Europe > France > Champagne Ardennes (XCR)
The Car or no Car advice for Champagne Ardennes can be broken down into three similar questions - do you need a car in Champagne Ardennes ; is it worth it (based on costs), and ultimately - should you rent one? (a balance of the two).🚆 🚌⛴️ Do we need to rent a car in Champagne Ardennes ?
These scores are based on the quality of public transport and other travel options. If these are good enough to see the main points of interest, then you don’t need to rent a car.
💰💶💳 Is it worth hiring a car in Champagne Ardennes?
These scores reflect the practical factors that affect whether renting a car is convenient, good value, and stress-free.What Champagne-Ardenne TGV actually is 🚆
Champagne-Ardenne TGV sits on the LGV Est high-speed line between Paris and eastern France. Trains from Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle Airport reach the station in under an hour, and central Paris is only slightly farther away. This makes it an efficient gateway for international visitors who want to avoid Paris city transfers altogether.
Crucially, this is not a city-centre station. It was designed for speed and interchange, not urban life. There are no attractions on foot, no historic core, and no reason to linger unless you are connecting onward.
Reaching Reims and beyond 🚋
Reims city centre is about 5 km away and is easily reached by tram, which was specifically extended to serve the station. This makes Reims a strong no-car destination in its own right, with its cathedral, champagne houses, and compact centre all accessible on foot or by public transport 🚶♀️.
You can also continue by regional train or tram-train to nearby towns, but frequencies drop sharply once you leave the main corridors.
When a rental car becomes useful 🚗
This is where the equation changes. The Champagne vineyards are spread across rolling countryside, small villages, and hillside routes that are not well served by public transport. While organised tours exist, they are inflexible and often expensive.
Renting a car near Champagne-Ardenne TGV allows you to:
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Visit multiple champagne houses in a single day (with a designated driver 🍇)
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Explore villages such as Hautvillers or the Montagne de Reims
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Travel at your own pace through vineyard landscapes
Car rental availability near the station is limited compared with major airports, but Reims city centre offers more choice, and Charles-de-Gaulle Airport offers the widest and cheapest selection if you are planning ahead.
Conclusion: should you rent a car at Champagne-Ardenne TGV? 🤔
If your visit focuses purely on Reims city or onward rail travel, the answer is no—public transport works very well. However, if your goal is to explore the Champagne region itself, a rental car quickly becomes the most practical option. In that sense, Champagne-Ardenne TGV works best as a rail-to-road transition point, rather than a destination in its own right 🚘🍾.