Hello travelers: My husband and I will be stopping in Bordeaux for 3 full days mid-April. We would like to visit St Emilion. I am looking for recommendations of an educational experience there with wine tasting or a winery visit as a component. We are more interested in the history of wine making and of the town than we are in drinking wine. I have heard that there is a small train that runs to upper St Emilion, but that info is old and I don't know if it still runs. Tours can be great when small and informative. Everything on Trip Advisor sounds good. But, since we have only 3 days I want to make well-informed choices about where to spend our time. I'd like to hear from people who have had fairly recent experience in the area.
Other sites and tours - especially walking tours - in Bordeaux are also of interest. We enjoy history and architecture. Does anyone know if the WW2 sub base has options for visiting? Thank you for any/all information. Susan
Posted by
95 posts
check the Bordeaux Tourist office. https://www.bordeaux-tourism.co.uk/
They have a lot of tours, including some to St. Emilion. We did 2 wine tours with them and both were really good. We went to ST Emilion on our own, and wandered, then got the little tourist train from the top of the hill. Our guide, Sebastien, was great. He grew up there and knew all the good views etc. It helped that we were the only ones on the train! Overall loved Bordeaux and St. Emilion.
Posted by
OP
lake forest park, washington, usa
121 posts
Thx bcgirl! So helpful to know that there is a guide on the train at St Emilion. I am now looking at Bordeaux tourism also.
Wondering how long ago you rode the little train? Thank you again.
Posted by
95 posts
it was in the fall of 2018. 4 of us were there for 3 weeks. We had a personal tour guide for Bordeaux because a friend lived there. He washed his hands of us after about 4 days though, and we did our own thing. Check out the covered market in Bordeaux - great place to eat! And one day a week, might be Sunday?, there is an open air market on the boardwalk of the river. We also found a flea market at a square beside a church....I think it was St Elegius. Can't remember what day... We used the rental bikes (V3) to get around. It is flat so very easy and cheap. And spent hours at the La Cité du Vin (wine museum). We rented a car for 4 days, and went to St. Emilion and Arcachon (sand dune) another day. Awesome. Have a great time!
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1327 posts
susan,
We were in Bordeaux last June, in two separate overnights bookending a stay in the Dordogne. I recommend the Cite du Vin which has a tremendous amount of information and exhibits about wine. We spent three hours there and could have spent longer, but for info overload. It is well designed and you can end the visit with a free glass of wine at the top of the building. Definitiely worth a half-day for sure. Also, if it is open in April, the Bassin des Lumieres is a great light show. The cathedral is nice, as is the Museum of Acquitaine history. Trams are the best way to get around town because traffic can be a pain. Also, parking is practically non-existant at the Cite bdu Vin.
I have no specific recommendations for restaurants. There is also the Base Soumarine de Bordeaux to visit, but I haven't been there. Bordeaux is definitely worth 3 days.
Posted by
Washington DC
28065 posts
I suspect the location of the St-Emilion train station (about a mile from the southern edge of the historic town) is one reason the little "train" (which runs on the road, not tracks) exists. I took it from the train station to the top of the town for 4 euros, I think, in 2019. I then walked down through the town to the lowest level, where the parking lot and the most of the tourists can be found. For most of that walk there were few, if any, other tourists. The town is steep, and some of the streets can be quite slippery if it's a rainy day.