Cloître des Cordeliers

Beautiful setting, but the experience doesn’t quite live up to the price We visited Cloître des Cordeliers in Saint-Émilion with high hopes, but overall the experience was a bit underwhelming. The tuk-tuk tour felt quite overpriced — €30 per adult and €25 per child — especially considering that you don’t actually enter any vineyards, just see them from the road. The guide provided only very basic information, both during the ride and at the short wine tasting afterwards. That said, the cloister garden itself is lovely — peaceful and well maintained — and the outdoor café is a nice spot to relax. You can pick up some simple food like pâté, bread, and a glass or a bottle of wine, which we enjoyed, although the service was quite slow and we didn’t exactly feel welcomed as customers. The gift shop was a bit confusing, with a mix of toys and random non-wine-related items, which didn’t really fit the setting. In short, it’s a pretty place to visit, but the overall experience felt a bit disjointed and overpriced for what you get.

What a great place to have a picnic. We had a fantastic experience sitting in the garden terrace splitting a bottle of their best bubbly.

An unforgettable experience at the Cloître des Cordeliers! The tour was absolutely fantastic, led by the brilliant Ophélie, a truly charming and passionate guide who’s a superb ambassador for Saint-Émilion. She brought the history and stories of the cloister to life with such enthusiasm and warmth. The tuk-tuk vineyard tour was a real highlight, informative, fun, and a great way to get a sense of the scale and beauty of the surrounding wine country. The visit to the labyrinthine underground caves was equally impressive, and the wine tasting at the end was a perfect way to round off the experience. Highly recommended! A must-do in Saint-Émilion!

Loved the Les Cordelliers wine tour and tasting. Highly recommended

Here’s the deal. There is coffee stand just inside the gate, and they may be the only place in town with vegan food. They have a large selection of “spreads” which they sell in small glass jars for a picnic there or to go. Not the best value but certainly homemade and tasty and plant based. They were open on Sunday afternoon when we visited.

Good variety of champagne with all 3 being loved by different members of our tour.

We had an amazing tour with Ophélie. We learned about Saint Emilion, the “crément” and the monastery. Recommended!

Fun tour with a great guide taking us through the history of the cloître, showing us the building, gardens and cellars. Included tasting of three wines with a treat of a macaron as well! Rate a bit on the high side for the tour.

Coffee at a UNESCO World Heritage site! They also offer a selection of wines, being in one of France's main wine producing regions, and other things. But what really makes this experience unique is the environment; centuries old monastic setting. Amazing!

Lovely gift shop and sorbet, crepes, crema kiosks in the courtyard overlooking the cloisters. Plenty of tables.

Took the tour of Les Cordeliers and enjoyed it. The sparkling wines we had afterwards for tasting were also very good. I have to take a star away though because it was done totally in French. Now, I know how that sounds. I'm in France, so...duh! The issue I have with it is the website doesn't advertise that fact, and since tours are usually taken by tourists, I would think they would say something about the language of the tour. It is completely my fault for assuming there would be options for an english or a french or a spanish or whatever, and to their credit, they had an english translation booklet we could bring with us, but it didn't follow the tour exactly right and was difficult to follow. Again, my issue is not that the tour was in French. But they do offer the tours in other languages. It seems to be based on the language spoken by most of the tourists on the tour. Therefore, if you do offer the tour in other languages, then why not set aside tour times for specific languages, instead of having tourists show up and hope for the best? I get it - I'm in their country and if I don't know their language then that's on me. I absolutely agree with you. But like I said, tours are taken by tourists, so a bit of information on your tourist information page would have been helpful. Still, very cool place and very good sparkling wine. Worth a visit whether you speak the language of the tour or not.

Everything in France is so old but looks like it came straight out of an old movie set! Le Cordeliers is a perfect spot for you to get exposed to Bordeaux wine. Most of the wineries here offer a soft and subtle body to their wines rather than a stronger more in depth one. The cobble stone roads are filled with wineries, caves (free to see), restaurants, and a view that will keep you in awe. The tastings are 5 euros per person or free if you end up getting a bottle. We actually found our best tasting at a shop rather than a winery. Show up early so you can find easy parking!