Bordeaux Vineyards Without a Car: Trains, Buses and Bikes

You can visit the Bordeaux vineyards without a car by regional train, coach, city tram and bus, or bike. From Bordeaux, trains reach Saint-Émilion, the Médoc villages of Margaux and Pauillac, and Barsac in the Sauternes area, and a former railway line turned cycle path leads into the Entre-deux-Mers.

The short answer

TER trains from Bordeaux Saint-Jean reach Saint-Émilion from 29 minutes, Margaux in about 45 minutes, Pauillac in about 65 minutes and Barsac from 42 minutes. Saint-Émilion station is 1.5 km from the village, a 20-minute walk.

A €1.90 ($2) tram or bus ticket reaches estates such as Château Saint Ahon and Haut-Brion. By bike, the Roger Lapébie trail links Saint-Émilion and Bordeaux in 49 km.

Your options

Train to Saint-Émilion

Saint-Émilion station is on the Bordeaux–Sarlat TER line. Trains from Bordeaux Saint-Jean run via Cenon and Libourne and take from 29 minutes, about 32 minutes on average. There are 16 trains a day, the first at 5:50 a.m. and the last at 9:34 p.m. Some trips change at Libourne. Tickets start at €9.50 ($10).

The station is 1.5 km from the village, a 20-minute walk. The access road has sidewalks for only part of the way, and the path up to the village slopes. The Tuk-Tuk des Cordeliers transfer costs €5 ($5) per seat, and eDog shared electric scooters are booked in the eDog app. Reserve taxis and private drivers in advance.

The Saint-Émilion tourist office lists 155 estate visits, from €7 ($8) for a 1-hour visit at Château Cadet Pontet to €30 ($32) at Clos Badon-Thunevin – Le Garage. Château Guadet starts at €20 ($22) and Château Villemaurine at €25 ($27).

Coach to Saint-Émilion

Regional coach line 4617, run by CITRAM Aquitaine, runs daily from Bordeaux Quinconces Orléans via Arveyres and the Libourne bus station to Saint-Émilion Bourg. Its timetable runs from August 29 to November 1, 2026, and again from April 10 to June 25, 2027.

Coaches leave Bordeaux at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., arriving at 10:05 a.m., 12:05 p.m. and 2:05 p.m. Return coaches leave Saint-Émilion at 12:10 p.m., 4:10 p.m. and 6:10 p.m., reaching Bordeaux at 1:15 p.m., 5:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.

In high season, the regional bus stops a 100-meter walk from the village center. All year, it stops at Libourne, 7 km from Saint-Émilion, where you take a taxi.

Train to the Médoc

TER line 42 runs from Bordeaux Saint-Jean through the Médoc vineyards to Le Verdon, stopping at Blanquefort, Macau, Margaux, Moulis-Listrac and Pauillac. Margaux is about 45 minutes from Bordeaux and Pauillac about 1 hour 5 minutes.

At Moulis-Listrac, the entrance to Château Maucaillou is on the station square. The estate opens 7 days a week, with a self-guided visit or a visit by appointment, and has a museum.

Pauillac is home to the Maison des Vins du Médoc. From Pauillac you can cycle along the estuary to Saint-Estèphe and pass Cos d'Estournel, Lafite Rothschild and Mouton-Rothschild on the way back.

Train to Graves and Sauternes

TER trains toward Langon stop at Podensac, home to the Maison des Vins de Graves, and at Barsac, home to the Maison des Vins de Barsac-Sauternes. Bordeaux to Barsac takes from 42 minutes, 46 minutes on average, with 9 trains a day, the first at 6:32 a.m. and the last at 7:41 p.m. From Barsac, Yquem is a 12 km bike ride with a few steep sections.

Tram and bus in Bordeaux

Take tram C to the Gare de Blanquefort stop for Château Saint Ahon, or bus line 38 to the Château Dillon stop. Bus line 4 serves Haut-Brion in Pessac-Léognan.

From the Villenave Pyrénées tram stop, a 15-minute bike ride on a 5 km road reaches Smith-Haut-Lafitte, Carbonnieux, La Louvière, Haut Bailly and Larrivet-Haut-Brion. A TBM single ticket costs €1.90 ($2) and is valid for one hour on tram, bus and boat.

Bikes and cycle paths

Le Vélo, the TBM self-service scheme, has more than 2,000 classic and electric bikes at more than 180 stations, available 24 hours a day. Unhooking costs €1 ($1) for a classic bike and €2 ($2) for an electric one, and the first 30 minutes are free.

From Blanquefort train station, an easy 23 km loop of 1 hour 30 minutes passes Château Dillon, Château de Malleret, Château Agassac, Château Ségur and Château Saint Ahon.

The Roger Lapébie cycle path follows a former railway line with a low gradient for nearly 57 km between Latresne and Sauveterre-de-Guyenne. From downtown Bordeaux, it reaches the Entre-deux-Mers châteaux of Latresne, Cénac and Lignan-de-Bordeaux in about one hour one way, with a moderate climb. The Maison des Vins de l'Entre-deux-Mers, near the abbey of La Sauve-Majeure, offers tastings of local wines.

The Saint-Émilion to Bordeaux route on the trail is 49 km, about 4 hours, through Branne, Guillac, Faleyras and Latresne to the Pont de Pierre, with a 4 km climb between Branne and Guillac.

The Station Vélo de Créon, on the trail, rents classic bikes and tandems from €10 ($11), electric bikes from €20 ($22) and children's bikes from €6 ($6). It opens daily from June to September.

Buses and tourist office tours

Regional coach lines 430 and 431 run from Bordeaux to Blaye, and line 431 stops at Bourg on the way.

The Bordeaux tourist office runs vineyard tours to Saint-Émilion, the Médoc, Margaux and the Graves-Sauternes region. The office opens daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays and public holidays.

Before you go

• Book Saint-Émilion château visits in advance: some estates receive visitors only by reservation.
• Bring water to Saint-Émilion station, which has no water points.
• TER trains have 6 bike spaces each, and bikes can be refused on crowded trains. In 2026, a €3 ($3) Billet Vélo bike reservation was mandatory on line 42 from May 1 to September 27.
• Spit as you taste if you are cycling.

From Paris, high-speed trains reach Bordeaux Saint-Jean in 2 hours 4 minutes: see Paris to Bordeaux by train. For the wider region, see Bordeaux.