Bordeaux & Saint-Émilion Wine Tour: Self-Guided GPS Audio Guide

4–8 hours Free cancellation Private tour

Bordeaux & Saint-Émilion Wine Tour: Self-Guided GPS Audio Guide, photo 2 — Photos: the activity supplier, via Viator

About this activity

Drive the Bordeaux Right Bank yourself, with a GPS audio guide that plays automatically as you go. Your booking unlocks the whole region in the free Wine Trails app: pick your date and starting point, Saint-Émilion, Libourne or Bordeaux, and the app builds your personal route with turn-by-turn narration. Narrated stories cover the people and the ground: you'll hear why the Jurisdiction became the first vineyard landscape UNESCO ever listed, how the Jurade got its charter from King John in 1199, what blue clay does for Pétrus, and how a garagiste with a 0.6-hectare plot outscored it in 1995. No group, no schedule, no guide; pause for a long lunch in the village, replay anything, and the audio keeps working when the signal drops, because everything downloads offline. You'll need a car and a designated driver; château visits are booked and paid directly with the estates.

Also works with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto!

Day Trips Wine Tastings Mountain Bike Tours Bus Tours Private and Luxury Private Sightseeing Tours Audio Guides Historical Tours

At a glance

Duration: 4–8 hours
Confirmation: Instant confirmation
Ticket: Mobile or paper ticket accepted
Group: Your group only
People per booking: 1–8
Audio guide: Chinese, English
Operated by: Wine Trails

What is included

Included

Included: Email and in-app chat support
Included: Trip planner to build, reorder and save your own route
Included: Buy once, no expiry: use it on this trip and every future trip
Included: Complete offline download: audio, maps and route stored on your phone
Included: In-app map with navigation between stops
Included: Free content and audio updates for life
Included: 36 mapped châteaux across Saint-Émilion, Pomerol, Lalande-de-Pomerol, Fronsac and the Côtes with whether a reservation is required
Included: 16 regional chapters: the UNESCO listing, the Jurade, the monolithic church, Pomerol's blue clay and the garagistes
Included: GPS-triggered audio driving tour of Saint-Émilion and Pomerol: stories play automatically at each location
Included: One purchase covers everyone in the vehicle

Not included

Not included: Château visits and tasting fees (paid directly at each estate)
Not included: Visit reservations, where required
Not included: Food, meals and snacks
Not included: Transport: rental car, fuel, parking or driver
Not included: Mobile data used to download the tour (download over wifi and it is free)
Not included: Monolithic church tours and other paid attractions

Itinerary

Saint-Emilion

45 min

Medieval hill town at the centre of the Jurisdiction, the first vineyard landscape ever listed by UNESCO, in December 1999; the default starting point.
Eglise Monolithe de Saint-Emilion

30 min

One of the largest underground churches in Europe, about 38 metres long, carved downward from a single mass of limestone.
Chateau Soutard

one hour

Grand Cru Classe with records to 1513; the chateau was built between 1741 and 1762, and around 1750 the family revived Roman row-planting in furrows cut into the limestone.
Chateau Franc Mayne

one hour

Grand Cru Classe a kilometre from the village; two hectares of former limestone quarry tunnels beneath it serve as the barrel cellar.
Chateau Balestard La Tonnelle

45 min

The only wine label carrying an authentic medieval poem, verse by Francois Villon; a fifteenth-century watchtower still stands in the vines; Capdemourlin family since 1923.
Chateau Larmande

45 min

Documented in town archives from 1585, one of the oldest estates in Saint-Emilion, and a Grand Cru Classe.
Chateau de Ferrand

one hour

Founded in 1702 and owned by only two families in its history; the Bich family of Bic pens bought it in 1978.
Chateau Pindefleurs

45 min

Estate tied to Antoine de Seze, mayor of Saint-Emilion in the early 1600s, whose descendant Romain de Seze defended Louis XVI at his trial; eighteen hectares, ninety percent Merlot.
Chateau Fleur de Lisse

45 min

Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse estate in the Saint-Emilion Grand Cru appellation, bought in 2015 by Patrick and Caroline Teycheney of Vignobles Jade.
Libourne

45 min

Bastide river port founded around 1268 to 1270 by the English knight Roger de Leyburn, whose name became Libourne; an arcaded central square on a grid plan.
Chateau Cruzeau

45 min

Twelve-hectare family property run by the Luquot family for five generations on the border of Saint-Emilion and Pomerol, in Libourne.
Pomerol

30 min

About 800 hectares, the smallest of the great Bordeaux appellations and the only one never classified; Petrus sits on its plateau of blue clay.
Chateau de Sales

one hour

Largest vineyard in Pomerol, about 47 hectares of vines in a 90-hectare estate around a Louis XIII chateau built in 1643; fourteen cousins took it over in 2017.
Chatonnet Vineyards

45 min

Chateau Haut Chaigneau at Neac in Lalande-de-Pomerol; the Chatonnet family bought the near-ruined vineyard around 1967 and rebuilt it.

Meeting point and pickup

Everyone meets at the meeting point.

Meeting point

These are self-guided wine tours, so these are just where a user can drive in from. The user can start from wherever they are at.
These are self-guided wine tours, so these are just where a user can drive in from. The user can start from wherever they are at.
These are self-guided wine tours, so these are just where a user can drive in from. The user can start from wherever they are at.

End point

These are self-guided wine tours, so these are just where a user can drive in from. The user can start from wherever they are at.
These are self-guided wine tours, so these are just where a user can drive in from. The user can start from wherever they are at.
These are self-guided wine tours, so these are just where a user can drive in from. The user can start from wherever they are at.

Using your ticket

Your Viator voucher contains a redemption code for the Wine Trails app.

1) Download the free Wine Trails app (App Store or Google Play).

2) Open it, create a free account, and tap Redeem Code.

3) Enter the code from this voucher to unlock the Saint-Émilion tour.

4) On wifi, tap Download to save the audio and map to your phone BEFORE you travel.

5) The tour then plays automatically by GPS as you drive, with no signal needed. One purchase covers everyone in your vehicle and never expires.

Cancellation

Free cancellation

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

If you cancel	You get back
At least one day before	100%
Less than a day before	0%

Good to know

Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
Service animals allowed
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
By giving your phone number you agree to receive up to 2 texts from Wine Trails about this booking (your tour link and a tour-day reminder)
Msg & data rates may apply. Msg frequency: max 2 texts per booking. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help
Before you travel: download the free Wine Trails app (iOS or Android) and create your account while you are on wifi
Unlock your region in the app: tap Redeem a booking or code, choose Booked online, then enter your Viator booking reference (starts with BR-) and the last name on the booking
Download your tour over wifi before you drive: coverage in wine country is patchy and the offline download keeps the narration playing
One booking unlocks Bordeaux and Saint-Emilion on your account for good: unlimited routes and tours, no expiry, no subscription