4 Best Sights in Champagne Country, France

Unlike most of the area's Champagne tours, at Castellane you get a chance to see the bottling, corking, and labeling plant. During the 45-minute guided tour of the underground chalk cellars, every step of the Champagne-making process is carefully explained. The visit culminates with a glass of Castellane Brut. Above the cellars, there's a museum with an intriguing display of old tools, bottles, labels, and posters. A climb to the top of the iconic 200-foot tower rewards you with a great view over Épernay and the surrounding Marne vineyards.

Founded by Charles Moët in 1743, the world's largest Champagne producer is a must-see if you're in the region. Foreign royalty from Czar Alexandre I and Emperor Napoléon I to Queen Elizabeth II have visited these prestigious chalk-cellar galleries, which run for a mind-blowing 27 km (17 miles). During the tour, which lasts over an hour and takes place on foot, a savvy guide explains in detail the Champagne-making process. There are three sommelier-guided tasting choices, with the high-end option including a glass of Grand Vintage and Grand Vintage Rosé. Reserve a visit online.

To understand how the region's still wine became sparkling Champagne, head across the Marne to Hautvillers. Here Dom Pérignon (1638–1715)—a blind monk who was reputedly blessed with exceptional taste buds and a heightened sense of smell—invented Champagne as everyone knows it by using corks for stoppers and blending wines from different vineyards. Legend has it that upon his first sip he cried out, "Come quickly, I am drinking the stars." Dom Pérignon's simple tomb, in a damp, dreary Benedictine abbey church (now owned by Moët et Chandon), is a forlorn memorial to the man behind one of the world's most exalted libations.

A tour here will take you for a 20-minute ride on a laser-guided electric train with commentary provided by an audio guide that gives insight into the Champagne-making process. Admire the giant 200,000-bottle oak barrel it took 24 oxen three weeks to cart to the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889, and the decorative wall sculptures by Gustave Navlet. A panoramic elevator down to (and up from) the cellars is a welcome plus. A chilled glass of bubbly awaits at the end of the tour. There is a choice of three different tastings, and one of the options includes a Blanc de Noirs (made using only black-skinned grapes).