During this luxury walking holiday in France you’ll have the opportunity to taste several of the Bordeaux’ excellent wines, enjoy superb local food and stay in charming hotels and wine-estates.
You’ll be walking from the well known vineyard of Saint-Emilion to the vineyard of Sauternes, renowned for its high-class wines. You also pass through the Entre-Deux-Mers area with many charming villages with a marvellously preserved historic heritage.
Of course you will be able to try and taste France’s fantastic wines en route. Your luggage is transported for you, and you stay in charming guesthouses, hotels, castles or wine chateaux in the middle of the vineyard landscapes of the Bordeaux.
Accommodation in Bordeaux
An airport transfer from Bordeaux airport is included in this walking holiday. You will walk a trail from accommodation to accommodation, staying in charming guesthouses, hotels and castles along the route. All rooms have en-suite bathroom, and some accommodations have a Jacuzzi.
The accommodations used are further described in the walking holiday itinerary below.
Daily breakfast is included in the price of your walking holiday. In the evening, you will be treated to dinners prepared from local produce. It’s possible to pre-book picnic lunches at your accommodation at an additional cost of €70. But of course you can also buy lunch along your walking route.
Walking in the Bordeaux
On your first day, your host will meet you and give you the route descriptions for the coming self-guided walks. You’ll be walking through a wide variety of landscapes, with footpaths leading you across vineyards and through woodlands, along the edge of rivers, and along minor roads. En route, you can stop to visit wine producers and taste their famous wines. Along the way you will see many wine chateaux and wine storehouses which decorate the landscape in this part of France with their beautiful architecture.
Bordeaux vineyards walks holiday itinerary
Below is an example self-guided walking holiday itinerary. Please confirm the exact itinerary with the holiday provider.
Day 1 – Arrival in France and transfer to Saint-Emilion in the Bordeaux. You can arrive at the train station or at Bordeaux Airport. A taxi takes you to guesthouse “Moulin de Palat” in Saint-Emilion. The owner will accommodate you in this old mill surrounded by a park with swimming pool. The mill is located in the heart of one of the most prestigious vineyards of the world.
Delivery of your walking route notes. Dinner in a local restaurant, only 400 meters from your accommodation. The restaurant is located in a remarkable location, where you can sample the local French cuisine.
Day 2 – Walking the Saint-Emilion vineyards – UNESCO heritage. The start of your walking holiday is a walk in the area around St-Emilion. This part of the Bordeaux breathes wine. You find yourself walking along Chateaux and wine properties with beautiful names such as ‘Petrus’ or ‘Chateau La Clotte’ or ‘Beau Sejour’. The vines grow very well in this part of the Bordeaux.
Walk through the characteristic landscape of vineyards. Explore the Saint-Emilion vineyards, the first “non-architectural” site, classified by UNESCO as world heritage. If you wish, you can visit and taste the ‘Chateau du Clos de la Madeleine’ (a great classified vintage), en route.
Arrive at your guesthouse and have dinner in a restaurant in the heart of the village.
Day 3 – The medieval village of Saint-Emilion. In the morning, you can take part in a wine tasting. An oenologist will show you the technical and specific characteristics of the vineyard of Saint-Emilion.
After a picnic in one of the many magic places of this small city, there is a guided tour of the city and of its underground monuments. With its amphitheatre and open air museum, the town of Saint-Emilion will astonish you.
At the end of the afternoon, a taxi transfer takes you to St. Martin de Lerm, in the ‘Entre-Deux-Mers’ vineyard. Dinner and overnight in the ‘Bacchus’ guesthouses, in the lovingly renovated cattle sheds of a 17th century smallholding. At the edge of the swimming pool, you can enjoy the charm, the sight, the relaxation and the pleasures of South-west France. You’ll be treated to wine and a lovely dinner prepared from regional products by your hosts.
Day 4 – Walking in the Entre-deux-Mers. The Entre-Deux-Mers area, between the Dordogne and the Garonne rivers will surprise you with its cultural variety.
At the start of your walk you cross a part of this vineyard which is exceptionally situated on the slopes dominating the valley of the Garonne. You’ll be walking along the Domaine de Bouillerot (Bordeaux, Red Bordeaux superieur, Cotes of Bordeaux Blanc and St-Macaire, sweetened white wines and red wines). If you like, the producer can take you for a visit and wine tasting. This estate has been a vineyard since 1874 and the producers are wine producers for 3 generations already.
At the end of the afternoon, you arrive at your accommodation in the Garonne Valley where you’ll stay in an entirely restored old house. The guesthouse lies in the heart of a cute village on the banks of the Garonne and has a 3000 square metre shadow-rich park full of flowerbeds. You’ll have dinner in the guesthouse.
Day 5 – walking from Caudrot to St. Macaire. On today’s self-guided walk your walking route takes you through a green landscape, along the vines and estuary of the Gironde. Castles and fishermen huts offer beautiful scenes in this part of the Bordeaux.
Make sure you take a break to enjoy the small port and its locks where the famous “Canal du Midi”, that links the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean, meets the sea. The route leads directly to the medieval city of St. Macaire, where you will have the opportunity to walk around in the charming centre.
Dinner and accommodation in a three-star hotel in the heart of the city.
Day 6 – Circular walk from St. Macaire to Sainte Croix du Mont. Above Saint-Macaire, the hills open up to splendid scenic views. In this landscape of hills and small valleys, you’ll see a mosaic of vines, meadows, and small woodlands, as well as many mills and castles.
Today’s walk takes you to the ‘Domaine de Malagar’, residence of the writer Francois Mauriac. You’ll also be walking to the tomb of the famous painter Toulouse Lautrec. You can visit the Chateau Laurette (Sweet white wine producer) or the Chateau Loubens before reaching the village of Sainte Croix du Mont. The village sits on a slope from where there are spectacular views on the Garonne Valley. This part of the Bordeaux is known for its wines and caves.
At the end of the afternoon, you return to the hotel at St. Macaire and transfer to Sauternes by taxi. You spend the night in a wine castle where they produce the Great Classified Vintage of Sauternes. There is a very beautiful chartreuse from the 17th century located at the heart of the wine property, where there will be a wine tasting. You can have dinner in a restaurant in the Sauternes village, only a 5 minutes’ walk from the Chateau.
Day 7 – Walking in the famous Sauternes vineyards area. Your walking route today passes well-known wine producers like ‘Chateau La Tour Blanche’ and ‘Chateau Rayne Vigneau’. next to this there is also the area’s cultural heritage (churches, mills, laundrettes) and the beautiful landscapes of vine, forest and the Ciron river, a wild small river formerly used for the transport of wood.
Today’s route includes a walk in an exceptional vineyard that gave quality and prestige to the wines of Sauternes and Barsac.
Once accommodated, you can finish the day by an ‘aperitif tasting’ at Chateau Gravas. Like other high-class wines of Sauternes, the fame of Chateau Gravas dates back to the time of Richard Coeur de Lion (12th century). Lodging and dinner are in the castle, where the elegance of the 18th century has been preserved and the rooms have views on the vines or the park. There is a chance to relax in the castle’s Jacuzzi, which is a real pleasure after a week’s walking.
Day 8 – End of your walking holiday. After breakfast you depart by taxi transfer to Bordeaux airport or train station.
Dates and Availability
This self-guided walking holiday in France is completely flexible and can start on any date to suit your travel plans. Please contact the holiday provider, through the contact form, for more information.
