This delightful small town on the Dordogne River between Bordeaux and Bergerac is renowned for the fine wine produced by the grapes grown in the surrounding vineyards.

The name Émilion is derived from the Breton monk who lived here as a hermit in a grotto on a promontory during the 8th century. Here today on the same spot you’ll find a huge Romanesque spire, or Clocher, above the largest monolithic sanctuary in Europe, carved from a single piece of rock out of existing caverns and known as the Église Monolithe.

Église Monolithe and Clocher

Place du Marché

Make your way to the Place du Marché is the town’s partially shaded main square below the promontory and from here the view of the Clocher above the Église Monolithe is awesome. Here you can enjoy some refreshments before exploring the very unusual church above, the catacombes and the Chapelle de la Trinité. (Tickets from the Tourist Office on Rue du Clocher)