saint emilion tourist office website

• The 12 monuments
• Les grands événements
• 22 raisons to come
• We tried out for you
• Inspiring portraits
• Our photo spots
• Our committed partners

• The tourist office
• Access and parking
• Brochures and plans
• Our commitments
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Restaurants
• Picnic areas
• Accommodations
• Motorhome parks
• Galeries d'arts
• Artisanat/décoration
• The markets

• THE MONOLITHIC CHURCH tour
• Chateaux of the day
• Visits to wine estates
• Wine & vineyard experiences
• With family
• Nature and the outdoors

• All the agenda

Office de Tourisme du Grand Saint-Emilionnais Le Doyenné - Place des Créneaux - 33330 SAINT-EMILION | Tél. +33 (0)5 57 55 28 28

PROTECTION OF YOUR PERSONAL DATA

In France, personal data is protected by law no. 78-87 of 6 January 1978, law no. 2004-801 of 6 August 2004, article L. 226-13 of the Criminal Code and the European Directive of 24 October 1995. When using the www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com website, the following information may be collected: the URL of the links via which the user accessed the www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com website, the user's access provider, the user's Internet Protocol (IP) address. In any event, the Tourist Office only collects personal information relating to the user for the purposes of certain services offered by the www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com website. Users provide this information with full knowledge of the facts, particularly when they enter it themselves. Users of the www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com website are then informed whether or not they are required to provide this information. In accordance with the provisions of Articles 38 et seq. of Law 78-17 of 6 January 1978 on Data Processing, Data Files and Individual Liberties, all users have the right to access, rectify and object to any personal data concerning them, by making a written and signed request, accompanied by a copy of the identity document bearing the signature of the bearer of the document, specifying the address to which the reply is to be sent. No personal information of the user of the www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com site is published without the user's knowledge, exchanged, transferred or sold on any medium whatsoever to third parties. Only the assumption of the purchase of the Saint-Emilion Tourist Office and its rights would allow the transmission of the said information to the eventual purchaser who would in turn be bound by the same obligation of conservation and modification of the data with respect to the user of the www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com site. Databases are protected by the provisions of the law of 1 July 1998 transposing directive 96/9 of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases.

* Mandatory fields

• Subscribe to our newsletter

Grand Staint-Emilionnais Tourist Office

Le Doyenné - Place des Créneaux 33330 SAINT-EMILION

• Members' area
• Jobs & internships
• Legal information
• Privacy Policy

• COPYRIGHT © 2024 OFFICE DE TOURISME DU GRAND SAINT-ÉMILIONNAIS

What are you looking for?

Saint-Emilion travel guide

Visit Saint-Emilion (Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France)

Saint-Emilion is a town 35 kilometres east of Bordeaux in the Gironde department and in the Aquitaine region of south-west France. It is best known (indeed renowned the world over) for the vineyards which surround the town, Saint-Emilion being one of the four Bordeaux red wine regions, but is also an exceptionally attractive small town.

The history of the town dates back almost 2000 years when the Romans planted vineyards here as early as the 2nd century AD, while Saint-Émilion itself dates from the 8th century when a Breton Monk called Emilion came to settle here in a hermitage carved into the rock. The cave where he lived from 750 - 767 AD subsequently became a pilgrim destination.

Explore Saint-Emilion

Saint-Emilion is entered by way of one of the seven gates that are part of the original medieval fortifications. Inside the walls you will discover steep narrow streets with beautiful buildings, and several more open squares, each more attractive than the one before. Saint Emilion is not to be missed if you are in the region!

Built from, or rather hacked out of, the local yellow limestone, Saint-Emilion is centred around a large square with a church on one side. This is a quite remarkable church because it is more or less hewn into the the rock face. You can also climb the steps inside the 53 metre high 13th century bell tower which sits on the square above for stunning views across the rooftops and countryside.

For more views and history you can also climb to the top of the Chateau du Roy, the castle keep that is part of the medieval castle that once stood here.

Other particular places of interest include the collegiate church and its splendid cloister; the Cordeliers monastery and cloister; and the underground pottery museum, built in a 12th century quarry and containing pottery from 2000 years ago up to the present day.

Going underground in Saint-Emilion

To really appreciate Saint-Emilion you need to descend underground on the guided tour that will show you the catacombs which were used for Christian burials from the 8th to the 10th century; a 'monolithic' church that was carved out of the rock in the 9th century and is the biggest of its type in Europe (this church is nothing like the small cave like structure you might expect from an underground church!), and the 'grotte de l'Ermitage' in which Saint-Emilion spent the last 17 years of his life.

Handy hint: it is said that infertile women who sit in the stone chair in the hermit's cave will become pregnant...

The tour also includes the Chapelle de la Trinité which contains some well preserved medieval frescoes. This tour takes about 45 minutes and is highly recommended.

Emerging back into the daylight there are plenty of cafes, restaurants, artisan shops and boutiques to keep you entertained if the historical interest starts to wane.

France This Way review: the town has managed to avoid the surrounding development that might have spoiled it, and now Saint-Emilion and the surrounding region is a listed and protected UNESCO 'World Heritage Site', so future development is more or less impossible.

Note: I noticed in the Saint-Emilion tourist brochure that they give some 'Helpful Hints', and the very first of these is "Ladies, try to avoid high-heeled shoes as some of the streets are steep and paved with cobblestones". Good advice I'm sure, although I don't remember so many holidaymakers teetering around in high-heeled shoes!

Saint-Emilion wine

For wine enthusiasts no trip to Saint Emilion would be complete without a visit to one or more of the local wine chateaux. There are several of these that welcome the public for wine tasting - ask for details at Saint-Emilion tourist office.

The tourist office also offer guided tours to a local wine chateau if you are a bit nervous about just driving up to one yourself, and also courses in wine tasting based in the 'Saint Emilion wine school' are available. If all that sounds a bit serious just buy a bottle of wine in one of the local shops and enjoy it with a picnic!

As a rough guide to the Saint-Emilion wines; the best are the Premier Grand Cru Classées though these will set you back some hundreds of euros, next best are the Grand Cru Classées and then the Grand Crus. However even your non-Grand Cru Saint Emilion wines tend to be very good so don't be put off if your purse is not big enough for the Grand Cru Saint-Emilion wines!

Attractions near Saint-Emilion

There are numerous wine chateaux nearby and some lovely countryside, but if you are not just here for the wine-tasting the one problem with Saint-Emilion is that there are a limited number of other attractions very close by. Sainte-Foy-la-Grande is a pleasant town to explore and Libourne deserves a stroll but the more noteworthy towns in the region such as Bordeaux to the west and Bergerac to the east are a bit further.

I would suggest that the best way to visit is to stay further east, perhaps near Bergerac or Eymet where there are more medieval towns and villages to visit, and then make a day trip to enjoy the highlights of Saint-Emilion rather than actually plan to spend a week or two at Saint-Emilion itself - or book a night or two in a hotel here if your arrangements allow it.

You can find more travel ideas in the Gironde guide and the Aquitaine guide .

Photos of Saint-Emilion

Click any picture to start the gallery

Arrange a visit to Saint-Emilion

Book hotels, car hire and flights.

• Book a visit

Hotels in Saint-Emilion

Booking.com: best prices

For great prices on car hire throughout France and Corsica please visit our recommended partner at RentalCars.com

Reserve excursions

Map of saint-emilion and places nearby, visit near saint-emilion with france this way reviews.

Not generally considered as a travel destination, we found the center of Libourne to be quite interesting to explore

At Montcaret you can visit the archaeological site of a Roman villa to see ancient mosaics

Abbey of La Sauve-Majeure

The ruins of the Abbey of La Sauve-Majeure contain some very impressive examples of roman style architecture such as carved capital stones

Les Jardins de Sardy

The Jardins de Sardy to the wet of Bergerac are one of our favourite gardens to visit in the region

Sauveterre-de-Guyenne

The layout of the town of Sauveterre-de-Guyenne still follows its original medieval plan almost exactly

Pellegrue is a very small village but well worth exploring when you are visiting this part of the Dropt Valley

... or see ALL recommended places to visit in Gironde

Tourist classifications for Saint-Emilion

Saint-Emilion is classified as a historical protected town centre' (secteur sauvegardé)

Address: Saint-Émilion, Libourne, Aquitaine, 33330, France || GPS coordinates: latitude 44.896, longitude -0.155

Plan your visit to Saint-Emilion, Gironde

Sightseeing & tourist attractions to visit nearby.

• Collégiale et chapelle de la Trinité (Saint-Emilion): religious monument
• Eglise de Saint Pierre (Petit-Palais-et-Cornemps): religious monument (12 km)
• Jardins du château de Vayres: remarkable garden (12 km)
• Jardin du Fond de l’or: remarkable garden (16 km)
• Montcaret Archaeological site : national monument (18 km)
• La Sauve Majeure abbaye (monuments on French pilgrim routes) : heritage site (19 km)
• Sauve-Majeure Abbey : national monument (19 km)
• La Sauve église St Pierre (monuments on French pilgrim routes): heritage site (19 km)
• Jardins du Sardy : remarkable garden (21 km)
• Jardins du château de Mongenan: remarkable garden (31 km)
• Cadillac Chateau: national monument (32 km)
• Cave Pair-non-Pair: national monument (32 km)

The French version of this page is at Saint-Emilion (Francais)

French Places

We can help you visit any town, village or region of France...

Popular & Useful

① Ideas & inspiration ② Maps of France ③ Explore by region ④ Route planner ⑤ Places (by dept.)

France This Way copyright 2006 - 2024

• Cookies & privacy
• Index of places