Of all the day trips from Bordeaux, Saint-Émilion is the one I send people to first. A small medieval town of golden stone rising straight out of the vineyards, with the largest monolithic church in Europe hidden in the rock beneath its streets, viewpoints over a sea of vines, and a food scene that runs from simple bistros to fine dining. For somewhere this small, it holds more than towns ten times its size, and it stays with people long after the wine has worn off.

I used to guide visitors around Saint-Émilion, and I later recorded a self-guided audio tour of the village so you can explore it the way I would, at your own pace. It still gets me every time.

This guide covers how to get there, what to see, how to visit a winery whether or not you have a car, and where to eat. If you want the wider picture of the region first, the appellations and how they fit together, read my full guide to the Bordeaux wine region.

This is going to be a detailed guide, so if all you want is one winery recommendation in Saint-Émilion, I highly recommend Château Montlabert. You can book it directly on the local platform Rue des Vignerons, where I usually find wineries to visit around France. For more recommendations, read my wineries in Saint Emilion guide.
*If you’re looking for an all-inclusive full-day tour departing from Bordeaux, choose this semi-private tour, and they do all the planning for you.

If you decide to stay the night in Saint Emilion (which I highly recommend), here are my hotel recommendations. In case you’re looking for a unique experience in the vineyards of Bordeaux, check out my article about the best wine hotels in the region.

How I’d spend the day

If you only have one day, I’d arrive in the morning while the streets are still quiet, do the underground tour before it books out, have a long lunch, then spend the afternoon at a winery or two and finish with a glass at Les Cordeliers before the train back. The sections below roughly follow that order, but nothing here is compulsory, so pick what fits the kind of traveller you are.

How to get to Saint-Émilion from Bordeaux 

A direct train runs from Gare Saint-Jean and takes around 35 minutes, and from the little station it’s about a 20-minute walk into the village, with the old town rising up out of the vines as you get closer.

By train you can comfortably see the village itself and reach a few wineries close to town on foot. What you can’t do on foot is get to most of the châteaux, which sit further out among the vineyards, well beyond walking distance. If you want to visit several of them, and to drive through the wine country itself, which is honestly half the pleasure, you’re much better off renting a car.

For the full breakdown of timetables, parking and the walk from the station, see my guide to getting from Bordeaux to Saint-Émilion, and if you’d rather go car-free, Saint-Émilion by train covers how to do the whole day without driving.

What to see in the village

Saint-Émilion joined the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1999, one of the first vineyard landscapes recognised that way. The village grew up around a monk named Émilion who settled in a cave here in the 8th century, and for a stretch of the Middle Ages, under English rule, it governed itself through a brotherhood of magistrates called la Jurade. That brotherhood still exists in ceremonial form, and every September it appears in red robes to proclaim the start of the grape harvest, which tells you how seriously the wine is taken here.

The Monolithic Church

The village’s most remarkable sight is the Monolithic Church, the largest church in Europe carved from a single rock. In the 12th century, builders dug down from the top of the plateau and hollowed the whole thing out from the inside, leaving a vast space where you would least expect one. From the square above, you would never guess it was there.

Because the site is fragile, you can’t wander in on your own. You visit either on the guided underground tour run by the tourist office, which also takes you through the catacombs, Émilion’s cave and the little Trinity Chapel, or with a private certified guide. Book ahead in high season, as the English slots fill up, and you’ll find tickets and times on the tourist office site.

I found the tour genuinely fascinating, the best way to understand how the whole town came to exist. That said, if you’re a little claustrophobic or short on time, skipping it won’t ruin your day. You can take in the church from the outside, or listen to me tell its story on my self-guided audio tour, where I go into the detail.

Climb the bell tower of the Monolithic Church

The bell tower was added long after the church and rises above the whole village. You can climb it for the view most people picture when they imagine Saint-Émilion, rooftops giving way to vineyards in every direction.

It isn’t free, but it’s close: you pick up a key from the tourist office for around 2 euros and go up on your own, which makes it feel like your own private viewpoint.

Visit the Collegiate Church and cloister

Built between the 12th and 15th centuries, the Collegiate Church is the one you can wander into freely, no tour needed. It sits just behind the tourist office, and the quiet cloître beside it is worth slowing down for.

Look closely at the walls and you’ll find old graves, worn statues, and a small dragon carved into the stone that most visitors walk straight past.

La Tour du Roy

La Tour du Roy is the only intact Romanesque keep left in the whole of Gironde, which makes it more of a rarity than it first looks. It rises about 32 metres on a base honeycombed with old quarry caves, and it’s where the Jurade still proclaims the harvest each September. Climb its 118 steps for another view over the vines, for a small fee.

A glass of sparkling wine at Les Cordeliers

Saint-Émilion is red-wine country, but the one place I’d send you for a glass is Les Cordeliers, where they make crémant, the region’s sparkling wine, in the cellars beneath a ruined 14th-century Franciscan cloister. You can tour the underground galleries, but you don’t have to. The garden bar among the cloister arches is one of the loveliest places in the village to sit with a glass of sparkling white or rosé, and they’ll do you a picnic board to go with it.

It’s at 2 bis rue de la Porte Brunet, and the bar runs late, until 20:30 most days and 23:00 on Friday and Saturday. All the details are on their site.

The Saint-Émilion macaron

Before you leave, find the local macaron, which has nothing to do with the colourful Parisian kind. It was first made here by Ursuline sisters in the 17th century, and the traditional version is small, soft and almondy, sold flat on sheets of paper. For the original recipe, go to Macarons de Saint-Émilion – Nadia Fermigier at 9 Rue Guadet.

The Saint Emilion wine route – visiting wineries 

Don’t want to drive or organize winery visits yourself?
Guided tours from Bordeaux are a great option, whether you prefer a half-day wine tasting, a full-day vineyard experience, or an e-bike tour through the vineyards. See my guide to the best wine tours in Bordeaux.
If I need to choose only one, it would be this semi-private full-day tour from Bordeaux.

Visiting a winery, with or without a car

This is what many people come for, and the good news is you don’t have to plan it like a military operation. Some châteaux welcome walk-in tastings, while a proper tour of the cellars usually needs booking ahead.

The tourist office publishes a daily list of estates you can visit without a reservation, which is handy if you’re feeling spontaneous on the day. But if you’re reading this a few days before your trip, I’d book ahead, because then you can choose one of the estates I actually recommend rather than leaving it to chance.

There are more than 150 producers in the appellation, so choosing is the hard part. I’ve visited a lot of them over the years and keep my favourites, mostly small family estates, in my guide to the best wineries in Saint-Émilion. A couple, like Couvent des Jacobins, are within walking distance of the village if you’re on the train; the rest need a car. If you’re car-free and still want a proper visit, I’ve put together which wineries you can reach by public transport.

🍷 Looking for an easy winery visit – you can read more about them in my guide?
Within walking distance of the village:
Couvent des Jacobins
Château Soutard
If you have a car:
Château Montlabert
Château Bernateau
Chateau de Ferrand

Most winery owners and staff speak English, but if you prefer booking everything in advance, platforms like Rue des Vignerons make the process very easy. 

Note – If you’re a keen wine traveller and have a car, Pomerol is only a short drive away and one of the smallest, most prestigious appellations in Bordeaux. Even if you don’t have time to go, it’s worth tasting a Pomerol while you’re here.

Some of my favorite visits include Château de Sales, Château Beauregard, Château du Tailhas, and Château Bel Air.

What to eat in Saint-Émilion

For a village this size, the food is a real reason to come, from a Michelin-starred table to good bistros. In summer and at weekends, book ahead, because it’s small and it fills up. If I had to pick one meal and didn’t want anything overly fancy, I’d go to L’Envers du Décor.

• L’Envers du Décor, a wine-bar institution with a lovely garden terrace in warm weather, and my pick if you only eat once. 11 rue du Clocher
• Logis de la Cadène, the village’s grand old name, for a special lunch. 3 Place du Marché au Bois
• L’Huitrier-Pie, creative cooking at gentler prices than the fine-dining rooms. 11 rue de la Porte Bouqueyre
• Château de Candale, for lunch surrounded by vines, which you can pair with a winery visit.

And if you can, eat out among the vineyards at least once. I find it one of the most memorable things you can do in this region.

If you’d rather stay the night

Most people come for the day, but Saint-Émilion is a different, quieter place once the day-trippers leave. Staying over also gives you the flexibility to try one of the village’s fine-dining rooms in the evening, join a night visit, and catch the summer events around Saint-Émilion, none of which fit into a day trip.

I’ve gathered the options, from vineyard B&Bs to the grand hotels in the centre, in my full guide to where to stay in and around Saint-Émilion. And if you’d like to wake up surrounded by vines, my guide to the best wine hotels in the region has the most scenic vineyard stays.

Here are a few options:

Logis de la Cadene

This hotel, with an amazing view of the historic center, has a warm and elegant design to it. And as I mentioned above, it also has one of the best restaurants in town. Book it here. 

Hostellerie de Plaisance 

One of the most luxurious and beautiful hotels in the center of Saint-Émilion, it offers a magical panoramic view of the medieval village and the vineyards. Book it here.

Les Chambres d’Ovaline

Les Chambres d’Ovaline is a cozy and beautiful B&B located a few minutes’ walk from the center of the village. It’s also much more affordable than the other options in Saint Émilion. Book a room here. 

Le Relais de Franc Mayne Saint-Émilion

A magical B&B with the most beautiful view of the vineyards of Saint-Émilion. The rooms are quite spacious and beautifully decorated. To book a room, click here.

FAQ – PRACTICAL INFO

Hope you find this article helpful! If you do, please share it with your friends!

Want to save this article for later? Save it on Pinterest!

Planning the rest of your trip?

If Saint-Émilion is one stop on a bigger Bordeaux trip, my weekend in Bordeaux guide ties the city and the day trips together.

You can also get plenty of tips on things to do in the Southwest of France via lost in Bordeaux’s social media accounts and email list, check them out here:

Facebook |Instagram |Email  | Facebook group

*Note – Some of the links in this article include affiliate links for which I earn a small commission. It adds absolutely nothing to your cost and helps me continue writing about this amazing region. Don’t worry, I’m not getting rich here, I’ll never recommend anything I don’t believe in!