You can visit Saint Emilion without a car or guide! I love sharing Saint Emilion with clients, but taking a private, chauffeured tour of the vineyards around Saint Emilion is not in everyone budget. I think often times, group tours don’t give you enough time to enjoy the beautiful town of Saint Emilion. There are wonderful old streets, ancient churches and plenty of shops to visit. Do stop by the tourism office for a map of the city, to book tours and to get a list of chateaux open that day (however I’d advise to book in advance).
In addition, if you are not all about wine, you can visit the underground of Saint Emilion to learn about the history of the town as a religious pilgrimage site, which was its main attraction for hundreds of years before wine!
HOW TO GET TO SAINT EMILION WITHOUT A CAR?
The train from Bordeaux to Saint Emilion is really easy to get! Tickets can be purchased on your phone via the SNCF app, SNCF website, or in the train stations at kiosks. Paper tickets are validated by stamping them in the yellow machines before walking onto the train platforms and can be used anytime of day (the timestamp is the time controllers will look for, not the time on the ticket). A round trip can cost anywhere from 10 EURO to 22 EURO, depending when you go and when you purchase.
Walking from the station into the town is also really easy, with sidewalks and beautiful views on the way. It is a slight up hill into town and the streets in the town are paved with some rather small stones (once ballast from the British ships coming to collect wine), so wear comfortable walking shoes. It should take around 15 minutes.
Saint Emilion doesn’t really start opening until 10am, but if you get into town before you can stop at the boulangerie Mie et Merlot (closed as of July for renovations) to get a pastry and coffee starting 7am (also have restrooms, but be sure to buy something first) / 6 Place Bouqueyre, 33330 Saint-Emilion / 05 57 24 56 69
CHATEAUX IN SAINT EMILION ACCESSABLE BY FOOT
There are many chateaux you can visit in the village of Saint Emilion by foot, without a car. I am only going to list those immediately in the town and I do recommend you book your visit well in advance. It’s unlikely you can get access the day of your visit. Bookings can be made through their websites directly, or by emailing. If you are going last minute and cannot book online, you will want to call as responses to emails can be weeks long in some cases.
CHATEAU LA GAFFELIERE
If you are wanting to see vines, which is interesting in particular from May-September, Chateau la Gaffeliere is one of the few chateaux that will give you the chance to see vines from the city center. They also have a lovely history of Roman artifacts found on the property, as they are near to some of the first plantations of vines nearly 2,000 years ago. Beautiful property and stunning Premiere Grand Cru Classe wines. http://gaffeliere.com / /Domaines Comte de Malet Roquefort 626 route de la Gare, 33330 Saint Emilion / 33 (0)5 57 24 72 15
CHATEAU GUADET
Chateau Guadet is a Grand Cru Classe biodynamic producer in town where you will be hosted by the owner Guy PETRUS, directly, which is rather unique in Bordeaux. Home | Château Guadet (chateauguadet.fr) / 4 rue Guadet, 33330 Saint-Emilion / 05 57 74 40 04
CHATEAU COUVENT DES JACOBINS
A lovely historic property next to Guadet, Chateau Couvent des Jacobins offers a wonderful tour including an underground visit and tasting with juice for children included. Couvent des Jacobins Classified Growth Saint-Emilion Bordeaux (couvent-jacobins-saint-emilion.com) / 10 Rue Guadet, 33330 Saint-Emilion / 05 57 24 70 66
CLOS DES MENUTS
If you are looking for one of the best underground strolls, the Clos des Menuts has beautiful carvings and planty of places to take great photos and can be visited without a reservation. Tastings are in the room above. Bienvenue! | Clos des Menuts (clos-des-menuts.com / 2 Pl du Chapitre Et des Jacobins, 33330 Saint-Emilion / 05 57 74 45 77
LES CORDELIERS CLOTURE
While Bordeaux isn’t known for it’s sparkling whites (crémant is the name for sparkling whites in Bordeaux), there are some decent ones to try. In town there is Les Cordeliers Clôture, an ancient monastery, which offers walking tours and tuk tuk rides into the underground quarries turned caves for storing their production. This ends with macarons and a crémant tasting! https://lescordeliers.regiondo.fr/ / 549 Rue du Clocher, 33330 Saint-Emilion / 05 57 24 42 13
WHERE TO LEARN ABOUT WINE IN SAINT EMILION?
If you are now going to Saint Emilion without a guide and still want to learn about wine? Try the Maison du Vin in Saint Emilion What is a Maison des Vins? – Aquitaine Travel Guide
CAVISTES IN SAINT EMILION WILL HELP YOU KNOW WHICH WINES TO BUY AND SHIP!
There is no place better to choose wines from and have them shipped back to the USA (or your own country) than Saint Emilion. However, the other great thing is they can talk to you about wine while you’re tasting to buy. Keep in mind the VAT taxes are taken off when shipped overseas, so if you spend around 45-50 EURO a bottle, the shipping will come out about even.
Greg STANDFORD at Bordeaux Classique is one of my favorites, this shop specializes in smaller chateaux and he is always happy to talk and taste with you! They have been able to get some great older vintages for clients of mine, like a 199 http://www.bordeaux-classique.com/ / 15 rue de la Porte Bouqueyre, 33330 Saint-Emilion / 05 57 74 49 49
Erik DELCROS and the other multilingual staff from Vignobles & Chateaux is another great caviste who can help you select from the more well known, prestigious classified estates in Bordeaux. They have some incredible vintages as well for the high end collector. Caviste à Saint-Emilion – Vignobles et Châteaux (vignobles-et-chateaux.com) / 4 rue du Clocher, 33330 Saint-Emilion / 05 57 74 47 76
Interested in a food tour of Saint Emilion? Contact me! There are a lot of great regional and local delicacies to enjoy as you take in the history of the city! Anne at aquitaineguide@gmail.com
This list is going to be updated continually but feel free to contact me with any questions and have fun! If you’d prefer to have a guided tour, you can book with me directly or email aquitaineguide@gmail.com for more information.
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