Please wait
Discover curated tours, authentic experiences, and expert local insights.
Your order is being processed, please wait
This private full-day tour brings together the three finest experiences Saint-Émilion has to offer: a visit to a prestigious Grand Cru Classé château with wine tastings, a gourmet lunch at the estate, and a certified guide-led visit inside the underground monuments of Saint-Émilion — including the Église Monolithe, the largest underground church in Europe. It is among the most complete and exclusive private experiences available in the Bordeaux wine region.
The underground monuments of Saint-Émilion are not accessible on standard wine tours. Guides must hold a specific cultural heritage certification to lead visits inside these spaces — including the monolithic church, the catacombs, and the hermitage cave of Saint Émilion himself. Ophorus is among the very few tour operators in the Bordeaux region with in-house guides certified for both the cultural and wine dimensions of Saint-Émilion. This combination — Grand Cru wine expertise and certified monument access — in a single private tour is genuinely rare.
Your day begins with pickup from your hotel or accommodation in Bordeaux and a drive east into the Saint-Émilion appellation on the Right Bank. At a carefully selected Grand Cru Classé estate, your guide leads a private tour of the vineyard and cellar, explaining the terroir — the clay and limestone soils unique to this plateau — the grape varieties, and the winemaking philosophy of the estate. The visit concludes with a structured tasting of the château's wines, including its flagship Merlot and Cabernet Franc blends.
Lunch is served at the château itself — a gourmet meal featuring seasonal local produce and regional specialities, paired with wines from the estate. It is an unhurried, convivial experience in an exceptional setting, with time to absorb the morning's discoveries before the afternoon.
The afternoon is devoted to the medieval village and its extraordinary underground heritage. Carved entirely from a single limestone rock face between the 9th and 12th centuries, the Église Monolithe de Saint-Émilion is the largest underground church in Europe — 38 metres long, 20 metres wide, and 11 metres high — hollowed out by hand by Benedictine monks over several centuries. Your certified guide will walk you through the full history of the church, the catacombs, and the hermitage cave, bringing the medieval monastic community of Saint-Émilion to life with depth and precision that a standard village walk cannot provide. The cobbled streets, Romanesque bell tower, and panoramic views over the Dordogne valley complete the afternoon before the return to Bordeaux.
This tour is available on request — please contact us to check availability and discuss your preferences.
Payments secured by Stripe
Free cancellation on most tours
Verified traveler reviews only
Book your experience with complete peace of mind. All payments made on Ophorus are securely processed through Stripe, a trusted international payment platform.
Your payment information is encrypted and handled directly by Stripe. Ophorus does not store your credit card details.
You can pay safely using the available payment methods displayed at checkout. Once your payment has been confirmed, you will receive your booking confirmation by email.
We understand that travel plans can change. That is why many Ophorus experiences include flexible cancellation conditions, allowing you to cancel your booking free of charge when the request is made before the applicable cancellation deadline.
The exact conditions depend on the type of experience booked, the departure date and any services included. Your cancellation policy is clearly displayed on the experience page and during the booking process, so you can review it before confirming your reservation.
Some tickets, tastings, meals, accommodation or third-party services may be non-refundable. When a cancellation qualifies for a refund, the amount is returned using the original payment method.
For full details, always refer to the cancellation conditions associated with your booking and to the Ophorus Terms of Sale.
At Ophorus, reviews help future travellers choose their experience with confidence. The feedback displayed on our website comes from customers who have booked or participated in our tours.
Reviews are collected after the experience, allowing travellers to share their honest opinion about the guide, itinerary, organisation, transportation and overall quality of the tour.
We value transparency and do not edit reviews to change their meaning. Positive and critical feedback both help us maintain high standards, improve our services and provide clear, useful information to future guests.
Our reviews may also be collected and displayed through trusted independent platforms such as Tripadvisor or other recognised travel review services.
