Habits de Lumière is the weekend Épernay turns its most famous street into a three-day party. Each December the Avenue de Champagne, lined with the grand houses and their chalk cellars, fills with light shows, Champagne bars and fireworks, and the 26th edition runs from Friday, December 11 to Sunday, December 13, 2026. Here is what happens each night, what is free and what costs, and how to plan the weekend.
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- Dates
- Friday, December 11 to Sunday, December 13, 2026 (26th edition)
- Venue
- Avenue de Champagne, Épernay, pedestrian during the evening events
- Hours
- Friday from 6:00 p.m. to Sunday at noon; detailed timings come with the program in mid-November
- Entry
- Free, no ticket needed; Champagne by the glass, food and pairing workshops are paid
- Getting there
- Train from Paris-Est in about 1 hour 15 minutes, or 25 minutes from Reims; free car parks in town
In this article
What Habits de Lumière is
The name means “dressed in light”, and the idea is simple: for one weekend before Christmas the city lights up the Avenue de Champagne and invites everyone in. The avenue runs for about a kilometer east of the town center, with the headquarters of houses such as Moët & Chandon, Perrier-Jouët and Pol Roger along it, and more than a hundred kilometers of cellars dug into the chalk beneath. Since 2015 it has been part of the Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars listed by UNESCO.
The festival is organized by the city of Épernay with the houses and growers of the avenue, and it has grown into one of the largest winter events in the region: local press counted around 95,000 visitors at the 25th edition in 2025. It is a street festival, not a trade fair. Nobody checks a ticket, families come with children, and the Champagne is poured by the glass at bars set up in the courtyards of the houses.
For a wine traveler it is also a rare chance to see the avenue at night with the doors open. Most of the year the great houses receive visitors by appointment, on fixed tour schedules; this weekend the facades are part of the show.
Habits de Lumière 2026: dates and program
The official Habits de Lumière site confirms the 26th edition for December 11, 12 and 13, 2026. The shape of the weekend is the same every year, and the city has published it in outline; the detailed program, with timings and the list of houses taking part, is announced for mid-November.
| Day | What happens | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Friday, December 11 | Opening evening on the Avenue de Champagne: illuminations, video mapping on the facades, street shows, Champagne bars, music and fireworks | Free entry; drinks paid |
| Saturday, December 12, morning | Habits de Saveurs: starred chefs cook with the avenue’s winemakers in a demonstration and tasting open to all | Free |
| Saturday, December 12, afternoon | A pastry contest for children; food and wine pairing workshops | Contest free; workshops paid, on booking |
| Saturday, December 12, evening | Second evening of light shows, Champagne bars and fireworks | Free entry; drinks paid |
| Sunday, December 13, morning | Parade of around 500 vintage cars along the avenue | Free, no booking |
The pairing workshops are the one part of the weekend that sells out: the Épernay tourist office says dates and booking details are released in mid-November, with reservations opening toward the end of the month. If you want a seat, check the official site as soon as the program is out.
What to expect on the Avenue de Champagne
Friday and Saturday are the big nights. The avenue closes to traffic, the facades of the houses become screens for video mapping, and light installations run from the town end of the street toward the château-like buildings further out. Musicians and street performers move between the courtyards, and the evening ends with fireworks.
The Champagne is the part you pay for. Houses and growers open their courtyards as bars and sell by the glass, and prices vary from one bar to the next; there is no single pass. Food stands work the same way. Bring a card and plan on a few glasses spread over the evening rather than a tasting flight: this is a crowd in winter coats, not a seated tasting.
Cellar tours during the festival are booked directly with each house, as the city’s program notes, and some houses also open for visits and tastings on the Sunday. If you want the full guided visit, with the galleries and a proper tasting, our guide to Champagne houses to visit in Reims and Épernay explains which ones take bookings and how far ahead to reserve.
Two practical notes. It is cold: Épernay in mid-December sits around freezing after dark, and the festival is almost entirely outdoors. And it is busy, especially on Saturday night, so arriving early in the evening gives you the light shows with room to move.
Champagne tours to book around the festival
The festival fills the evenings and leaves the days free, which is the moment to get into the vineyards. Two tours start right on the Avenue de Champagne and fit around the program.
For a daytime half day, the Bubble Champagne Tour from Épernay is a small-group trip of three and a half hours with six tastings at smaller producers, rated 4.8/5 across 167 GetYourGuide reviews, from $183 per person. It is back in town well before the lights come on.
For something in the festival spirit, A Winter in Champagne: Christmas in Épernay is an evening drive of about two and a half hours in an illuminated vintage car: a viewpoint over the town, a stop with a family grower for three glasses of Champagne and a crêpe flambéed with Marc de Champagne, and a slow return down the lit-up avenue. Groups stay at seven or fewer, and it costs from $78 per person. It is new, with no reviews yet on Viator, and it runs in the Christmas season, so check that your night is on its calendar.
Where to stay for Habits de Lumière
Épernay is a small town, and the hotels closest to the avenue fill early for the festival weekend. Staying on or near the Avenue de Champagne lets you walk back after the fireworks; La Villa Eugène and the Hotel Jean Moët are a few minutes away on foot. Our round-up of hotels in Épernay and Reims compares eight places to stay, from the avenue itself to château hotels in the vineyards.
Check Épernay hotels on Expedia →
If Épernay is full, Reims is the fallback that works: a much larger hotel stock, the cathedral and its own Champagne houses, and a regional train to Épernay in about 25 minutes. Check the late return trains before you commit to the last fireworks.
Book it
If Épernay is full, stay in Reims
More rooms, a TGV station from Paris and a 25-minute train to the festival.
Getting to Épernay for the weekend
By train, Épernay is about 1 hour 15 minutes from Paris-Est and 25 minutes from Reims, and the avenue starts roughly ten minutes’ walk from the town center. For the evenings that is the easy option: no parking, and nobody has to stay sober.
If you drive, the city points visitors to three free car parks: Pastural on allée de Cumières, Raoul-Chandon on rue des Petits Prés, and the Hall des Sports Pierre-Gaspard in the Parc des Loisirs Roger-Menu. Local Mouvéo buses run in town. A car pays off for the days, when the vineyards of the Montagne de Reims and the Côte des Blancs are a short drive away; our Champagne region travel guide explains how the five wine areas fit together.
What we know so far, and what we don’t
Confirmed: the dates, the 26th edition, free entry to the avenue, the Habits de Saveurs morning, the Sunday vintage car parade and the free car parks. Not yet published: the exact timings of each evening, the list of houses and growers running bars, the chefs taking part and the dates of the pairing workshops. We will update this page when the full program is out, and again with a recap after the festival.
The short version for planning: book your room now, keep Friday or Saturday night for the avenue, and use the day for the vineyards or a cellar visit booked ahead.
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