Discover Saint-Hippolyte: Plateau and Grottes de Ferrand

Saint-Hippolyte is best understood through the difference in elevation between the village and the parish church: Saint-Hippolyte Church stands in isolation on the summit of the Plateau de Ferrand, while the village developed below it. The plateau is considered one of the most unusual places in the Juridiction and is associated with the limestone whose formations have shaped the landscape. Two landmarks are therefore important for orientation: the village below and the parish church on the plateau above. This location gives a stay a clear landscape and historical focus.

Plateau, church and Grottes de Ferrand

A visitor path leads from the church to the Grottes de Ferrand. The parish church is the starting point for the path, and the Grottes are its destination. Check the access conditions for the visitor path before travelling.

Around 1670, Elie de Bétoulaud had a network of galleries and rooms carved into the slope near the Grottes de Ferrand. It extends for almost 100 metres along the slope. The galleries and rooms form an extensive complex; their position in the slope clearly distinguishes them from the isolated church on the plateau. Two different forms of built heritage thus stand side by side: the parish church on the summit and the historic complex near the caves. The date of around 1670 places the complex in time; the almost 100 metres describe its extent along the slope. The details therefore answer different questions: when the network was created and how far it extends along the slope.

Tours and tastings

The offerings at Château Monlot differ in their format. A wine-making tour ends with a tasting of five selected wines from the MRS V range. Another wine tourism experience takes visitors through the vineyard, fermentation room and cellar, followed by a tasting of three wines from the estate. The number of wines is therefore not the only factor to consider when comparing them: one offering combines wine-making with a selection from MRS V, while the other names the vineyard, fermentation room and cellar as stops and concludes with three estate wines. The details about five and three wines relate to different types of tour, not to a combined tasting.

Château Monlot's Dégustation Privilège takes a different approach: it features the estate's wines from different vintages and is accompanied by various foods. The offerings can therefore be distinguished by their focus—wine-making; a tour of the vineyard, fermentation room and cellar; or a tasting featuring a range of vintages and food pairings.

Tours, tastings, workshops, seminars and receptions are available at Château de Ferrand. To choose, you can first distinguish between the types of experience: a tour and tasting on the one hand, and a workshop, seminar or reception on the other.

Discover more destinations: Rauzan, Verdelais, Le Bouscat, Arbis, Sigalens, Le Tourne, Vayres, Omet

For the broader travel guide: Gironde.