Saint-Émilion was all we imagined, a beautiful medieval village with abundant character. The center of town is mostly pedestrianised cobblestone lanes, so we parked on the edge of town and walked into the village in search of our hotel. Like much of our travel planning, I had used Google Street Views to find just the right place with just the right character, on a small square in the old centre of town. The streets in medieval villages are like mazes, often a challenge to navigate without a good sense of direction, but we found our hotel half way down one of the steep cobblestone streets.
We learned afterward that we had arrived at the back door near the kitchen! A very nice gentleman came out and asked if he could assist us. We told him we had a reservation for three rooms and right away he grabbed the keys and escorted us to our rooms without even asking our names! The rural hospitality was so incredible and refreshing – not to mention the good faith of fellow human beings!
We were thankful for the handrail in the centre of the street!
Credit OT Saint-Emilion © Steve Le Clech