Explore the backroads of the Dordogne/Gironde border area east of Bordeaux on this Sauveterre to Saint-Emilion bike ride.
Distance: 69km
Difficulty: Moderate – 662 relatively gentle metres of climbing
The UNESCO-listed wine village of Saint-Emilion is a must-see if you're cycling in the vicinity of Bordeaux. It can be reached from Bordeaux on this route direct route or you can use the route on this page to ride it as a day trip (or an overnight trip) from Sauveterre if you're cycling from Bordeaux to Toulouse.
This 69km circuit is on quiet roads passing countless vineyards, abbeys, medieval churches, ancient villages and beautiful wine chateaux over and beyond the Dordogne river. The route takes you alongside the river and then through Castillon-la-Bataille – the scene of the final battle of the Hundred Years' War. Castillon, incidentally, is also the starting point for the Lawrence of Arabia bike route.
In Saint Emilion, you are walking in an open-air museum: monuments, narrow streets, 7 city gates. All of it now listed as a UNESCO Heritage Site. Local tourist info is here.
Download this route as a GPX file
The famous vineyards of Saint-Emilion.
Other relevant bike routes and pages for this area
- Sauveterrre loop ride
- Bordeaux to Saint-Emilion bike route
- Sauveterre to Monsegur bike route
- Canal de Garonne diversion loop
- Cycling the Garonne guidebook
- Circuit Coteaux de Garonne
- Lawrence of Arabia bike route
- Tour de Gironde bike route
- EuroVelo 3 bike route
- Circuit Vignes et Vergers en Duraquois
- Circuit du Duc de Lauzan
- Vignague River bike ride, south-east of Bordeaux
- Rauzan Castle bike ride
