Dampierre (Seine-et-Oise)
For decades one of the classic one-day excursions from Paris has been the valley of the Chevreuse, a verdant bit of countryside below Versailles. Without being sensational. the trip is notable for its charming villages, moss-grown abbeys, half-forgotten chapels, and for one quite exceptional château, which many people miss, the château de Dampierre. This formal brick structure is very much in the grand manner and was built in the seventeenth century by the Due de Chevreuse. Mansard was the architect, and the famous Le Notre laid out the beautiful gardens. The exquisite interiors can be seen every afternoon except on Tuesday. Few structures in France offer as revealing a picture of the fastidious way of life in the time of the Louis'. For many years the gourmet's choice in the valley of the Chevreuse has been the AUBERGE SAINT-PIERRE in Dampierre, the oldest and most epicurean restaurant in the region. Monsieur Bréard, a genial and experienced host, carries on an old tradition with grace and good taste. His cuisine is refined and generous, and his wines arc good. Here is a pleasant place for a quiet stay in the country, surprisingly close to Paris.
Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne)
This famous city has an atmosphere all its own, apart from its incomparable palace and forest. At present, it is a top-drawer military headquarters, of course, and its streets are brightened with a scattering of uniforms from countries participating in the Atlantic Pact. A good proportion of G.I.'s are among them, and the cafe trade has taken & spurt. But such a rare assignment is too good to he lost, and you never saw such well-behaved soldiers. American lads and lasses from the art and music school installed in one wing of the Palais de Fontainebleau lend an added touch of youth to the old lown. You may find that Fontainebleau gives you a slight touch of nostalgia.
Strangely enough, the inquiring gourmet has no better luck in this famous town than in Versailles. After trying four of them, I feel safe in saying that its hotels are so-so and their food is banal. You have to go to the edge of the forest of Fontaineblcau to find a truly Commendable cuisine. Mere, about four miles north of the town, is LE GRAND VENEUR, a rather showy roadside auberge whose wide dining terrace opens out on the forest. For less favorable weather there is alarge and inviting dining salon. The food is very good, a little expensive perhaps. The wines arc well chosen and the atmosphere is cordial. The clientele is well-upholstered and outwardly content with the world. One finds one's self lost in conjecture about the status of sonic of the lithesome blondes, but we mustn't stray from gastronomy!
Barbizon (Seine-et-Marne)
Another way to “do” Fontainebleau is to combine it with a week end six miles away in Barbizon, the village made famous by Millet, Rousseau, Ziem, Diaz, and other painters of the now-famous Barbizon school. Painters aren't numerous now in this village at the edge of the forest, but Batrbizon has been adopted with even greater enthusiasm by discriminating week-enders. There probably isn't a more seductive spot for a quiet vacation in the Ile-de-France. Its hotels are delightful, particularly LES PLÉIADES and the BAS-BRÉAU, two woodland shrines which just couldn't be more attractive. They both have a succession of sheltered gardens where you can dine or read or relax. Their rooms are furnished with unusual good taste, In fact, they don't seem like hotels at all. Somehow you absorb the feeling that you arc a house guest, and the vulgar matter of paying for things is forgotten for the moment. In view of the wonderful food and service and such idyllic atmosphere, the resultant charges arc, in fact, quite reasonable. Traveling can be tiresome sometimes. Paris can be fatiguing, especially during a heal wave. A placid vacation in the verdant calm of Barbizo is probably the most pleasant antidote that the Ile-de-France can offer for travel fatigue.
Chennevières (Seine-et-Marne)
For scores of years, discriminating Parisians with a yearning for tranquility have been dining on the banks of the Marne at the HOSTELLERIE DE L'ECU DE FRANCE, located in the little outlying town of Chcnnevièrcs. It is only a few miles from the heart of the city, but the change in atmosphere is total. The Marnc indulges in a bulge at this particular spot, giving the effect of a lake framed in verdure. Somnolent fishermen sit in flat-bottomed boats. Swans drift about. An occasional insect makes a circular ripple on the surface of the river.
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