One Day In Saint Emilion, France

A Day Trip to St. Emilion

St. Emilion – the dream destination for wine enthusiasts across the globe.

With gorgeous views from the 12th century monolithic church, plenty of chateaus offering wine tastings, and tons of cafes and restaurants, this city is a must-stop if you’re in the region. Although the city is primarily focused on wine, we found a wide variety of things to do there, and the scenery (not to mention the vino) was incredible.

There are plenty of hotel and lodging options around St. Emilion, and if you have the time, it would surely be a great city to explore a night or two. We visited as a day trip from Bordeaux, so this article doesn’t go into places to stay. We also didn’t have a car, so although there are a wide array of chateaus available to visit, this itinerary highlights two that are accessible without a car as we took public transportation from Bordeaux to arrive here.

Getting there from Bordeaux:

By Train:

This is how we decided to travel! The train runs every hour from Bordeaux Saint-Jean to St. Emilion, and is very intuitive. The journey takes about a hour each way, and is 9.5 euro (14 for a return trip). The train station in St. Emilion is about a 20 minute walk from the main city, but is easy to follow as many people are making the same pilgrimage into town.

See the schedules on the SCNF website here: SCNF Website

By Car:

If you have rented a car, St. Emilion is easily accessible (and it makes it a lot easier to explore all of the Chateaus in the area!)

Do I need to reserve a tasting in advance:

Yes, if you’re hoping to book any tastings, it’s definitely recommended to book in advance in order to ensure a spot! There are a ton of vineyards within the St. Emilion region, and I’ll link a few at the bottom of the site that we looked into visiting. The options are definitely more limited if you haven’t rented a car. Both Chateaus in this itinerary are accessible without a car and are within walking distance from St. Emilion.

Our Itinerary:

Train from Bordeaux to St. Emilion

First up on the itinerary is actually getting from Bordeaux to St Emilion. The train is about 30 minutes long, with around 17 trains a day that run this route, direct, making it a nice and easy destination. (Link to Trainline)

Wine Tasting at the Chateau La Gaffeliere

Upon arrival, get ready for some wine tasting! We chose Chateau La Gaffeliere for our first tasting. This family-owned Chateau is on the way to the St Emilion town from the train station (which is around a 20 minute walk), so it was a convenient first stop. This Chateau offers guided tours as well and the vineyards looked great. They didn’t offer any in the morning, which was why we chose a tasting instead. It’s also a popular Chateau in the region, with any of their wines featured throughout the shops in the town.

Hike up the Church de Saint-Emilion

Now that you’ve had a taste of the famed wines in the region, if you follow Moulin Biguey from the train station into town (the main road you’re already walking on as you hop out of the train), you will arrive at a large town square with shops, restaurants, and a towering gothic church. The first thing we did was continue the path up and explore the viewpoint from the 12th century Monolithic church (the largest in Europe!), which gives some perspective on the town and provides for some great photos and views. I’d try to stop here early, as the viewpoint did get busy later on in the day. The above photo shows what the city looks like from this viewpoint.

You can also explore the underground areas of this church and the catacombs, however this must be done on a guided tour and can’t be explored on your own. The tourist page linked below will have up to date times for when you visit, as they do very depending on the season. When we visited, there were two English-speaking tours a day, one at 11 and one at 2. Since you can’t check these out on your own, I’d definitely recommend booking a slot at the tour before arriving.

Check out this link here to book

Grab a baguette from Fromagerie La Moineaudiere

It was hard to find stops “off the beaten path” in St Emilion because the town itself is so small and so well-trafficked. However, stumbling into this cheese and meat shop was one of our favorite things that we did in the city. The shop itself is adorable, has tons of free samples of a variety of meats and cheeses, and has great sandwiches for lunch. When we visited, we actually stopped here twice – once before the Cloisters and once after the Cloisters – because we enjoyed the sandwich so much. We had the raclette sandwich (both times) but they all sounded delicious.

Wine tour and tasting at the Chateau Villemaurine

Our second Chateau of the day, Chateau Villlemaurine was a great and unique tour and tasting that we chose. It’s right outside of the city, so very easy to get to via walking, and also includes a tour of their underground quarry that was operational back in the 14th century, which was a nice addition to the tour. During the tour, we saw the vineyards, got to check out the winemaking process, and saw the underground limestone caves.

Explore the cellars and have a tasting at the Cloitre des Cordeliers

After our wine tasting, we headed into the Cloisters for more touring and tasting. There is a tour of the cloister and the wine cellar, where you can see where the wine is stored, and hear about the Franciscan Monks who lived here from the 14^th-18^th centuries. Although red wine is a natural favorite of the region, Les Cordeliers offers sparkling wine, a nice change of pace for a lighter drink.

The Cloisters has a lovely back garden with tables and chairs that can be used for a picnic. They have a great selection of foods and wines here as well – if you’re using the space, definitely buy some of their wine or food items. The wine featured here is crémant and is much lighter than the red wines usually featured in the region. It was a nice light way to end the afternoon and take advantage of the good weather that we enjoyed for the day.

Dinner at Chai Pascal or La Table de Pavie

Reservations are recommended at either of these highly rated restaurants (or any within the small town). Entrecotes, lamb and duck covered with the regional Bordelaise sauce are favorites in the region.

Train back to Bordeaux

Time to say goodbye! Be sure to check the train schedules before your trip.

There are also great guided tour options that would pre book several Chateaus for you and may make it even easier to explore the area. Check these options out: