Plan Your Visit to Bordeaux France

Bordeaux is a city and a wine region, not a gate, so no single ticket opens it. The city's streets and quays are free, each château sells its own visit, and a tour's fare either carries the tastings or leaves them to you on the day. If you are pricing Bordeaux France tickets, choose your bank first, then check who pays at the château.

Right bank, left bank: where the day goes

The wine country splits along the rivers, and so do the tours. On the right bank, Saint-Émilion sits among its vineyards about 50 minutes from the city by van. Its village is a UNESCO World Heritage site, inscribed in 1999, and Pomerol lies just beside it. Most shared tours go there, because you get the châteaux and a medieval village in one trip.

On the left bank, the Médoc runs north from the city. It is a road of estates rather than a village: Margaux, Saint-Julien and Pauillac hold most of the growths ranked in 1855. South of the city, Pessac-Léognan starts inside the city limits, and Sauternes makes the sweet whites further on. The appellations and their classifications are set out on the Bordeaux vineyards page.

Getting to Saint-Émilion without a car

You can reach the village on your own. TER line 33, Bordeaux to Sarlat, stops at Saint-Émilion station, and tickets start at EUR 9.50. From the station it is about 20 minutes' walk uphill, with a pavement on only part of the road. Libourne, 7 km away, has TGV and TER trains.

By bus, line 304 leaves Quinconces for Saint-Émilion. In high season it stops about 100 m from the centre, and all year it stops at Libourne. In the village, a tuk-tuk runs from 10:30 to 18:00 at EUR 5 a person, if you would rather not walk the hill. Shorter answers on getting there are in the FAQs.

The one thing you cannot do alone is the Monolithic Church, the underground church dug in the early 12th century. The Saint-Émilion tourist office allows it by guided visit only. The visit lasts 45 minutes to an hour and leaves from Place de l'Église Monolithe. The bell tower above it, 68 m and the village's highest point, costs EUR 2 more, for two people or more.

The Médoc and the châteaux road

The Médoc is where a driver earns the fare. The estates stand kilometres apart along the road north, and you visit by appointment, not by walking in. Margaux alone has 62 estates on 1,500 ha, and Pauillac has three of the five First Growths. A tour's guide books the visits and drives, so nobody in your party has to drive after tasting.

The Médoc days are nearly all private. A half day fits two châteaux into about four hours, and a full day three, usually with lunch at your own expense. Cruise passengers can be collected at the terminal, and one day goes in a 1973 Citroën DS convertible with the owner at the wheel.

Booking a château yourself

You book a château's visit on the estate's own website, for a set time. Several are in reach by tram or bus, because Pessac-Léognan begins inside the city. The Bordeaux tourist office lists these without a car:

• Château Haut-Brion: tram A to Saint-Augustin, then about 10 minutes on foot. It is the only estate classified twice, in 1855 and in the Graves.
• Château Pape Clément: bus 24 to Pont de l'Orient. Its glasshouse is by Gustave Eiffel.
• Château Luchey-Halde: tram A to Fontaine d'Arlac, then about 10 minutes.
• Château La Mission Haut-Brion: known for its chapel of 1698.

Check each estate's opening days and book ahead on its own website. In the city, the Cité du Vin at 134 Quai de Bacalan opens at 10:00 every day. Its permanent tour with a tasting at the Belvédère costs EUR 23.

Where the tours meet

The shared days meet at a fixed kerb in the centre, and the private days collect you. The Quinconces square holds two starts; Rue Mably, the tourist office and the Cité du Vin hold the others. The e-bike ride leaves from the Chartrons, and the night walk from the fountain on Place de la Bourse. Arrive ten minutes early.

Tasting fees: in the fare or on the day

This is the figure a price comparison hides. On the shared small-group days, the fare covers the château visits and the tastings. On several private days, the fare covers the car and the guide, and you pay each château when you arrive.

The DS convertible listing puts that at EUR 10 to 60 a person a château. On the e-bike ride to Saint-Émilion, the tasting is extra, from EUR 15. One traveller on the private luxury-van day was asked for EUR 400 of tastings on the morning. Every tour card here says which kind of fare you are looking at, so read it before you compare prices.

Ages, drinking and children

Under-18s never taste, and each operator sets its own minimum age. Check it before you book a family day.

• From 13: Ophorus's private half days in the Médoc and Saint-Émilion.
• From 14: the e-bike ride from the Chartrons.
• From 16: Olala Bordeaux's shared days with lunch.
• Adults only: the small-group day with tastings in the fare, the half day with eight wines, and the e-bike day with tastings.
• Soft drinks for children: Entre Vides' private days pour non-alcoholic drinks for children while the adults taste.

In the city, the Cité du Vin has a young people's rate of EUR 9, and a family pass for two adults and two children at EUR 56.

Wheelchairs and pushchairs

Most wine days are not built for wheelchairs: vans, cellar steps and gravel paths. The DS convertible listing is the one that states wheelchair-accessible transport. Several private days take pushchairs, and one shared half day says it does not suit mobility impairments. In Saint-Émilion, the road up from the station has a pavement on only part of its length, so ask the operator before you book.

When a tour is worth it

For the city and for Saint-Émilion's village, you do not need one: the tram, the train and the tourist office cover you. A tour earns its fare for the châteaux, which sit kilometres apart and open by appointment. It also earns it for the Médoc, for two banks in a day, and for a driver, so nobody drives after tasting. The table sets the ways to spend a first day side by side.

The sight prices are the sights' own, in euros. The tour fares are the operators' own, in US dollars as each listing shows them. A few private days are priced per car rather than per person.

Frequently asked before you go