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Saint-Emilion-some more visit

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The tour continues in the GROTTE DE L’ERMITAGE, where the hermit Emilion lived, reshaped over the centuries in the form of a Latin cross. The good hermit’s one amenity was running water from a natural spring. Worshipped since pagan times, the spring is good for what ails you, especially affliction to the eye.

From place Marché, walk up steep Tertre de la Tente to rue du Clocher. To the left is place des Creneaux, St.Emilion’s landmark 11th-15th-century bell tower rising up almost 60 meters, the second highest in the Gironde after St.Michel of Bordeaux. . For a small fee you can climb the 198 steps for a superb view of the whole town. Here too, is the entrance to the COLLEGIALE, a hotchpotch of a church begun in 1110----the period of its west portal, Byzantine cupolas, and frescoes of a devil, St.Catherine and the Virgin on the right wall of the nave.  The north portal has a tympanum adorned with “Last Judgment” from 1306, with niches that once held high relief of the apostles; in the choir are 15th century stalls and the treasure, where the relics of st.Emilion are currently installed.

From the nearby tourist office, you can enter the pretty twin-columned Gothic CLOITRE DE LA COLLEGIALE. Follow rue des Ecoles to rue du Couvent and the austere Norman TOUR DU ROI, all that remains of the castle built by Henri III with more grand views from the top.

Down, near place Bouckueyre, the medieval quarters of La Madeleine in rue André Loiseau house the town’s new museum: MUSEE DES HOSPICES DE LA MADELEINE, excellent display of pottery and ironware made in southwest France from as far back as the 13th century.