You want to discover largest castles in the medoc during the bordeaux wine route ? Here is my tourist, gastronomic and oenological circuit ideal for a weekend in the vineyards of bordeaux.
I share with you the itinerary with its google map and my advice for the stages and visits of my tourist circuit.
Bordeaux wine route – which one to choose?
There is no bordeaux wine route, but several wine routes! In fact, the vineyards around bordeaux represent 60 appellations and cover more than 112 hectares.
Suddenly it is impossible to discover all the vineyards and great castles in just 2 days.
For a weekend, you need to choose an itinerary to discover one of the 5 main wine growing areas of bordeaux:
- The medoc of castles route ;
- The saint-emilion region of wine route saint emilion and pomerol ;
- The blayais and the bourgeais of the coastal road of garonne ;
- Entre-deux-mers from the bordeaux wine routes in entre-deux-mers ;
- Les graves and pessac-leognan via the graves and sauternes routes.
Bordeaux wine route – route des chateaux
For my 2 days in bordeaux I chose the castles route to discover the medoc. In fact, the medoc region combines not only the most prestigious grands crus classes of bordeaux, but also important monuments and beautiful landscapes.
It's an ideal route to spend a weekend enjoying wine, heritage and landscapes!
Medoc castles route – appellations
More precisely and for connoisseurs, here are the 8 designations that we discover when we follow my circuit on the medoc castles route :
- Medoc,
- Haut medoc,
- Margaux,
- Pauillac,
- Saint estephe,
- Saint julien,
- Moulis,
- Listrac.
Medoc chateaux route – classified grands crus
On my tour of this bordeaux wine route, you can, among others, the first classified grands crus of the medoc:
- Lafite rothschild castle
- Chateau latour
- Chateau margaux
- Mouton-rothschild castle
Medoc castle route – tourism
On this bordeaux wine route, the interest (after the vineyards) is to take advantage of the many tourist attractions:
- Fort-medoc in cussac fort medoc, listed by UNESCO under the lock of vauban;
- Cordouan lighthouse in verdon-sur-mer, the oldest lighthouse in europe dating back to the 16th century. Century;
- The charming and typical village of bages;
- Soulac sur mer for its magnificent belle epoque villas and the basilica notre-dame-de-la-fin-des-terres;
- Port macau from the gallo-roman period and its marshes, port, islands and beautiful residences;
And on the natural side, the medoc is also the ocean and its large beautiful wild beaches, sublime lakes and the mouth of the gironde river.
Bordeaux wine route – itinerary
Between the ocean in the west and the gironde estuary in the east, the route of the medoc chateaux is part of bordeaux and ends at the pointe de grave.
This wine route represents 131 kilometers that are easily covered in 2 days while you visit some castles.
Bordeaux wine route – map
To visualize my route the medoc chateaux routehere is the map drawing my circuit that we did by car 2 days.
Of course, if you have 3 or 4 days, this tourist circuit will be even more pleasant. In fact, you can visit more sights, more castles and relax on the beaches or on the edge of a lake.
Click on "more options" in the map below to switch to GPS mode
Bordeaux wine route – stages
For my weekend on the medoc chateaux route, I tried to vary the visits by alternating between wineries, villages and sights. Here are the main stages of my itinerary:
- Bordeaux
- Agassac castle
- Chateau margaux
- Cussac-fort-medoc
- Beychevelle castle
- Chateau latour
- Bages-pauillac
- Night at the chateau la tour carnet
- Chateau mouton rothschild
- Chateau lafite rothschild
- Saint-estèphe
- Richard lighthouse
- The verdon
- Cordouan lighthouse
- Soulac-sur-mer
Here now in more detail is the program of my 2-day trip on the bordeaux wine route:
Medoc chateaux route – day 1
Bordeaux
My tour of the medoc chateaux route begins in the magnificent city of bordeaux. I recommend you to take 1 day (before or after the wine route) visit bordeaux.
To follow my route from bordeaux, you have to take department 2 towards pauillac.
Agassac castle
The first stage of my route is located 20 km from bordeaux agassac castle. It is not a grand cru classe, but a good bourgeois cru that deserves the detours. Plan 45 minutes for the guided tour plus the time you have to spend in the store .
Margaux
Driving on the departmental 209 towards the village of margaux, you will pass magnificent estates and castles of great prestige: siran castle, priorat, issan or cantenac braun.
When you arrive in margaux, visit the maison du vin et du tourisme de margaux (place de la tremoille). On site, we will inform you about the vineyards and wines around margaux, especially the discovery routes.
Otherwise, when visiting margaux you have the choice between castles of the marquis de terme, the mons tower, lacombe, the tower of roc or the famous chateau margaux.
Chateau margaux
The wines of this chateau with the designation premier grand cru (classification of 1855) are legendary and in demand all over the world.
But to visit the basement, it is by appointment only and only from monday to friday except holidays and august. Phone: +33 (0) 5 57 88 83 83
Cussac-fort-medoc
Cussac-sur-medoc via arkins et lamarque. We recommend a visit fort medoc, military complex, work of the famous vauban, who ruled under louis XIV. Built lock of the river mouth
Cussac-fort-medoc you will discover the fortress built by vauban. You can also reach blaye on the other side by car, by taking the ferry. To reach blaye and its spectacular citadel, take the regular ferry shuttle by car that leaves from the small port of lamarque.
Beychevelle lock
Here is my favorite: the beychevelle castle. I am not talking about the wine, which is exceptional (I don't know much about it because my husband is the real connoisseur), but about the charm and elegance of the chateau.
If you are planning to visit it is by appointment at 05 56 73 38 01 by email: [email protected].
Chateau latour
The prestigious chateau latour is located 10 km from chateau beychevelle. It is a premier grand cru classe belonging to the pinault family since 1993 (through the artemis group).
Difficult to visit, since visits are reserved primarily for professionals and by appointment. But if you want to try your luck, here is their phone number: tel: +33 5 56 73 19 80
Bages-pauillac
Right next to the chateau latour, 5 minutes by car, there is a must for tourists visiting the medoc: bages.
Here everything is in harmony and pleasant to walk: the pretty cobblestone square, the somewhat vintage and so french stores, the gourmet restaurant, the wine cellar and the small bistro. It feels like a movie set!
Sleep at the chateau la tour carnet
Here is a good address to spend the night on the route of the bordeaux wine route. It's about chateau la tour carnet this is one of the oldest estates in the medoc. It is located in saint-laurent-de-medoc next to bages and is an old medieval fortress.
Here you can stay in a sumptuous suite with antique furniture in this chateau in the heart of the medoc vineyards. In fact, there are 311 hectares of vineyards surrounding the park of the castle, which is completely isolated in the middle of nature. A real pleasure .
Medoc chateaux route – day 2
Today we take the road past the D2 to pass in front of the famous rothschild castles then we take the D2E3 and continue on saint estèphe.
Mouton-rothschild castle
The international reputation of this estate is related to the personality of the baron and his wife. However, the reputation of its wines is only related to the exceptional quality of this 1er grand cru classe in 1885.
To visit it, you must send an appointment request by email on the official website of the castle: https://www.Chateau-mouton-rothschild.Com/contact?Lang=fr#
Chateau lafite rothschild
1er grand cru classe in pauillac you can visit this area by appointment only and request 2 weeks in advance by email [email protected].
Saint-estèphe
From chateau lafite rothschild you can visit other chateaux like the famous chateau montrose or cos d'estournel. In fact, 7 km away is saint-estèphe whose designation extends over ten kilometers of hills and plateaus.
We find there five grands crus classes :
- Chateau cos D'estournel (see photo below),
- Chateau montrose,
- Chateau calon segur,
- Castle lafon-rochet,
- Chateau cos labory.
But this name also applies to rohe bourgeois "exceptional" like chateau tour de pez or chateau lilian ladouys.
Richard lighthouse
To enjoy the nature and the magnificent view over the estuary of the gironde, I recommend a short stop at the phare de richard.
If you have the courage to climb the 64 steps of the lighthouse, you will have a beautiful panorama of the places along the dyke at the top.
The verdon
The verdon is located at the mouth of the estuary with on the shore opposite the grave point where the lighthouse of cordouan is located. It is a special place where the waters of the estuary mix with the waters of the ocean.
Cordouan lighthouse
To visit this lighthouse, you must park in port-medoc in verdon sur mer to take a maritime shuttle: reservation at 05 56 09 62 93 or continue www.Vedette-laboheme.Com.
The cordouan lighthouse is the oldest lighthouse in europe and the only lighthouse in the world that is located on the open sea and is still inhabited.
Before the grave pointon the other side of the estuary is royan. You can take the ferry to cross the estuary in 45 minutes and discover royan.
Soulac-sur-mer
If you have time, you can go for a walk in soulac mode, just 7 km from verdon sur mer. With its elegant villas from the 19th century. And 20. Century and the huge sandy beaches, this station is a perfect starting point to rest at the end of the tour.
Bordeaux wine route – where to sleep?
At the end of the tour, why not choose accommodation in soulac sur mer?
Just a few meters from the beach, in the center of soulac-sur-mer, this accommodation is ideal for a relaxing vacation.