Paris Digest
Paris city guide since 1997
Cognac tours from Paris in one day are possible. Discover Cognac, regarded as the finest spirit distilled from grapes. Visit Cognac houses and the terroir. Understand how the grapes are grown and turned into spirit. As an alternative, Cognac tasting is possible in most bars and restaurants in Paris. Drink Cognac as a digestif at the end of the meal. Top Paris wine tours.
Cognac is a world famous brandy. It is grown in the city of Cognac, three hours and a half from Paris by train. It is possible to visit Cognac houses in one day from Paris.
The houses of Rémy Martin, Martell and Hennessy, all three world famous, are in the city of Cognac. All three have interesting guided tours with tasting and have their own shop. As a complement, visit the Cognac Museum.
There are no packaged Paris to Cognac tours. Organize your tour yourself by booking a train ticket. Itinerary example:
6.50am: TGV in Paris to Angoulême (arrival 8.29am)
8.41am: train to Cognac
Free time to visit Cognac, Cognac houses and have lunch. Everything is within walking distances.
4.28pm: train to Angoulême (arrival 5.08pm)
5.30pm: TGV to Paris (arrival 7.30pm)
There are interesting local guided tours to explore the Grande Champagne region with an English speaking local guide and driver, visiting vineyards where the best cognacs are produced. Details of the one day available tours.
For over two centuries, Hennessy has been the world’s leading cognac brand. The headquarters in Cognac offer visitors a rich 90 minute tour blending history and modernity.
Start with a boat trip across the Charente River. Visit the places where Richard Hennessy began to write the story of the Hennessy Maison over 250 years ago.
Discover the story of Hennessy, the craftsmanship and individual people who have made its international reputation.
Discover the rituals of cognac tasting in the footsteps of the members of the Hennessy Tasting Committee.
Cognac is 124 km from Bordeaux city, the prestigious city, home of the world famous Bordeaux wines. It is therefore quite feasible to combine a visit to Cognac and to Bordeaux in two days from Paris.
Take the train to Cognac, spend the day in Cognac, take a train in the evening to Bordeaux and board a Bordeaux wine tour on the second day. Back to Paris by train in the evening of the second day.
The origin of Cognac dates back to the 16th century when Dutch settlers came to this French region to purchase salt, wood, and wine. They needed to find a way to conserve the wine. They started by distilling the wine into eau-de-vie, and eventually realized a second distillation made for an even finer product. This was the birth of brandy. Brandy comes from the Dutch word “brandewijn” which means burnt wine.
To bear the name Cognac, a brandy must meet a number of legal requirements. It must be made in the Cognac area from specified grapes of which Ugni is the one most widely used, be twice distilled in copper pot stills and aged at least two years in French oak barrels. Cognac matures in the same way as whiskies and wine when aged in barrels.
There are close to 200 cognac producers. The top 5 Best Selling Cognac Brands in the World are Hennessy, Pierre Ferrand, Martell, Rémy Martin and Courvoisier.
"So that freedom lives, men will always have to stand up and fight against indifference or resignation." La Fayette was one of them, and remains a symbol to this day. Rebuilding the Hermione, the frigate he took in 1780 to go to America, is a way of paying an authentic homage to La Fayette and keep the memory of a great adventure of solidarity between people.
You can see the Hermione 75 km from Cognac in the lovely harbor of Rochefort. France map.
