French River Cruise – Libourne/St. Emilion – Bromberg's Blogs (formerly Beth's Blogs)

(September 12, 2025 – Libourne/St. Emilion)

It was All Aboard time at 7:45 that morning, since we were setting sail for our next stop – Libourne. Not having any morning excursions allowed for some free time for the first half of the day, so we could enjoy the early-day sights up the Garonne River and over to Libourne on the Dordogne River.

Once we were docked in Libourne, we hopped on the motor coach and drove to St. Emilion. What a beautiful town – I’m already trying to figure out when I can get back there!

St. Emilion was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1999. Known for its narrow and steep streets, this medieval city has a tall bell tower above an underground monolithic church in the middle of town.

We began our afternoon in St. Emilion with a walking tour through town that started at a Romanesque perimeter wall that was built in the 13th century.

We walked into town and arrived at the Saint-Émilion Collegial Catholic Church and its cloisters. Construction began in 1110, and it was used as a monastery between the 12th and 18th centuries.

From there, we were fortunate enough to be able to take part in a tour of the monuments in St. Emilion. This area is not open to the public unless you are on a private tour with a licensed tour guide. Now for the unfortunate part: since the monuments are privately owned by families in the region, no photography was allowed, however , here are a few pictures I grabbed online.

Hermitage of St. Emilion – St. Emilion was a Benedictine monk who lived as a hermit in this underground limestone cave. Legend has it that a woman sat in the chair on the left and prayed for a child, so it became known as the “fertility chair” – I didn’t go anywhere close to it!

Trinity Chapel with medieval frescoes dating to the early 14th century.

The columns in the underground monolithic church now have reinforcements added to ensure the structural integrity of the church.

Doors leading to the exit of the church.

I highly recommend you take a tour to view the monuments, if you’re ever in the area. It was truly amazing!

Following our tour of the St. Emilion monuments, we had a little time to wander through the streets and take in the sights.

The initial construction of the bell tower was added above the monolithic church in the 12th century, but was expanded and increased in height in the 15th century.

So, no trip to the St. Emilion area would be complete without doing some wine tasting!

To end our day we went to a Grand Cru Wine Classé wine tasting at Château de Ferrand. The history of the winery spans over 300 years being passed down through the Bétoulaud family. However, in 1977, it was purchased by Marcel Bich – founder of the BIC pen company. (You’ll notice the BIC pens and caps in some of the pictures!)