La Citadelle: St Emilion

St Emilion is now regarded as one of France’s top wine-producing districts. It lies outside Castillon-La-Battaille in the direction of Bordeaux, just off the road that runs from Bordeaux to Ste Foy-La-Grande and Bergerac, and is about 20 miles from La Citadelle.

	St Emilion is a small town of mediaeval appearance, built on a hill. Almost every square foot of soil as far as the eye can see is covered with neatly trained vines. The little town is a major tourist centre; the vast Tourist Information Office is called La Maison de Vin, and is the centre for many conducted tours of the town and the vineyards surrounding it.
	There is plenty of car parking both at the foot of the town, and at the top, out of sight of people on foot most of the time. Apart from the stone-built, tile-roofed appearance of the place, its attractions include a wide choice of restaurants, wine merchants (of course), art and craft galleries, and an ancient underground ("trogloditic") church built into the cliff below the very top of the town.
	We enjoy visiting St Emilion from time to time to show it to friends, and as a pleasant place to eat in the middle of the day – usually out in the main square under the sun umbrellas.