France spends billions a year on wine – a venue beneath the streets of Paris wants to show you why

If you think of Paris, you’ll likely think of iconic buildings like the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe.

Beneath the streets of the City of Lights, though, is a hidden world.

Les Caves du Louvre is a different side to Paris. Built in the 18th century, the lesser known tourist spot is an underground network of cellars and tunnels, previously used as an elaborate wine cellar for King Louis XIV.

At the turn of that century, the late king’s sommelier had ordered the construction of the space, one that meant  wine could be supplied to the palace in complete discretion.

“The cellars… were built by André Eynaud to store the wine for the king. It was built in the 18th century and to help facilitate the delivery of the wine to the king, he built two tunnels,” Justan Fondbertasse, chief sommelier at Les Caves du Louvre explains.

“One of the tunnels was to transport wine from the Seine River, because at that time there were no trains or cars, the easiest way to transport wine was by boat. And then there was a second tunnel that was from here directly to the Louvre, where the king was living,” he adds.

France may have got rid of its monarchy more than 200 years ago now – but it’s kept its passion for wine.

At Les Caves du Louvre, anyone can live like royalty, choosing a wine tasting session amid the vast amounts of the cellar’s myriad subterranean passages.

Across the rest of France, too, wine is big business.

In 2023 alone, the nation produced an estimated 46 million hectolitres, according to the French Ministry of Agriculture.

Regions like Bordeaux, Burgundy and Champagne are renowned for their wine production – but experts at Les Caves du Louvre believe the rest of the world has barely scratched the surface of what France has to offer.

“Most people don’t know that we have over 850 grape varieties that are indigenous to us in France and we have over 70,000 wineries. Each winemaker will have a different interpretation of the grape varieties and of their terroir, their region,” Fondbertasse explains.

According to data analysis firm Statista, the average French person drinks 47 litres of wine every year.

It’s little surprise, then, that retail sales of wine in France alone top €4.6 billion.

If you’re in France and keen to learn more about the wide world of wine, a visit to Les Caves du Louvre might be a good place to start.