We have 3 full days in Bordeaux and are considering using one of those days for a day trip to Saint Emilion; I'm debating between joining a small group tour or taking the train and exploring on our own. Enjoying the region's wines is a must but I don't know that we really need a vineyard tour with tasting as we are fairly knowledgeable and might get more bang for our buck by roaming around on our own. The train station is about a 20 minute walk from the city? We are fit seniors so that shouldn't be a problem, and walking around during the day, exploring the village with time to relax and drink wine without the set itinerary of a group tour seems most appealing. Will we be able to get tickets the day of? I'd prefer to be flexible so that we can schedule for when the weather looks best. Anyone have any advice on doing such a trip versus joining a tour?
I just had a look and there are 4 trains a day, the station being 1.5 km from the centre of Saint-Emilion. This is a local train and it's not far, so you shouldn't have any trouble buying tickets. Just remember to stamp them before you get on the train.
There are also buses now. Leaving from the bus station, beside the train station in Bordeaux. Average price is 9€50 and it takes 35 minutes.
The main street of the village is full of wine shops where you can taste and buy wine from the local producers.
I live in the Dordogne. St-Emilion is right up there among my very least favorite places in France. It is the epitome of a corrupt (there are books written about this), over-hyped, over-priced scam town. Riddled shoulder to shoulder with selfie-taking tourists in summer and full of hidden restaurant/wine-cooperative scams in the off-season.
I took my husband there last summer because he had never been. We will never set foot in that place again. We could barely move around the town because of all the tourists, and a very plain little bistro was selling 2-cl "glasses" of some local wine for 32€ apiece (and people were snapping them up). It took us an hour to find a parking spot, and then we had to walk forever to get into town. How very different it is to what it was 25 years ago when I first arrived here. Yes, it was (to me) horrifying. Don't go.
The monolithic church is worth a visit, but maybe in February. My advice is steer clear of this enormously overpriced tourist trap. There are plenty of "normal" towns in the area that are prettier, have great wines, and bearable prices.
I will add that you could easily spend 3 full days in Bordeaux these days. The city has undergone a fabulous transformation since 10 years ago and now has a thriving river culture, a new wine center, and all manner of new attractions. Should you get bored, and you shouldn't, you can go out to Arcachon and the Dune du Pylat and Cap Ferret. Bordeaux was named the European Capital of Culture in 2015, and for good reason.
Thanks for the update, stcirq. I went to Saint-Emilion once about 25 years ago and have never returned.
As for OP, there is a new wine museum in Bordeaux that might be worth a look if wine is your primary interest. Otherwise, there are small villages all around that are worth a couple of hours of poking around and sitting down for a glass of the local production. Some I have been to are Cadillac, Podensac and Langoiran.
Just to add any wine you find in St Emilion you will just as easily find in Bordeaux and much cheaper. I would stick to Bordeaux.
http://www.saint-emilion-tourisme.com/uk/ as you can see St. Emilion is not only a village but also a region. As written before, the village need not more then half an hour for a visite (maybe much more as it will be full of tourists), the region are wine yards as far as you can see - like any other direction you look for Bordeaux surrounding.
Yes, it's a region, but in fact it's not a particularly pretty region. You could go a bit farther east and enjoy the entire Bergerac/Montbazillac region and see some far prettier territory,
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