There are now direct flights from London to Bordeaux, with some low cost carriers offering this flight for very reasonable prices. If coming from further afield you will likely have a stop at either Lisbon, Paris, Madrid or London. From Bordeaux airport Saint-Emilion is around an hour’s drive, and it is easiest to organise this in advance. You can instead choose to get the train from Paris which takes around 2 hours into the centre of Bordeaux; and from the centre of Bordeaux there are trains direct to Saint-Emilion which takes a further hour.

For a true French experience stay in a country chateau on the outskirts of Saint-Emilion where you can see rolling hills (and maybe even some vineyards) from your window. I loved my stay in Chateau de Courtebotte located in Saint Jean de Blaignac. With only five perfectly decorated rooms and a superb host I couldn’t have asked for a more relaxing and enjoyable stay in Bordeaux’s wine region.

Within Saint-Emilion there are numerous wine bars offering charcuterie boards along with traditional French fare – L’Envers du Décor is a great option for a relaxed lunch if only for their excellent wine list. If you do choose to stay at Chateau de Courtebotte make sure you don’t miss out on Isabelle’s weekly home-cooked meal, the food was truly delicious and paired perfectly with local wines!

WINE – how can you come to the Bordeaux region and not drink some of their lovely wines?! As you can imagine there are plenty of wine bars to pick from within Saint-Emilion however on a lovely sunny day the best spot is Cordeliers Cloister. A picturesque location where Les Cordeliers sparkling wines are produced and stored, and now luckily for us available for purchase to enjoy in the grounds.

Keeping with the wine theme I suggested doing a wine tour of the vineyards whilst in Saint-Emilion where you will learn all of the trade secrets, and get to try some of their best wines. Wander around the quaint streets of Saint-Emilion (a World Heritage site) where there are plenty of typical French bistros to pop in for lunch and of course many wine shops to browse (most will offer a wine tasting if you show some interest!). For a day out you could venture to Bordeaux city itself where there’s some stunning architecture both old and new to explore, along with fountains spouting red water (assumably linked to the red wine associated with the region!)