The Itinerary

Summary: A 7 night wine lovers tour from Bordeaux to St Emilion and, by way of Pomerol and Cotes be Bourg, to Blaye and across the Gironde to the Medoc ‘shrines’ (Pauillac, the Margaux Chateaux, St Estephe) to finish back at the wine shippers museum,  Bordeaux.
 
This tour  allows a first night in Bordeaux itself before following a gentle route through the Entre Deux Mers vineyards to St Emilion. A ‘stay-put’ day here is followed by a days cycling following the Dordogne to Bourg or the fortress town of Blaye. The ferry crossing of the Gironde allows time for a short loop through the Medoc vineyards before being welcomed at another chateau hotel for the next two nights. On the seventh day you cycle through the Haute Medoc back to Bordeaux where you can visit the wine shippers museum in the Chartrons district.

The accommodation referred to is typical of what we book, and often the actual accommodation but availability reduces as the year progresses so contact us as soon as you can for the best choice.

The detailed itinerary Leaving Bordeaux by the St Jean bridge you head upstream to reach the 13th century bastide town of Creon. You could possibly take lunch in the square and then either divert to La Sauve to visit the ruined Abbey and the Maison du Vin in the old Tithe barn or continue on the dedicated cycle track down to Branne to cross the Dordogne. Cruise across the flat valley bottom amongst the St Emilion vineyards until you reach the foot of the town. Dismount and walk through it to enjoy it properly. Head  for the night to  your chateau hotel Isabeau de Naujan  or the hostellerie Chateau De Roques .



Next day there is a circuit ride that cuts northwest across country to reach the L’Isle at Monton Monesterol and then follows the valley downstream to complete a circuit back to Montagne or St Emilion. Alternatively you may wish to concentrate your attentions on St Emilion with its narrow picturesque streets, underground church, cloisters, wine caves and wine tasting school. A ramble around the vineyards just outside the town is a great way to appreciate the juristiction (the ancient guild's territory) without the crowds.

The next day you head towards the Pomerol vineyards to the north and from there turn northwest to take in Libourne, another town whose layout betrays its bastide past. Leaving the town you soon enter the Fronsac appellation and rolling countryside full of prosperous Maison de Bourgeois and Romanesque churches. St Andre de Cubzac provides a convenient lunch stop before you join the banks of the Gironde estuary to reach Bourg and then Blaye, it's Vauban fortress and your overnight stop at a two star auberge, the Auberge Du Porche.  
 
The next day you should have time for a visit to the fortress before taking the ferry across the estuary to Lamarque and the Medoc Chateaux. Your ride today is a short one - a loop that takes you to Pauillac, but leaves time for visiting at least one of the great estates and sampling its grape juice before reaching your accommodation for the night at St Estephe  the Chateau Hotel St Pomys  or LeMarque.    
        
The following day presents a choice between cycling across the Medoc peninsular to the Atlantic coast and taking in the fin-de-ciecle resorts that dot the coast until you reach the prettily named  L’Amelie sur Mer and the bracing Souliac sur Mer. The latter offers an easy train ride back to Pauillac or Lemarque (your host will check the timetable on the night you arrive). Alternatively you can take a gentle ride around the vineyards and sample a sufficient number to choose a case of something to add to your luggage.


The next morning, you set off south towards the village of Margaux, the Rothchilds' chateaux and a landscape that features not only elegant mansions,but Guignettes (seasonal riverside restaurants), and caretes (fishing cabins) perched over the riverbank. Back in Bordeaux, along the riverside you pass the Chartrons district where in centuries past the negotiants blended and matured their stocks and dispatched Bordeaux’s clarets to England and the colonies. The Ecole du Vin of Bordeaux offers a tasting lesson and the Musee des Negotiants will transport you back a century to when ships crowded the riverbank waiting to load Bordeaux vintages. The city’s tourist office provides guided visits to selected Graves and Sauternes Chateaux or you may prefer simply to use the local rail line to sortie through the vineyards independently.