Dates: September 2016

 

Route: Drove from Bordeaux, France.

 

Barely an hour drive from Bordeaux lies an unexpected jewel of the regional wine country… the medieval village of Saint-Émilion. While very well known by wine lovers, it is often billed as a day trip from Bordeaux rather than a beautiful destination on its own. Shyly wearing its UNESCO World Heritage status, the sleepy town offers visitors far more than just a distraction from Bordeaux. The scenery is postcard-like with medieval building and narrow cobblestone streets all surrounded by vineyards as far as the eye can see. This town is all about wine and relaxation and that should be your top goal if you visit here. We spent the morning walking around the town and also climbed up the main bell tower of the Clocher de l'Eglise Monolithe. Don’t rush and enjoy the stops along the way to take in the beautiful sights of the countryside. We ended up in a small café for lunch that lasted well over 3 hours as we lazily sampled the amazing wine and local cheeses. There are many wine shops selling vintages that range from a few euros to one we saw for €15,000!! You can buy some to take back with you and most shops will ship bottles in quantity anywhere in the world. We found the wine shops has some very nice souvenirs including wine-crate ends to use as cheese or cutting boards.

 

We would highly recommend staying a night here as the town has a very romantic feel to it with very few tourists after dark. This is a place we will definitely go back to one day.

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