St-Émilion

Shop

Get even more with a Lonely Planet guide.

France

$29.99

Shop Book

France, Aquitaine Region, Gironde Department, St-Emilion, wine town, town view with Eglise Monolithe church, monring

Getty Images/AWL Images RM

LONELY PLANET’S RECOMMENDED eSIM

Stay connected in St-Émilion

with

Saily is an affordable eSIM service that helps you stay connected and secure, anywhere in the world.

Get your eSIM

Overview

The medieval village of St-Émilion perches above vineyards renowned for producing full-bodied, deeply coloured red wines and is easily the most alluring of all the region's wine towns. Named after Émilion, a miracle-working Benedictine monk who lived in a cave here between AD 750 and 767, it soon became a stop on pilgrimage routes, and the village and its vineyards are now Unesco-listed. Today, despite masses of tourists descending on to the town, it's worth venturing 47km east from Bordeaux to experience St-Émilion's magic, particularly when the sun sets over the valley and the limestone buildings glow with halo-like golden hues.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

Cloître des Cordeliers

St-Émilion

Within the ruined cloisters of a 14th-century Franciscan monastery, winery Les Cordeliers has made sparkling Crémant de Bordeaux wine in its ancient…

Clocher de l’Église Monolithe

St-Émilion

For captivating views of the hilltop hamlet, borrow one of four keys from the tourist office to climb the 196 spiralling steps of this 68m-high bell tower…

Église Collégiale

St-Émilion

A domed Romanesque 12th-century nave dominates the former Collégiale, which also boasts an almost-square vaulted choir built between the 14th and 16th…

Porte de la Cadène

St-Émilion

Defensive city walls were built around St-Émilion by the English in the 13th century. Several surviving sections of the medieval walls and gates can be…

Tour du Roy

St-Émilion

Climb 118 steps inside this sturdy square tower – what's left of a 13th-century donjon – for a 360-degree panorama of the town, Dordogne River and its…

View more attractions

Plan with a local