A pleasant surprise. Josephine Baker's home for 30 years has been brought back to its former glory…read more The grounds and gardens are immaculate, with a troop of gardeners picking up every leaf and planting new flowers near the chapel. A falconry show begins at 11:15, with another at 4. Audioguides in numerous languages are available at the gift shop and start of the tour. The gorgeous chateau has an interesting history beginning in the 15th century, with gargoyles galore. Josephine, resistance fighter, humanitarian, and world renowned singer and dancer from the 1920s to the 60s, installed some amazing bathrooms into the chateau, which has lots of stairs. Great views over the valley and village. Pieces of her music are available on the audio guide. A woman-owned business about an amazing woman. Cafe and toilets are available. Free parking, but tickets are required to enter grounds.

Chateau Milandes was built in the early 15th Century, but it's most famous inhabitant (in my…read moreopinion) was Josephine Baker. She started renting the Château in 1937, then bought it and lived their till the late 1960s. This is where she raised her flock of adopted children (she had 12!). Evicted and swindled in her later years, she spent her final years elsewhere, dying in Paris in 1975. The Château was bought 20 some years ago, and the current owner and her daughter have brought back the Château and gardens in all their glory! The items on display map out Baker's tumultuous life, from her birth in Jim Crow Missouri to her rise to fame on the French entertainment world. Truly fascinating and a must see for any fan of Josephine Baker!

We took the 9 hour tour that visited the village of Saint-Emilion and a wine tasting in the town,…read moreChateau Bernateau on the right bank where we had lunch at picnic tables, then across the river to Magaux on the left bank to Chateau Prieure-Lichine, and Chateau Siran. We traveled in a tour van and our guide was very friendly and knowledgable. We tasted many wines and got a first hand view on wine making. We were very lucky because the wineries were picking and harvesting the grapes (it was later in September).

My friend and I did the Saint-Emilion Small Group Day Tour with Wine Tastings & Lunch. Our fabulous…read moretour guide, Ed, escorted us to two chateaus before doing a tasting in Saint-Emilion. The experience was absolutely lovely and a great learning experience. We were lucky to have stunning spring weather and enjoyed a picnic lunch with meats and cheese. We also got to visit the stunning sites of Saint-Emilion. I wouldn't hesitate to book another tour with Rustic Vines.

It is about 4.5 for the visit. It is amazing the entire rock face was cut out in the middle for…read moredwelling. This nature cave is one kilometer long and 8 meters high. The limestone face provide prehistoric living area and protection. Currently the visit include walk along the entire length. It has some civil engineering equipment displayed how the 15 century people moving rock. This includes the hand crane, leveling, and horizontal pulley. This mechanism demonstrates how the rock was move. The cave also has the fortress for defense. You also can see the jail was putting there. Some area is used for gardening. This high location has a good overlooking the river below.

The guide is in Irish, joked the receptionist as he handed us a returnable trail leaflet as we…read moreentered La Roque St Christophe, a must visit site if you are in this area. This sheer rock face, some five terraces high, has been inhabited since prehistoric times. It was such a secure place, above the Vezere river, that man made it a troglodytic fort in the 10th century and that these early efforts were added to throughout the middle ages when the fort, really by then a high rise town, often held as many as 1000 people. A little reconstruction has taken place and one can easily imagine how the medieval town worked, how it continued to supply itself full size working models of big lifting machines have been constructed here - and how it defended itself against attackers. A marvellous and worthwhile experience.

Wine tasting among castles in the French countryside? Sign me up! This tour was the highlight of…read moreour Bordeaux trip, specially the Saint-Émilion Afternoon Tour with Quentin. I was able to book easily via their webpage the evening before. Our tour group had 8 people and started at 1:45 PM, lasting 5 hours. The pickup point was in the heart of Bordeaux at the tourist office. Our tour guide Quentin spoke great English and was super personable. He also drove the mini van and used the hour of commute time each way to get to know us and share his knowledge. The first stop was a larger scale winery, Château Soutard, which is a Saint-Émilion Grands cru classés winery (in the top 10% of wineries in Right Bank). They had deep pickets and you could tell by the infrastructure. We rode a gigantic silent glass elevator for transporting barrels underground which they affectionately called "James Bond." Our guide here led us on a thorough tour of the indoor facilities and guided us through a tasting of two reds. Quentin also did a fun smell test with us. We spent 1.5 hours here. The next stop was the charming old town of Saint-Émilion, and the reason I booked the Right Bank tour over the Left Bank one. Over the course of an hour, Quentin led us through the highlights of the city including a wine cave (the oldest wine bottles I've seen!) and an old church. It rained on and off, but Quentin was prepared with umbrellas. Our third and final stop was a relatively smaller winery called Château Côte de Baleau. They had a picturesque castle on property, and the guide here welcomed us with glasses of Bordeaux blanc from another winery. Quentin showed us the grapevines and the traditional concrete aging vats. Then the female guide led us through a vertical tasting of two Saint-Émilion Grand Crus - 2007 and 2014. Compared to the first winery, I enjoyed the more laid-back vibe here, and the wine was almost as good and at a lower price point. We also had some small bites to pair - comté cheese, sausage, dark chocolate, almonds, and bread. I liked how both wineries didn't push buying the wine at all - no mention of sales and no price lists shown during the tasting. The cost of this tour was slightly more than other half day options I found (€94), but I thought it was well worth it for the longer time and included bites. It was also nice to not worry about a rental and driving ourselves an hour out to the wineries from Bordeaux where we stayed. Highly recommend this experience!

We had the best day ever with Kaio as our guide! E-bikes and winery tours, including an elegant…read morelunch. Kaio was pleasant, knowledgeable, and fun to spend the day with for our group.

Stop your search and just book the tour with Jean Pierre now! Do not miss out on an amazing and…read morememorable experience in Bordeaux by booking with someone else. Jean Pierre is meticulous in planning out his tours, he takes into account what you want to see, which Châteaux you want to visit , etc. He really loves what he does and it shows in his tours. Experience start to finish; - emailed request and received a response very quickly - Jean Pierre asked a few questions about the group, size, our wine knowledge (we are novice wine drinkers), requests on Châteaux we wanted to visit ... then he got working on the itinerary and making appointments for the Châteaux visits. - Jean Pierre confirms pickup location and itinerary (picked us up from our Airbnb!) - follow up communications confirming pickup points etc (he is very clear in all communication) .. we were a group of 4 and it ended up being just us that day! I believe his car fits up to six people. - then a day touring and enjoying wine: our day started at Château du Tailhas Pomerol, then scenic drive around Pomerol and St. Emilion, lunch/ explore St. Emilion, Château Dominique and then Château Canon La Gaffeliere. (Jean Pierre made sure to give us different types of chateaux to visit, from small family owned to larger more industrialized ones) We learned so much from Jean Pierre, from now knowing that different regions in Bordeaux produce different blends of wine to how the terroir affects the taste of the wines. I'm already looking at my calendar for 2017 to see when I can get back to Bordeaux and do another tour.. perhaps multiple day tours with Jean Pierre!

Le Bournat, 24260 Le Bugue http://www.lebournat.fr…read more 05 53 08 41 99 Situated on the banks of the Vezere, Le Bugue has much going for it, including Le Gouffre de Proumeyssac where one may do the descent into the cave by basket. Our trip on a dull Monday was to see Le Village du Bournat. Being early in the season, we missed out on most of the animations though we did we see a wood artist and a lace expert in action. This is really the reconstruction of a Perigord village from the early 1900s, complete with ladies washing by the water, a blacksmith's and a farmyard. Many other crafts are on display, though not all at the same time, and we also visited the windmill where in an adjoining cottage we found a nest of what looked like swallows, who were being fed by the parents. If you are hungry you may also sample some old style bread and more new style refreshments in the facilities. Kids are well catered for here with picnic facilities and many old style games to keep them occupied when they get fed up of the crafts and farm activities. Entry Cost for an adult is EUR12.00.

From the owner: Voyage en 1900 Il était une fois au coeur du Périgord Noir un village où le temps s'est arrêté au…read moredébut du siècle dernier : Le Village du Bournat. Un site à l'ancienne où parents et enfants font un voyage dans le temps pour y découvrir la vie de nos grands-parents, les traditions d'antan. Au rythme des saisons, à travers des animations et reconstitutions, le village s'anime et s'organise autour des visiteurs : la vie quotidienne, les femmes au lavoir, les enfants à l'école, les travaux des champs ... La journée au Bournat est rythmée entre l'atelier modelage et sculpture sur pierre ou les contes pour les enfants et une visite guidée dans le village décrivant la vie rurale en 1900. Tout l'été des visites nocturnes (20h30-22h00) sont également organisées sur le thème des Mythes et Croyances en Dordogne et sur le rôle de la femme en 1900.

From the owner: Paysages et nectar exceptionnels Introduite par les Romains, la viticulture a été développée au…read moreMoyen Age dans cette région fertile d'Aquitaine. Inscrite au Patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco en 1999, la juridiction de Saint Emilion offre des paysages entièrement consacrés à la vigne. Ses villes et villages comptent de nombreux monuments historiques de qualité. La région produit des vins renommés et appréciés dans le monde entier. Cette juridiction compte 8 communes : Saint-Emilion, Vignonet, Saint-Hippolyte, Saint-Christophe-des-Bardes, Saint-Etienne-de-Lisse, Saint-Laurent-des-Combes, Saint-Pey-d'Armens et Saint-Sulpice-de-Faleyrens. Le site est classé au Patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco. Ci-dessous, la liste complète des monuments classés au patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco en France.