Saint-Émilion
Saint-Émilion is a small wine town located 35 km (22 mi) northeast of Bordeaux, between Libourne and Castillon-la-Bataille in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of Southwestern France. It is a medieval town in the Gironde department and stands magnificently on top of the hill overlooking the Dordogne valley. The town is an incredible open-air museum with a medieval atmosphere and has many bars, restaurants and wine shops to explore. The most surprising remains are probably its underground monuments: a unique monilithic church, and more than 70 hectares of underground excavations.
Get in
By plane
There are flights to Bordeaux from other cities in France, and international flights from airports in Spain, Italy, Denmark, Germany, the UK, Ireland, Norway and Montreal, Canada. From Bordeaux, train or bus are the best options onward to Saint-Émilion.
By train
Paris to Bordeaux takes three hours on the TGV high-speed train. A frequent local train service, taking about 45 minutes, will bring you from Bordeaux to within 1 km or 10 minutes' walk of Saint-Émilion town center.
By bus
The bus service from Bordeaux takes about twice as long as the train, and runs 3-4 daily trips.
By car
Saint-Émilion is a 35-40 minute drive from Bordeaux, which is in turn well connected to the French major highway network.
Get around
You can walk from one side of the town to the other in under 10 minutes. Large cars, vans and trucks are not allowed into the city and are encouraged to park about 10-15 minutes walk outside the town center. Smaller cars and vans under 2 meters wide are allowed to park closer to the center, but are only allowed to enter the town at night.
See
- Jurisdiction of Saint-Émilion which is on the List of World Heritage Sites in Europe (Number 932)
Do
- Visit the underground monolithic church and other monuments. The local tourist office runs occasional guided tours in French.
- Wine School, Museum and Shop
Buy
Eat
Drink
Le Clocher Wine bar and has a wine list where you can pick from hundreds of wines
Sleep
Hotels
- Hostellerie de Plaisance
- Chateau Grand Barrail
- Le Relais de Franc Mayne
Bed and Breakfast
- Chateau Franc-Pourret
- Le Pavillon Villemaurine
- Les Belles Perdrix
Connect
Go next
- For a smaller, but similar wine town visit Amboise