Travel Guide: How to Take a Day Trip to Saint-Emilion
Planning a day trip to Saint-Emilion? Read on for a full breakdown on how to do one of the beautiful day trips from Bordeaux.

I want you to imagine the most rose-colored, idyllic scene in a movie, where characters are strolling through picture-perfect vineyards in a countryside full of rolling hills and charming estates. Something like Russell Crowe’s “A Good Year,” or Amanda Seyfried’s “Letters to Juliet.”
That is seriously what Saint-Emilion is like – just insanely picturesque and surrounded by vineyards and chateaux as far as the eye could see. I’ve visited France 14 times and visited dozens of charming villages and let me tell you, Saint-Emilion is special.
Saint-Emilion is a small village not far from the city of Bordeaux in southwest France, known for being a hotspot of wine production. In fact, the town and surrounding countryside were the first vineyard territory to be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Good to Know: A visit to Saint-Emilion almost always includes visits to the vineyards for tours and wine tastings. In the Bordeaux region, a vineyard or winery is referred to as a “chateau.”
While chateau usually just means “castle” in French, here, it refers to the vineyards that belong to the estate, which often have a very beautiful manor house associated with the winery.

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Three Ways to Take A Day Trip to Saint-Emilion
If you want to visit Saint-Emilion, there are 3 different ways to take a day trip:
- Join a guided tour
- Take the train
- Drive yourself
While there are some overlapping features of each type of day trip, each of these methods (tour, train, car) is a fairly unique type of experience from the others.
In this guide, we’ll go into detail about how to do each type of trip, the pros and cons of each option, and important things to know about each version. Then we’ll discuss the different things to do in Saint Emilion.
1. Guided Tour to Saint-Emilion: Why Do a Tour and Which Tours Are Best

There are two main reasons why a guided tour to Saint-Emilion is a good option:
First, logistics are completely taken care of. You don’t have to figure out trains or hire a car and navigate the roads, and you have the benefit of going to some really excellent Saint Emilion wineries that a professional has vetted and chosen.
Second and most importantly, you don’t have to worry about getting tipsy and driving – everyone in your party can sample the wines without worry.
I’ve rounded up several great options here for tours going outside of Bordeaux to Saint Emilion and the surrounding area. All of these are small group (10 people or less), provide comfortable transportation, and are conducted in English.
Additionally, the reviews are all fantastic and the guides in particular are noted to be exceptional and a highlight of the day.
Option 1: Full-Day Tour with Free Time in Saint-Emilion
- Visit 3 chateaux – each with its own unique qualities -for tours and wine tastings
- Visit 2 different wine regions- Saint-Emilion, of course, but also the nearby region of Pomerol
- Guided tour of Saint-Emilion village, then free time to explore the village/shop/eat lunch on your own
- Check availability, read reviews, and reserve your spot here

Option 2: Full-Day Tour with a Picnic Lunch
- Visit 3 unique and different chateaux for tours and wine tastings
- Stop at Chateau Margaux, a particularly beautiful castle
- Lovely picnic lunch at a chateau is included in the tour
- Guided tour of Saint-Emilion village
- Check prices, read reviews, and make your reservation here
Option 3: E-Bike Full-Day Tour through Saint-Emilion
- Ride an electric bike through the countryside to visit 2 different chateaux for tours and wine tastings
- Enjoy a lovely charcuterie picnic in a vineyard during the tour
- Free time to explore Saint-Emilion village
- Check prices, read reviews, and reserve your spot here

Option 4: Half-Day Wine Tour + Saint-Emilion
- Perfect if you’re limited on time, as this tour is just 5 hours
- Visit 2 unique chateaux for a tour and wine tastings (5 wines minimum), plus enjoy charcuterie with one of the tastings
- Guided visit of Saint-Emilion village
- Check availability, read reviews, and reserve your spot here
2. Taking the Train to Saint-Emilion: How to Get Here and Get Around

Taking the train to Saint-Emilion is very easy and straightforward, and is an inexpensive and hassle-free way to experience the village and chateaux on your own.
However, because you will be without your own transportation while in the village, you are limited in your choices of chateaux and vineyards to visit (only a few of Saint Emilion vineyards are within walking distance of the village).
Here are the details of how to take a day trip by train to Saint-Emilion:
Getting to Saint-Emilion
A train leaves from Gare Saint-Jean in Bordeaux every 30-60 minutes. I’d recommend looking up the timetable online so you know approximately when to arrive at the station, but you can easily buy your ticket from the kiosks in the train station. Tickets cost ~€6. Once you have your ticket, you’ll need to look at the monitors for which platform to go to.
The final destination is always listed, so make sure you look at the scrolling list of cities the train stops in to confirm Saint-Emilion is on the list. The train ride lasts about 30 minutes.
Arriving in Saint-Emilion
The train station is about 20-minute walk from the village, but sometimes there is a tuktuk that gives rides into the village for €5.
We chose to walk in and it’s a flat, easy, and beautiful walk past vineyards in the countryside.
Visiting Chateaux Around Saint-Emilion

If you’re visiting Saint-Emilion by train but still want to visit the vineyards, you do have some options. Several chateaux within a 20-minute walk of Saint Emilion offer tours and wine tastings.
Taking a taxi (or Uber) to the chateaux isn’t a good option, as there are no taxis around Saint-Emilion.
The Bordeaux-area wine region has a very helpful website, RuedesVignerons.com where you can search for different chateau that offer tours and tastings and make reservations.
A few great options for wine tours and tastings within a 20 minute (or less) walk of Saint-Emilion are the following (in order of closest to farthest from Saint-Emilion):
3. Driving Yourself to Saint-Emilion: What to Know

Many people opt to drive themselves to Saint-Emilion, as they have full control over their day and have a lot more choices of chateau to visit in the countryside around Saint-Emilion, and you can easily pop into other villages, too.
Plus, because the landscape with all the vines and castles is SO pretty, just driving and getting lost in the backroads is a seriously idyllic way to spend a couple of hours.
Here are some of the main things you need to know about driving on a day trip to Saint-Emilion
Renting a Car
Whether you’re renting a car just for the day or doing a road trip around the Gironde region, you’ll definitely want to reserve your rental car ASAP.
Car prices can go way up and availability goes way down as your travel dates approach, especially if you’re traveling during high season. And if you need a car with an automatic transmission (hi, yes, that would be me) everything is more limited.
I recommend (and use) RentalCars.com for the best prices and availability in southern France.
Check prices and make your reservation on RentalCars.com here
Parking
There are two main parking lots that service Saint-Emilion, both on the outskirts of town.
Espace Guadet is on the north edge of town and Parking Saint Emilion is on the south edge.
Visiting Chateaux
As I mentioned in the Train section, I would recommend browsing the incredibly helpful website, RuedesVignerons.com. Here, you can search for different chateaux around Saint-Emilion that offer tours and tastings, and make reservations.
Drinking and Driving – Important!
Most people who are driving to Saint-Emilion take advantage of the many chateaux in the region and visit a few for wine tastings.
If that is your plan, it is important to remember that someone will need to be the designated driver and stay sober to drive safely around the countryside. Please do not drink and drive impaired.
If everyone in your party wants to drink wine, please either take the train or book one of the guided tours I list above.
Top Things to Do in Saint-Emilion

Okay, so we’ve gone over the logistics of the different ways to get to and get around Saint-Emilion. Now let’s talk about the village itself and the things to see and do here!
Saint-Emilion is a tiny but super charming village, with cobblestoned lanes, quaint stone buildings, multiple wine shops on every street, and little restaurants spilling out to the sidewalks.
The town is shaped like a bowl, where a lower section is surrounded on 3 sides by hills. This does mean you’ll have some steep streets to climb as you explore the village, but it also creates some really beautiful vantage points over the village rooftops.
Collegiale Church + Cloitres

The Collegiale Church is the large and beautiful main church in Saint-Emilion and dates back to the 1100’s. It has a large, long nave adorned with some paintings and beautiful stained glass.

Just off the side of the church are the cloisters, which have a traditional arched passageway around a courtyard. This is a very lovely and peaceful spot, and we particularly liked the vibrant, colorful mural on one of the cloister walls.

Cloitres des Cordeliers

Historically, the Cloitres des Cordeliers was a church and convent that was established in the 14th century. The church was abandoned when the order was banned during the French Revolution, and fell into ruins over the following decades.
In the late 1800’s, the basements and tunnels under the cloisters were converted into a wine cellar – the dark underground tunnels perfect for aging wine.
Today, you can take a tour through the underground cellars and enjoy a wine-tasting (reserve your spot for the tour here)

If you don’t want to do the underground tour, it’s still worth visiting the historic church, which today is actually a wine and gift shop.
You can also walk through the cloisters’ ruins, and back out into a little grassy garden area. There’s a little cafe on site, or you can order picnic baskets for lunch during warmer weather. The whole area is very cute and charming.
Monolithic church 12th century

The Monolithic Church in Saint-Emilion is part of a complex of four important, historical, religious buildings in Saint-Emilion, which includes the Hermitage, Chapel, Catacombs, and Monolithic church.
You can only visit these sites with a guided tour, but it’s well worth doing. You can make your reservation online or stop in the tourism office to get on the tour for the day (English tour is usually at 2pm).
The tour is one hour long and you’ll visit the four sites, learning about the significant history of each. The hermitage is an underground “cave” where the monk Emilion lived for many years in the area.
He performed several miracles during his lifetime and was known for serving the poor. After his death, he was sainted and the village was named after him.
In the catacombs, you’ll see the underground burial spots for villagers. Finally, you’ll visit the Monolithic Church, which is carved out of one singular piece of rock and is the largest monolithic church in Europe.
The location of the village plus the presence of Saint-Emilion’s hermitage and the monolithic church made the village a major stop for pilgrims on the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.
No pictures or videos are allowed anywhere inside the complex, so you’ll just have to take my word that this is a very fascinating place to visit in Saint-Emilion.
Bell Tower of the Monolithic Church

The bell tower of the Monolithic Church is built on the hill above the church, and is the only part of the church that is not carved from the same stone. This tower stands proudly above the rest of the town and is visible all around the village and countryside.

The tower is free to visit – all you need to do is get the key from the tourist office to climb up and enjoy great town and countryside views. If you somehow come outside the tourist office’s opening hours, the view from the tower base overlook is still incredible.
Tour du Roy

The Tour du Roy, or The King’s Tower, is actually a misnomer – it never really belonged to the King. Instead, it was the old bell tower of the town, and overlooks the upper part of Saint-Emilion village. From spring to fall you can visit the tower for lovely views over the village.
Les Grand Murailles

Les Grandes Murailles (or The Great Walls) is a section of an old 13th-century church that was destroyed during the 100 Year’s War. This wall ruin is located just barely outside the town walls and is surrounded by a vineyard of the same name.
La Porte de la Cadène

This city gate is located in the middle of the city, and was an internal gate that separated religious life in the upper town from the secular life in the lower town.
Macarons from Nadia Fermigier

Stopping at the Fabrique de Macarons shop is a must-do in the village. The macarons of Nadia Fermigier that are made here are purported to be THE original French macaron (although who had the first-ever recipe certainly does not have a cut-and-dry answer).
The macarons sold here are very different from your typical French macarons – they are a single cookie and are baked on corrugated cardboard that you peel off to eat. They have a light almond flavor and a chewy texture, and I really enjoyed them!
Practical Information
Best Time to Visit Saint-Emilion
Saint-Emilion is a great place to visit any time of year, but each season has pros and cons.
Wintertime sees decidedly fewer visitors, but more restaurants and shops around town are closed and the vines are dormant, without leaves or grapes.
Spring is a beautiful time to visit, when the vines are budding, and tourism is picking up.
Summer is wonderful, with full, lush vines heavy with grapes. This is definitely the high season for tourism, and the weather can be quite hot.
Fall is again lovely, when the grapes are being harvested and the leaves turn colors. Weather can be more hit-and-miss as the temperatures start to drop.
Can You Take a Day Trip from Paris to Saint-Emilion?
Yes, you actually could! Despite their far distance from each other, there is a direct, high-speed, 2-hour train that runs between Paris and Bordeaux about every hour throughout the day.
If you choose to do this, I’d take an early train out (between 6-7am), so you have ample time for your day trip. I don’t think I’d mess with a rental car if you’re coming in from Paris, rather, I’d either book a guided tour or take the train to get into Saint Emilion.
Is Saint-Emilion a Good Destination with Children?
Even though Saint-Emilion centers around the wine industry, it is still actually a great stop to do with children.
Kids can participate in all of the activities around town, and children are generally welcome at any of the chateaux and can go on the wine tours and tastings. Often, the tours will have grape juice for children to drink (double check with any tours you want to do to confirm).
However, if you want to visit with children, you’ll probably want to choose the train or car option for your day trip, as the guided tours are generally just open to adults.
Is Taking a Day Trip to Saint-Emilion Worth It?
Absolutely. Saint-Emilion is so adorable and the countryside is so picturesque and idyllic. It’s definitely worth taking a day while you’re staying in Bordeaux to head out to Saint-Emilion.