Easy Must-Visit Stops for Wine Lovers from The Blue Lodge B&b...
Château Visit on the Bordeaux wine route
Looking to explore the best vineyards near Bordeaux? From La Maison Bleue | Blue Lodge in Bordeaux B&B, it’s easy to plan your perfect wine tour in Bordeaux, including Saint-Émilion, the Médoc, and other renowned appellations.
Do you dream of an authentic experience in the Bordeaux wine region? Follow our Bordeaux wine travel tips to organize the château visit that best matches your interests.
Whether you’re a Grand Cru enthusiast, a lover of history and heritage, or simply looking for a memorable and convivial outing, we share our favorite wine estates, hidden gems, and expert advice.
From charming vineyard escapes on Bordeaux wine routes to guided tastings and scenic countryside tours, our local recommendations will help you enjoy an unforgettable wine tourism experience in Bordeaux.
The exceptional vineyards of Bordeaux, Saint Emilion, ... made easy
Wine Tasting without leaving Bordeaux
CIVB WINE BAR – Opposite the tourist office
The best value in wine bars. The sommeliers’ mission is to help you discover the wines of Bordeaux, as it is also an institutional promotional tool for Bordeaux wines.
LA MAISON DU VIN – CIVB – Bordeaux hypercentre Tramway Quinconces
The Maison du Vin, also known as CIVB (l’interprofessionnel des vins de Bordeaux), offers courses ranging from “discovery level” to “professional training” for restaurateurs.
CHATEAU LUCHEY HALDE – Pessac Leognan
The most urban of Bordeaux châteauxwww.luchey-halde.com
The plus: Located close to the Tram A, it’s the easiest vineyard in Bordeaux to get to without taking the train or the car. It is also home to an oenology school. You’ll also find a boutique and the possibility of visiting :
visite@luchey-halde.com or https://www.ruedesvignerons.com/fr /domaine/297/chateau-luchey-halde
PAPE CLEMENT – Pessac Leognan
Accessible by public transport Tram B (Pessac Centre) then by bus. Also easily accessible from Maison Bleue (10 min. drive) and a pleasant bike ride. The owner is Bernard Magret, the wine professional with a thousand marketing ideas.
Link to the tours and workshops page
Reservations via the Rue des Vignerons website
The plus: the “Sleeping Beauty” castle, according to our children when they were younger. The luxury of the decor and the resources devoted to renovation make it a castle for special occasions (rooms for events and weddings).
In 1521, Haut-Brion became the first Bordeaux cru to be named after its terroir, rather than its owner or parish, making it the first Grand Vin in the world and leading to the rare distinction of Premier Grand Cru Classé in the 1855 Classification, the only cru outside the Médoc to be included in this prestigious classification.
Château Haut Brion is a 5-minute drive from Maison d’Hôtes La Maison Bleue.
Situated just opposite Chateau Haut Brion, we often drive past it, and for us it’s the most charming chateau in the immediate vicinity.
An elegant building with a cloister gallery: undeniable charm and over 4 centuries of know-how in this region between Talence and Pessac.
Re-designed in the last decade by Starck and Arsène Henry, it blends tradition and modernity.
Visit Saint Emilion
St Emilion can be visited without a car. Direct from Bordeaux: 1 train every hour. Then a ten-minute walk to reach the medieval village.
Be sure to bring comfortable shoes, as the slopes and cobblestones can be formidable for heels or sandals.
What to do in Saint Emilion
Visit the grotto of the hermit Saint Emilion, the catacombs and the Monolithic Church with a guided tour from the tourist office.
Enjoy a glass of sparkling wine in the garden of the Cordeliers convent
Bring back a box of Macarons des ursulines
ST EMILION CHATEAUX TOURS
Bonus: some châteaux are in St Emilion itself, others further afield, as we talk about St Emilion and its satellites. Meet the enthusiasts owners.
Directly in the village of St Emilion 4 rue Guadet. Visits and tastings, every day of the year, by appointment from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. , please ask on this page.
Please contact us for the most appropriate contacts for your means of transport.
We can book for you, but if you wish to book in advance, please visit www.ruedesvignerons.com.
Fresh produce, garden in summer, open fire in winter. Books, wines by the glass, estate wines, rock cellar.
REFINED TABLE A L’HUITRIER-PIE
Small, family-run restaurant. Michelin and Bottin Gourmand listed. Recommended by several of our customers. Reservations recommended.
On the wine routes in the Medoc
To get to the Médoc, allow 1h15-1h30 by car or train (line 42, a train every hour stopping at Margaux, Moulis and Paulliac). The châteaux here are generally more ostentatious than those in Pessac Léognan or St Emilionnais, and this is the birthplace of the 1855 “Grand Cru Classé” appellations.
A number of agencies offer transport and tours along the wine route: for example, the one that leaves Bordeaux in front of the tourist office https://www.ruedesvignerons.com/fr/activite/3503/apres-midi-excursion-dans-le-medoc-depuis-bordeaux
CASTLE TOURS
Reservations made easy by the according to your schedule and the language used for the visit thanks to the website RUE DES VIGNERONS https://www.ruedesvignerons.com/
Château Chasse-Spleen is a prestigious wine estate in the Bordeaux vineyards, classified in 1932 as a Cru Exceptionnel in the Médoc’s smallest appellation, Moulis-en Médoc.
Its magical name is probably the fruit of discussions around 1860 between Rosa Ferrière, the mistress of the house, and her neighbor, Odilon Redon, a renowned Symbolist painter. Indeed, Redon illustrated Charles Baudelaire’s Fleurs du Mal, which he is known to have copyrighted.
An estate that combines contemporary art and local discoveries with literary and poetic accents.
Herbal infusions, grass-covered vines, energy independence thanks to photovoltaic panels, natural shearing and fertilization with our Landes ewes, nest boxes for blue tits and bats, lightweight glass bottles for a reduced carbon footprint, blind blending, alcoholic fermentation in barrels, music therapy…new experiments every year.
Discover a sustainable vineyard *in English, French and German
Oldest family estate in the Margaux appellation. Vertical tasting in the atomic bunker *in English, French and Spanish
WINE AND GASTRONOMY EXPERIENCES IN THE MEDOC
LA WINERY – Arsac
A 1,000 m2 complex specializing in wine: a restaurant, a wine knowledge area ( courses and tastings), a wine by the glass area and over 1,700 wines for sale make this the largest wine cellar in France.
www.winery.fr/
CORDEILLAN BAGES – Pauillac
Restaurant relais et châteaux open Wednesday to Sunday, March to late November. Meilleur ouvrier de France and Michelin-starred several times.
Chateaux and Gourmet experiences in the Graves – Pessac Léognan
CHATEAU SMITH HAUT LAFFITE + SPA + 2 RESTAURANTS
The + : This is an opportunity to double or triple your visit.
Smith Haut Laffite is a magnificent château just 20 minutes from Bordeaux. It can be visited by appointment. At its heart is a “Les Sources de Caudalie” complex, a SPA with products derived from grapes.
And … 2 restaurants: one gourmet – “La Grand Vigne” – and a more relaxed one, our favorite, the “Table du Lavoir”, fireplace in winter / small-paned doors opening wide in summer … setting, wine and cuisine to match. Personal, simple and unforgettable memories.
How to get to the vineyards from Bordeaux?
Bordeaux wine route : Practical information
Without vehicle :
Your options are the Bordeaux vicinity or the “village of Saint Emilion”.
Bordeaux vineyards
The Bordeaux metropolis is dotted with vineyards that have resisted urbanization over the years: some of the best are just outside Bordeaux inner belt, and some can be reached by streetcar or bus.
Don’t miss out on this easy wine-tourism break during your stay at Maison Bleue Bordeaux.
Châteaux Haut-Brion (1er Grand Cru Classé) and Pape Clément (very well organized tours) are close to bus 1, which departs from the Barrière de Pessac, 5 minutes from the guesthouse.
Les Carmes Haut-Brion can be reached on foot from Maison Bleue in 33 minutes, or in 22 minutes on the 24 bus.
If you’re already mid-day in the Hôtel de Ville or St Pierre/St Eloi districts, you can opt to join the Tram A and visit Chateau Pique-Caillou or Chateau Luchet-Haldes
SAINT EMILION – THE VILLAGE
A train leaves from Gare St Jean, easily reached by bus 9 from the guesthouse.
To book your ticket : transports.nouvelle-aquitaine
For the more sporty, bicycles are an option for touring the wine routes (they can be taken on the train if you specify this when booking).
WITH A VEHICLE: everyTHING IS POSSIBLE
From La Maison Bleue Bordeaux, you have quick access to the vineyards: leave the parking lot and arrive at the St Genès barrier, for example:
- take Toulouse’s Barrière boulevards, and after 20-30 min on the fast lane, you’ll find Châteaux like Smith-Haut-Lafitte in Martillac, or Château Olivier in Léognan & many others…
- Still using the boulevards, you can reach the Barrière du Médoc (for the Médoc) or cross the Garonne on the François Mitterrand bridge, and take the expressway to St Emilion and all its satellites.
Bordeaux Wine route EXPERIENCES IN THE VINEYARD :
- Visit the Village of Saint Emilion, pick up a ticket for the visit of the Monolithic Church at the St Emilion tourist office and enjoy a quiet moment in the adjacent cloister. Stroll through the narrow streets. Taste a box of macarons and stop for a drink on the terrace under the venerable tree on Place du Tertre. See the catacomb / grotto / church complex. Visit one of the vineyards adjacent to the village of St Emilion (Guadet / Villemaurine). Have a glass of wine in the so romantic Cordelier convent. If you have a car, ride along some of the wine routes around St Emilion and stop to dine at the terrasse rouge and enjoy the sunset from the terrace.
- Take the wine route around St Emilion, by train or by bike. Electric bikes available for hire, or organized groups with a guide.
- Head for Pessac Leognan with a combined restaurant and vineyard tour at Chateau Smith Haut Laffite.
- Visit the Winery on the way to the Médoc, then continue on to Pauillac, St Julien, St Estèphe. Enjoy the landscapes between land and water of the Gironde. Lunch in one of the “guinguettes” along the Gironde. Visit one of the vineyards and villages and finish the day in the blue Médoc on the Atlantic coast – (Soulac, Lac d’Hourtins, Lac Carcan, Lacanau ) before returning to Bordeaux.
- With whom? Lovers, children, friends … Everyone will appreciate
And come back to us with your impressions. We’re always on the lookout for new addresses.
Wine route documentary resource: Oenotourisme Bordeaux Gironde
WIth our Bordeaux B&B tips, make the most of your holidays.
You have just visited: Bordeaux wine route / Bordeaux château visits tips and addresses. Wineries and restaurants on the wine trail.
- Discover our small intimate B&B hotel in Bordeaux city centre and our guestrooms
Our other touristic and gastronomic guides of the Bordeaux region:
Book your stay in Bordeaux
Why start your Bordeaux wine route experience from our B&B ?
Located close to the most prestigious châteaux and the Bordeaux wine routes, La Maison Bleue Bordeaux is the perfect starting point to:
Easily visit a Bordeaux château
Plan a wine tasting experience in Bordeaux
Benefit from personalized advice for your wine tour
Explore Saint-Émilion without a car
Book your Bordeaux wine tourism stay and enjoy an unforgettable experience!