From the deck of the boat moored in Libourne, your gaze first meets the arches of the old stone bridge, then drifts toward hillsides striped with vines. That's the promise of this stop on the Dordogne: the Roger de Leyburn and Jeanne d'Albret landing stages serve as the gateway to one of the most famous wine landscapes on the planet, the Jurisdiction of Saint-Émilion, the first wine region inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in 1999.

Libourne, the bastide by the water

Before heading off to the vineyards, the host town deserves an hour's stroll. Founded in 1270 by Roger de Leyburn, lieutenant to the King of England, it has kept its bastide layout: dead-straight streets converging on Place Abel-Surchamp, framed by arcades and dominated by a 15th-century town hall. Near the confluence of the Isle and the Dordogne, the Tour du Grand Port recalls the time when gabares loaded with barrels floated downstream to the English and Dutch ships; the wine trade paid for every stone in the town. On Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, the market spreads its stalls beneath the arcades: canelés, cheeses, strawberries in season and the first flavours of southwestern France.

Getting to the village

Saint-Émilion is about eight kilometres away. The motorcoach excursions offered on board remain the simplest option; independent travellers can also take the regional train, a seven-minute ride, bearing in mind that the station sits below the village, about a twenty-minute walk from the ramparts, or a taxi ordered in advance from the landing.

A village carved from its own stone

The medieval town clings to a limestone promontory, and that limestone tells its whole story. In the 8th century, a Breton monk named Émilion settled in a cave in the cliff; around his hermitage, generations of builders would carve a unique monument: the monolithic church, cut entirely from the rock between the 11th and 12th centuries, the largest of its kind in Europe. From the market square, you'd never suspect a thing; you need to join the tourist office's guided tour to descend into the catacombs, the chapel and the hermit's cave and grasp the scale of this underground town. Spots go fast, so it's best to book as soon as you arrive. At the surface, you climb the tertres, cobbled lanes so steep they set their own pace, up to the Tour du Roy: from the top, the russet-tiled rooftops and the ocean of vines spread out in 360 degrees, with the bell tower of the underground church standing watch.

The table and the cellars

The town lives from wine, and does it well: vaulted cellars, wine merchants and bars offer tastings and advice, from grand cru classé to affordable bottles, often with the local accent and generosity. At the Cloître des Cordeliers, you can even raise a glass of crémant aged in old underground galleries. For a sweet note, macarons have been made here since 1620, following a recipe handed down by the Ursuline nuns: almond, sugar, egg white, nothing else, and the whole art lies in the baking. They're still sold warm, in sheets of twenty-four.

On the way back, as the Dordogne resumes its peaceful course beneath the arches of Libourne, a taste of almond and supple tannins lingers on your lips. Few river stops pack so many centuries into such a small area: a hermit, a hollowed-out cliff, vineyards ranked as a heritage of humanity. You catch yourself calculating how many more bottles your luggage can hold.