Stage 6Épernay / Metz

Epernay

The champagne capital, Epernay, located in the heart of 30,000 acres of vineyards, attracts nearly 450,000 visitors every year from around the world to not only discover - and taste! -the wine of kings but also to enjoy a great city. Between vineyards and forests, bordered by the Marne, the city boasts a high quality of life in a beautiful natural environment.  Its rich heritage is comprised of monuments like the Tour De Castellane, the Portal St. Martin or the Gabrielle Dorziat theatre but also unique hotels in Renaissance or classical style, many dating from the nineteenth century.  These beautiful buildings that are often the major champagne houses are found for the most part, on the stately Avenue de Champagne.  Distinguished by the label Remarkable Site for Taste it is one of three sites selected for consideration of the Landscapes of Champagne for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List. Under the avenue and the adjacent streets, carved into the chalk, one hundred and ten kilometres of cellars snake under the city where a veritable treasure of two hundred million bottles is stored.