During our trip to Bordeaux (which ended up being 3 days longer than planned due to a cancelled flight), we headed to nearby Saint Émilion for the day at the recommendation of my parents, and I couldn’t be more glad we did! This was one of our favorite places we visited during our fall vacances.
We took the SNCF train from Bordeaux, which was a short and picturesque 35 minute ride (don’t forget to validate your ticket in the yellow machine marked ‘composter’ before boarding!) through the sprawling French countryside.
Upon arriving at Saint Émilion, we opted to walk from the train station (la gare) to the town center, which took us about 25 minutes. We saw some beautiful wineries on the way which boasted the perfect autumn foliage we would continue to find throughout the town too.
We wanted to see as much as we could in just one day, so we
started off visiting a cave, or wine
cellar at Manoir
Galhaud which was a fun way to kick off our wine-filled day! We explored a
few different rooms, each with large barrels of wine waiting to be bottled.
Next, we headed to L'île EnchanTée, a recommendation sent along by my parents, to check out some beautiful tea towels, table cloths, and other local items. We couldn’t resist buying a few towels, as well as some early Christmas gifts as thanks for the tip on a great shop.
While in the town center, I had to get a photo of one of the most famous streets in town, which did not disappoint! We spend the rest of the morning just wandering around town, taking in the stunning architecture, and window shopping for items that couldn’t possibly fit in our over-stuffed suitcases.
After a quick lunch of galettes (savory buckwheat crepes from the north of France), we set off to do some wine tasting, which was hosted by the local tourism office. We spent about an hour tasting local wines with a few other couples, learning about what makes Saint Émilion wines special, and chatting with the sommelier about the big differences in flavor a terroir can produce even in close geographical areas.
Wine tasting always makes me hungry, so we embarked on a search for one of my favorite French desserts, macarons! I found a new favorite in cassis (blackcurrant), which is popular ingredient in French cocktails (like the Kir Royal), and French desserts. My only regret was that I didn’t get a box of macarons to take on the train ride back to Bordeaux!
To cap off our visit, we went to the top of the historic town center to take some photos of the city from above. Looking out to see the vineyards in the distance, we promised ourselves that we would come back to visit again someday!
I would highly recommend Saint Émilion to anyone who is short on time but wants to see another area of the Bordeaux wine region- we saw all we wanted to in 1 day, but we certainly could have made a weekend out of it had we scheduled more wine tastings and vineyard visits.
Santé!
Meaghan
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