Cycle Champagne & Burgundy – Premium Adventure

Discover the perfect pairing: World-renowned vineyards and gentle cycling through two prestigious wine regions

Champagne and Burgundy: You know the names; you’ve sipped the drinks. Now it’s time to discover for yourself why these two endlessly romantic French wine regions are among the most celebrated on the planet. Starting in Reims, Champagne, and ending in beautiful Beaune, Burgundy, we embark on an immersive cycling adventure taking in world-renowned vineyards, celebrated wine villages and a host of cultural treasures. We will, of course, tour illustrious wine estates, sample the local produce and hear from the experts, while also enjoying the simple pleasure of a gentle cycle along vineyard-lined roads and through idyllic rural landscapes.

People, Places & Planet

We work hard to create trips that have a positive impact on the people and places we visit and look after the planet we explore. Learn more about our sustainable travel ethos and practice here and find out about the work of the Exodus Travels Foundation here.

Some sustainable travel highlights of this trip include:

People

How this trip helps improve life for local communities.

• Local guides keep you well informed about local traditions and cultural-social sensitivities.
• This trip brings income and opportunity to the destination community through the inclusion of locally owned hotels, restaurants, and other enterprises, and by championing locally produced food wherever possible.
• Read more about our other initiatives here

Places

How this trip helps protect and conserve local landscapes and nature.

• By travelling in a small group, we ‘tread lightly’ to minimise our impact on local resources and the environment.
• We work with our partners on the ground to proactively reduce waste; this includes eliminating all single-use plastic water bottles by providing refills for reusable bottles.
• The Hotel de la Paix used on this trip is Clef Verte certified for its sustainability efforts.
• The payment of entrance fees to natural reserves and archaeological sites generates income used to upkeep and develop these important sites.
• We rewild 1,075sqft (100sqm) per passenger to compensate for all trip and flight emissions.
• Read about our commitment to nature protection and restoration here, including our rewilding commitment for every customer who travels with us.

Planet

How we seek to keep the carbon footprint of this trip low.

• Accommodation and restaurants in the itinerary use locally sourced food which has not been transported long distances.
• For the picnics on the trip we work with local restaurants to provide meals in washable containers with local produced organic food.
• Cycling trips like this have very little detrimental impact on the environment and the locals, as it is a quiet, low-impact activity requiring comparatively few resources to support.
• Read about our climate action here, including our carbon reduction and compensation commitments.

Tips for sustainable travel on this trip

• Leave no trace: We do all we can to ensure we leave no rubbish in the wild and beautiful places we visit; we ask that you do the same. If there are no recycling facilities in-country, consider bringing recyclable materials home with you.
• Plastic waste reduction: Please bring a reusable water bottle on this trip, also consider avoiding single-use hotel toiletries, which generate a large amount of plastic waste.

Is this trip for you?

This trip is graded Activity Level 2 (Leisurely/Moderate). For more on our trip gradings, visit our Activity Level Guidelines page.

The terrain of the Champagne and Burgundy regions gently undulates, with an average daily ascent of just over 985ft (300m). Cycling distances are relatively short (maximum of 24mi/38km on Day 5) and there will plenty of opportunities to rest during the rides. The cycling is broken up with a rest day at the mid-point of the trip (Day 4), when you travel from Epernay (Champagne) to Beaune (Burgundy).

Where possible, we stick to cycle trails and quiet roads to make the journeys as pleasant as possible; however, we may have to use some busier routes on occasion.

A support vehicle is available on all cycling days; if you would like to use an e-bike for the trip, these are available for a supplementary cost and need to be booked in advance. Please speak to your sales representative for more information.

Following a review of all our trips we have categorised this trip as generally not suitable for persons of reduced mobility. However if you are a regular traveller on such trips, please contact customer services to discuss the trip and your personal condition.

Vaccinations and Health

France

There are no required vaccinations. However, you may want to consider vaccinations for tetanus, rabies and tick-borne encephalitis. Please confirm with your doctor or travel clinic.

Visa

France

Travellers from the UK, US and EU normally do not need a visa to enter France. Please note, visa requirements often change and it is your responsibility to obtain any required visas for this trip. Therefore, we recommend that you check with the nearest embassy or consulate of your chosen destination(s), including any countries you may be transiting or transferring through.
Some local governments provide guidance on what visas their citizens need. To help, we’ve gathered a selection of useful links below.
• Australia: www.smartraveller.gov.au/destinations/europe/france
• Canada: www.travel.gc.ca/destinations/france
• United Kingdom: www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/france/entry-requirements
• USA:  www.travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/France.html

Food & Drink

All breakfasts, four lunches and two dinners are included.

For breakfast, the hotels offer a wide choice of cereals, fruit, cheeses and cold meats and all types of drinks (tea, coffee, milk, fruit juice).

Four picnic lunches are included, prepared by the guide or assistant guide. Picnics are an important part of a day's cycling, and we've selected a few products from the Champagne and Burgundy regiona for you to try during your stay: Reims croquignoles, cheeses (Epoisses, Charolais (goat's milk cheese), Soumaintrain (made from raw cow's milk), Mâconnais, etc.), the famous Dijon mustard, gingerbread, etc. accompanied in moderation by local wines. We are committed to offering a proportion of regional products, chosen whenever possible from local producers to support short circuits, favour quality products and include a proportion of organic food, and reduce packaging, particularly plastic, and recycle what remains.

The two dinners are taken in a restaurant with a set menu comprising starter, main course and dessert. The restaurants are selected to offer an opportunity to discover local gastronomy including local specialities: the andouillette from Troyes, the white blood sausage from Rethe for Champagne, the boeuf bourguignon and the snails for Burgundy, are all examples of choice.

Vegetarians can be fairly easily accommodated; however, vegans may find the variety of dishes available is rather limited. Larger supermarkets can provide gluten-free bread and baked goods but this is less common in local bakeries.

Weather

In Champagne and Burgundy, the summers are a comfortable temperature and partly cloudy, which makes it ideal for cycling. Winters can be very cold, windy and mostly cloudy. Over the course of the year, the temperature typically varies from 0C to 25C (32F to 77F) and is rarely below -7C (19F) or above 31C (88F). The hottest month is July with daily average temperatures around 24C (75F).

May to June and September to November are considered the best times to visit Champagne and Burgundy due to the pleasant temperatures and quieter roads. The region can be particularly busy in July and August, when European holidaymakers flock to the vineyards and picturesque towns.