Paris' Best Private Day Trips

We contracted with Michel in mid February for my husband and I to do a private tour in Champagne on March 22 with a request to visit Veuve Cliquot (my then favorite Champagne House). I received an automated confirmation stating a visit to Pommery would occur but then received a note from Michel asking where we'd like to visit and I requested Veuve Clicquot. Michel picked us up at our hotel in Paris promptly at 7:30 am in his car and drove us to Champagne. Along the way I asked if we were visiting Veuve and he said sadly no, he was unable to make a reservation because the season had just started and visits were already booked-you can probably feel my disappointment (please keep rading)...as we drove north toward Epernay (2+ hours) out of Paris with the rolling hills and naked vineyards coming into view, we made a brief stop for coffee and a bathroom break in Damery. We continued on to Beaumont-sur-Vesle to meet one of Michel's clients, a small Champagne producer who was bottling his small batch Champagne that day (which happened to be a once a year event). We were lucky enough to meet the very friendly vineyard owner and producer Paul Froissart from "Lafalise Froissart Champagne", a small batch Grand Cru champagne house. After briefly watching the bottling process Paul took a moment to talk with us, explaining the grapes he grows, the quality of the terroir (dirt), the 2 step fermentation process/facility & show us his storage facility. Michel then drove us to one of Paul's vineyards where he produced a bottle of "Lafalise Froissart Champagne Maison D'Inities 045" which we tasted, while romantically, standing in the vineyard where Paul grows his pinot noir and chardonnay grapes. Both my husband & I LOVED Paul's champagne! We then continued on to another of Michel's clients, Champagne Gounel Lassalle, another small batch Premier Cru Champagne House in Chigny-les-Roses where we met owners Sophie and Arnaud Lassalle who were both friendly and very welcoming. Sophie took the time on her birthday to share information about their vineyard's, the importance of the terroir's, the organic grapes (Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonay) they grow. Arnaud showed us his fermentation processing & storage facility and then explained how they had just finished their 4 month long hand pruning process. We were then offered a tasting of four of their champagnes. Sophie and Arnaud's champagne was distinctly different due to the addition of the Pinot Meunier grape. We fell in LOVE with 2020 Le Haut Belai, which was interestingly a combination of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Both Paul, Sophie & Arnaud are small batch champagne growers and you could feel the love and pride that goes into making their beautiful champagnes. Michel was able to load up the trunk of his car with cases of Lassalle Champagne as we continued on to Reims where we had a very delicious lunch at Cul de Poule including paired wines that Michel chose. After lunch we waited in line to purchase tickets to walk through the Pommery Champagne House middle age old chalk caves where their champagne is stored. After the tour completed we stopped to taste a glass of the Pommery champagne which was sub par given the delightful champage we had tasted eariler in the day from both Lafalise Froissart Champagne Maison D'Inities 045 & Champagne Gounel Lassalle 2020 Le Haut Belai. Michel asked if I still wanted to stop by the Veuve Clicquot Boutique which I mournfully accepted because I wanted to be able to say I had been there. The bottom line is we learned a lot with Michel, much more than we expected. There is a significant difference in the taste of a champagne when the multi-generational owners prunes their own vines, grows their own grapes, hand picks their own grapes, ferments them, bottles and second ferments them, ages them and puts their name on the label of the bottle. The whole process is much more in depth than you can imagine. We are forever more absolute fans of Lafalise Froissart Grand Cru Champagne & Lafalise Froissart Premier Cru Champagne. Michel has permanently educated & changed our champagne drinking choices to those of small batch growers as opposed to large house conglomerates. The bonus is we are able to order champagne directly through Michel. Thank you Michel!

Highly recommend this tour with Michel to experience the Champagne region. He is a knowledgeable tour guide - we learned so much during our day together! Loved the experience of trying champagne from two unique wineries. Truly one of our trip highlights!

Michel, was a fantastic guide. This was one of the highlights of our two week trip. He is passionate about wine, Champagne and France in general. He is full of history regarding many topics. We were able to visit a couple of small producers as well as a mega producer with amazing caves. Michel is very accommodating. If there is a specific house you want to visit, make sure you let him know. On top of everything, he helped select a few great local wines for us to take with us. He worked with a local wine shop and had everything ready for us to swing by, purchase and be on our way. He also recommended a great restaurant that was one of our highlights. We accidentally left a passport at the restaurant and Michel took it upon himself to help track us down which avoided a catastrophe. I’m a raving fan….!!!

Travelled to visit chateaux in the Loire Valley by metro, fast train and car with Anukool. Although this is a long day, I thoroughly enjoyed our conversations which helped the travel time fly by. Anukool shared his passion for travel as well as his knowledge of history, the Loire Valley and Paris. As a single traveller, I appreciate a guide who can customize a tour to suit my travel style. We visited three chateaux as planned, touring the interiors of two and the exterior and grounds of a third. We also fit in time to view a fourth chateau. When I visit Paris again, I will be looking forward to doing other tours with Anukool.