2.ST-ÉMILION

Many tourists to the Aquitaine region in south-west France, decide to spend a day visiting the village of StÉmilion.

You can understand why. The area and its surrounding thousands of hectares of vineyards, enjoys a reputation as one of the world’s great wine regions. It’s no wonder it attracts more than a million tourists every year and is registered as a heritage site by UNESCO.

The medieval town of St-Émilion, 35 km east of Bordeaux, is a short rail journey away, with a pleasant walk into the town from Saint-Émilion station.

The narrow lanes, paved with granite blocks from the ballast of England’s wine ships, are so steep in places that handrails have been installed down their centres.

The yellow houses are built from stone quarried out over the centuries, which has left a network of 200 kms of subterranean passages and chambers under the surrounding vineyards. Some of these chambers are so large that banquets for hundreds of people have been held in them.