneath Reims, her cellars link some sixty old chalk pits through 18 km / 11 mi (11 miles) of galleries, and some of the walls bear bas-reliefs carved into the chalk.

  • 1887

    Mathilde Émilie Perrier

    When her husband Eugène Laurent died in 1887, she added her name to his: the house became Laurent-Perrier. In 1889, she offered her English customers a “grand vin sans sucre,” a Champagne with no dosage, the touch of sugar usually added just before the final cork goes in.

  • 1941

    Lily Bollinger

    Widowed in 1941, she ran the house in Aÿ for thirty years and toured the vineyards by bicycle. She is remembered for a much-quoted line: “I drink it when I’m happy and when I’m sad.”

Price for the car and chauffeur

One fixed price per vehicle for the full day, quoted before you book. It stays the same whatever the number of guests, up to the vehicle’s capacity.

Sedan

up to 3 guests · Mercedes C-Class, GLE or Tesla Model Y, depending on availability

Full day
€660 (~$740 USD)

Van

up to 7 guests · Mercedes V-Class

Full day
€790 (~$885 USD)
With 7 guests
€113 (~$125 USD) per person

If the day runs longer

beyond the planned time

Extra hour, sedan
€75 (~$85 USD)
Extra hour, van
€90 (~$100 USD)

Tours, tastings and lunch are paid separately, directly to each house and to the restaurant: we book them for you and tell you their price before you confirm. For 8 guests or more, ask us for a quote.

What is included, what you pay on site

Included in the price

  • The car and your chauffeur, from your address in Reims and back
  • Fuel, tolls and parking
  • Your chauffeur waiting during the visits
  • Planning the route and booking your visits with the houses
  • The story of the widows, told by your chauffeur
  • Your chauffeur’s lunch

Paid on site

  • Tours and tastings at all three stops: we tell you their price before you confirm
  • Lunch, at the restaurant
  • Any bottles you buy
From Paris

The full day from your Paris hotel

Reims is about a two-hour drive from central Paris. This day can start from your Paris hotel: we quote it on request, and our Champagne day trip from Paris is €1040 (~$1165 USD) per vehicle by sedan.

See the day trip from Paris · The full day from your Paris hotel

Questions we often get

Can we go inside the Clicquot château?

No, the château itself is private property. Its Champagne estate welcomes visitors for a cellar tour and a walk in the vines, with the château in sight.

Who hosts us at each stop?

In the morning, a great house in Reims tied to the history of these widows; in the afternoon, the estate set in Madame Clicquot’s former walled vineyard at Boursault, then a woman grower in the Marne Valley. You get the names of the great house and the grower in the written program, after you book. If a house is full, we suggest another one before you confirm.

Is this a wine day or a history day?

Both. You taste at all three stops, and the history is told in between. If you would rather taste more and listen less, just tell your chauffeur in the morning.

Which days is the Boursault estate open?

Never on Sundays or Mondays, so the day runs Tuesday through Saturday from April to October, and Wednesday through Saturday from November to March. The other stops have their own days too. Send us your dates: we check every house before we suggest the day.

How far ahead should we book?

At least a week in season: that is the notice the Boursault estate asks for. For a Saturday, allow more time, since guided tour slots go fast.

How do we book?

Send us the date, the number of guests and your pickup address, through the form or by phone. We reply within 2 hours during the day with the plan and the fixed price. Your booking is confirmed once you sign the quote.

How do we pay?

By card (secure payment link) or by bank transfer, when you book. We do not take cash. We can issue the invoice in your company’s name.

What languages do your chauffeurs speak?

Our chauffeurs speak French and English. A Japanese-speaking guide is available on request, at extra cost.

What if we need to cancel?

Cancellation is free up to 48 hours before pickup. Between 48 and 24 hours, half the price is due, and the full price after that. The houses have their own cancellation terms for their tours. Details are on our cancellation and refund page.

More days in Champagne

Each day is priced per vehicle and planned around your dates.

Guides to help you plan your visit

A day with the Champagne widows

Tell us your date, the number of guests and where to pick you up. We reply within 2 hours during the day with the plan and a fixed price.

Request a quote +33 6 51 49 90 81
Google reviews

What our clients say

4.9
★★★★★
52 Google reviews

★★★★★ 5.0 on Tripadvisor · 3 reviews

★★★★★

Louis and his team were outstanding! The communication was quick, clear, and accurate. Our driver Abdellatif was on-time and professional. 5-star service. Louis checked in through our day. We will always use VTC Reims for our annual trip…

GCGlen Campbell
October 2026
★★★★★

We had a wonderful experience in September. We decided to visit France for my wife’s bday week on rather late notice. I wanted to include some special visits as we both enjoy champagne. We were able to get a wonderful Dom Perignon tour w…

TDThomas Donahue
October 2026
★★★★★

Thank you to Louis for helping us schedule and to Cyril for giving us the best day trip to Reims/Champagne/Hautvillers. We had 3-4 things we really wanted to do and see, other than that we let them take the wheel (literally), and we had…

NWNikki Wyatt
October 2026
★★★★★

VTC Reims is an excellent car service for the Champagne region. I contacted them on the plane to France and received very fast response from Louis. It must’ve been middle of the night for them and yet they were prompt and booked my priva…

WLWendy Liu
September 2026
★★★★★

I hosted a group with private transfer from Paris to Champagne and also travel to vineyards all over Champagne. First class service by Cyril and his team. Beautiful vehicles and willing to accommodate some late changes in our schedule. I…

MMMatthew Massey
June 2026
★★★★★

On time. Efficient. Perfect service.

JWJennifer Wilwant
October 2026

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