Whenever I'm in Paris, I take a 40-minute train ride to Champagne. A roundtrip ticket is only $60, and the wine lives up to the hype.

I booked a roundtrip ticket on the TGV train from Paris to Champagne for 56.50 euros, or about $62. I purchased the tickets via Rail Europe, which I think is the easiest way for Americans to buy train tickets in advance.

I recommend getting to the station about 15 minutes before your train's departure so that you have ample time to find your seat. Tickets are either first- or second-class, and each ticket has a coach number and seat number attached.

To access the train platform, I had to scan a QR code. But keep your phone handy — the conductors came through the cabin to scan it again during the ride.

Since TGV is France's high-speed rail, the trip only takes about 40 minutes.

I got off in Reims, the largest city in the Champagne region. French kings used to be crowned at the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims, and today, many Champagne houses are headquartered there.

Reims is super walkable, with excellent cheese shops and patisseries around every corner. It's also home to landmarks like the Reims Cathedral and Porte de Mars.

The city was damaged during World War I, so the predominant architecture is Art Deco, with several pedestrian-only promenades and plazas.

If you want to stay longer than a day, there are some luxurious accommodations right downtown, including Résidence Eisenhower (the former mansion that General Eisenhower stayed in at the conclusion of World War II).

Room rates start at about 425 euros a night, but the residence also offers standard tours for 20 euros and Champagne-tasting tours for 100 euros if you just want a peek inside.

Although you can drink plenty of wine in town, I recommend exploring the different Champagne houses for the full experience.

Over the years, I've visited nearly a dozen houses, and some stand out. Maison Ruinart offers an 85-euro tour of its stunning chalk cellars, which are actually a UNESCO World Heritage site. The family-run Billecart-Salmon house also has a lovely 80-euro tour and tasting that I like.

Unfortunately, many of the top Champagne houses, like Laurent-Perrier, Krug, and Charles Heidsieck, aren't open to the public. But luckily, I've easily found rarer bottles at local wine shops.

The Chai Léon shop in Reims offers free tastings on Saturdays and has an excellent selection of Champagne, including smaller producers I'd never heard of before. As a bonus, most of the prices are better than back home in the US.

On the outskirts of Reims, Hôtel L'Assiette Champenoise is home to the only three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Champagne.

Predictably, it's quite pricey, with menus ranging from 155 to 395 euros. But dining at Assiette Champenoise was the absolute highlight of my recent trip.

My meal started with a colorful array of bite-sized snacks in the garden and ended with a delicious strawberries and cream dessert. Alongside beautiful tomato dishes and buttery brill, the pièce de résistance is the restaurant's famous Brittany Blue lobster dish.

Each course is served with a little pot of rich sauce (kept warm on a burner), and servers come around with an unending supply of housemade sourdough bread for dipping.

I'm so glad I set aside time to explore Champagne on my last trip. Getting to the region from Paris was quick and relatively cheap, and I found plenty of things to do and see.

The best part is I brought plenty of Champagne home — I firmly believe that the best souvenirs are ones you can share.

If you're bringing alcohol back to the US, just remember to declare anything over the federal limit of 1 liter for personal duty-free use. I also wrap my wine bottles in clothes before placing them in my suitcase for extra protection and easy packing.