Golf Holidays in Champagne & Burgundy

Your Champagne golf holiday includes two of the world’s finest wine regions.  Each with impressive hotels and family inns to enjoy as well as a few pretty golf courses to play in between the touring and wine-tasting.

I’ve linked the two regions of Champagne and Burgundy together as they are geographically linked and run pretty much directly north to south; from the medieval royal city of Laon in Champagne to charming Macon in Burgundy.  With thousands of vineyards in between!  They make for an excellent two-centre golf holiday combination with quality accommodation, plenty of history and sights and a few rounds of golf!  Just remember to leave enough in your car boot for the local produce!

Reims – the capital of Champagne – is only two hours from Calais and is a wealthy and effervescent city full of superb restaurants and good hotels.   Epernay – the heart of the main production area of Champagne – looks gorgeous these days and has one of the best new hotels in France.   There are two good golf courses and that’s plenty as you’ll have lots to see, do and drink.   Nearly all of the Champagne Houses are open for visits and tastings where, for as little as €8, you’re given an expert tour of the estate and cellar and a tasting at the end.   More and more of the Houses have restaurants where you can happily sup away all afternoon so make sure you’re travelling by taxi.

Beaune was a massively influential city as it was the home of the Duke of Burgundy who reigned over the wealthiest region in Europe.  Given its very central location and huge coffers, the Duke had a powerful army and it was often he would decide whether the French king could go to war or not.   Today the city sparkles and there are museums, brasseries and wine-tastings on every corner.  There’s also a fine choice of hotels and there are three golf courses worth playing.   Beaune is just over five hours from Calais and is a perfect stop-off if you’re driving down to the South.

North of Beaune, there are two golf-hotels of note.  The dominant Chateau de Chailly which stands like a “trompe d’oeil” in the Burgundy countryside and the smaller and more discreet Domaine de Roncemay which is well on the way to Orleans and Paris and is perfect for a get-away-from-it-all break where food and tranquillity is more important than playing championship golf.

If you don’t fancy taking the car, you can fly into Paris Orly from several UK airports and Lyon is always well-served.  Thanks to the huge expanses of land, the weather in winter is brisk but the warm influences of the Mediterranean mean that spring comes early and the weather keeps warm until October.   Prices are very reasonable.  The low-season deals are fantastic value and make the wine around the hotel fireplace taste even better!

Champagne is the country of Charlemagne, of coronations, of some 260 Champagne houses (and nearly 19000 smaller producers) and of a warm welcome and yesteryear values.   Hotels and eating out can be inexpensive although there are ample opportunities to treat yourself at one of the many beautiful chateau hotels and/or Michelin-starred restaurants.

I can tailor-make a holiday for you; suggesting the routes to take, the places to stay and where to play, even taking in a day’s canal trip through the vineyards, a chauffered and guided tour of the vineyards with lunch and tastings included.

Reims

Reims has crowned more Kings than Paris and been a major city since Roman times.   A World Heritage Site since 1991, you should visit the Cathedral, the Abbey of Saint Remi, the Museum of Fine Arts, the four theatres and the appealing pedestrianised dining and shopping avenue.  Famous for Champagne, Reims has also played its part in aviation, Grand Prix racing and was where the Germans officially surrendered on May 7 1945.   Many of the famous Champagne producers have cellars and visit centres in Reims and the eating and dining scene is one of the very best in France with no fewer than seven restaurants with between one and three stars and plenty of wonderful brasseries.

Epernay

Epernay is one of my favourite towns in France and has, over the last 20 years, transformed itself into a smart, vibrant and beautiful town showing off its 18^th– and 19^th-century architecture, lively bar scene, shops and, of course, the famous kilometre-long Avenue de Champagne on which you can saunter (and eventually stagger!) from House to House enjoying a tasting.   Surrounded by thousands of hectares of vineyards, Epernay exudes success but the prices remain very reasonable

The Vineyards

There are literally thousands of vineyards and Champagne producers to visit.  My suggestion is to take one guided tour of one of the “big” Champagne houses i.e. Moet et Chandon, Mumm, Ruinart as this will introduce you to the history and production of the wine, and a couple of smaller producers at which you can just roll up, knock on the door and have a tasting.   I can pre-book a guided tour (usually leaving from Reims or Epernay) to include an expert guide, chauffeur, visits to three Champagne producers and lunch with wine…From £85 per person, it’s terrific value.   The visits of the “big” houses start at about €30 and include a glass or two of bubbly after the tour.   Visits to the smaller producers are free although they do charge a nominal amount for a tasting.

And for serious quaffing, both Reims, and Epernay in particularly offer a myriad of Champagne bars where you enjoy the merits of several wines at excellent value – for example, a tasting of five Champagnes will cost just €15.

As with all my holidays, I will send you a detailed travel guide to the area.   The tourist offices in Reims and Epernay are excellent and the hotel staff are always keen to show off their knowledge of the local produce!