If you’re traveling in France with a dog, there are certainly worse places to end up than Epernay. Located on the left bank of the Marne River, Epernay is well-regarded by champagne-lovers as the heart of the Champagne region. Epernay is dog-friendly in the way that many French cities are, though it’s uniquely unfriendly in a few respects.
Eating and drinking with a dog in Epernay
Epernay is an easy destination to visit if you have a dog because almost all restaurants are dog-friendly. If you’re visiting in the warm months, there seem to be basically no restrictions on dogs sitting in terraces. Even nice restaurants that don’t have a garden are generally quite permissive about dogs, big and small, sitting in their dining rooms.
An exception to this, something that is also true across France, is that they are usually not allowed in bakeries or delis. These are the only establishments where you’ll often see a sign on the door expressly forbidding dogs.
But what about the champagne houses? If you came to Epernay, you’re probably interested in sitting at any of the dozens of champagne houses around town and drinking the day away. Can you do that with your dog? Yes!
Almost all of the beautiful champagne maisons that sit on Avenue de Champagne and around the city have outdoor terraces, which are exceptionally dog-friendly. Not only will they allow your dog, they’ll also bring them a bowl of water in most cases. As we visited at the end of the summer and it was the perfect terrace temperature, we didn’t try to bring him inside, but I’m confident that it would have been no problem.
Dog-friendly restaurants in Epernay
Here are some of the restaurants that will definitely welcome your dog inside or outside:
Dog-friendly champagne houses in Epernay
You may not be able to join the cellar tours at the champagne houses with a dog (more on that below). But you’ll certainly be able to drink a couple of glasses at the following champagne houses:
Champagne Besserat de Bellefon
Les 3 domaines P Boivin, Vincent Testulat, Janisson-Baradon
Cellier Belle Epoque – by Perrier-Jouet
Le 19 avenue de Champagne
Champagne de Venoge
Champagne Paul-Etienne Saint Germain
Not only was our dog welcome, but other guests got a wonderful kick out of seeing him as well.
Things to do with a dog in Epernay
If you have a particularly active dog, the best thing to do in Epernay is hike in the surroundings. Epernay is at the edge of the Montagne de Reims Regional Natural Park, a mountain plateau where you’ll find forests, hills, valleys, and more importantly vineyards. It seems like the entire town is surrounded by a blanket of vineyards.
On the one hand, this means that you have an unlimited number of hiking trails at your disposal. While this is quite unique and impressive, there are also major caveats to doing this with a dog. For one, you are completely exposed. So if you’re hiking the vineyards, there is no shade and it can get quite hot with non-stop direct sunlight. The other maybe more obvious caviat is that you’re surrounded by grapes; you’re basically walking in a field of dog poison. If your dog is a scavenger, it’s something to watch out for so your beautiful Champagne vacation doesn’t end in tragedy.
If you don’t want to take the risk, there are other walking paths around the city or at Mount Bernon that are more forested which are both shadier and more comfortable and have less potential to poison your dog.
There are also some paths along the river which are popular with cyclists where you can take your dog for a leasurely, relatively flat walk. It’s important to note that there is not one long continuous promenade, but some grassy stretches. If you travel west toward Cumieres, there’s a much nicer riverside path there.
If you do want to explore towns nearby, my top recommendation is Hautvillers, which is where Dom Perignon himself perfected the craft of winemaking at the Abbey of Hautvillers. The town sits on a hill above Epernay with beautiful views of the vineyards.
Things you can’t do with a dog in Epernay
The tiny center of Epernay is quite walkable but not very green. Unfortunately, where there are parks, dogs are not always allowed inside. For instance, Parc de l’Hôtel de Ville, which surrounds the town hall, is not dog-friendly. Within Epernay, your dog will unfortunately only have little scraps of grass and small parks available to relieve himself.
As you can expect anywhere, you also can’t go into the Champagne Wine and Regional Archaeology Museum or any churches with your dog. Something that may be particularly disappointing is that guided tastings and cave visits at the champagne visits are not usually dog-friendly. Since these tours usually go into areas where wine is produced or stored, it’s a hygiene issue. So while you’ll be able to drink all the champagne you want with your pup, you won’t be able to go underground with them and learn about the champagne making process.
One exception in Epernay is Champagne Mercier, where dogs are allowed on tours but only if they are carried in a suitable pet carrier or bag while inside the cellars. This includes the underground train to the 18 km cellars.
Pro tip: In Reims, there are a couple of other cave tours that are dog-friendly. For instance, we were able to take our dog on a leash into the caves of GH Martel because it’s no longer a production site. Mumm will also allow you to bring your dog to the caves if they’re in a bag or carrier. Want to know more? Check out my other post about dog-friendly things to do in Reims.
Despite this, Epernay is quite dog-friendly. None of these restrictions significantly impeded our enjoyment of our visit, and the dog also had a nice leisurely time eating good French meat, cheese, and bread.
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