Paris_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Lonely Planet [279]
Le Bistro de la Cathédrale ( 02 37 36 59 60; 1 Cloître Notre Dame; starters €10-15, mains €15-20; lunch & dinner to 10.30pm, closed Sun Sep-Easter) Our favourite in the shadow of the cathedral, this stylish wine bar is the place for a long lazy lunch over a glass or three of wine. Tasty morsels to soak it up are chalked on the boards inside and out.
Café Serpente ( 02 37 21 68 81; 2 Cloître Notre Dame; starters €6-14.80, mains €15-20; 10am-11pm) Its location slap-bang opposite the cathedral ensures this brasserie and salon de thé is always full. Cuisine is traditional and its chef also constructs well-filled sandwiches (€3.80 to €5.80).
La Chocolaterie ( 02 37 21 86 92; 14 place du Cygne; 8am-7.30pm Tue-Sat, 10am-7.30pm Mon & Sun) Leave the tourists behind. Revel instead in local life at this bar-cum-chocolate-shop overlooking the open-air flower market in place du Cygne. Its coloured macaroons – orange, apricot, pistachio, pineapple and so on in flavour – are to die for, as are its sweet homemade crêpes, brownies and Madeleine sponge cakes.
Self-Catering
Covered Market (place Billard; 7am-1pm Wed & Sat)
Monoprix (21 rue Noël Ballay & 10 rue du Bois Merrain; 9am-7.30pm Mon-Sat) Department store with ground-floor supermarket.
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SLEEPING
The tourist office has a list of guesthouses and B&Bs in town.
Best Western Le Grand Monarque ( 02 37 18 15 15; www.bw-grand-monarque.com; 22 place des Épars; s €101-175, d €121-175, tr €175, ste €206-249; ) With its sage-green shutters piercing a façade dating to 1779, lovely stained-glass ceiling and treasure-trove of period furnishings, old B&W photos and knick-knacks, the Grand Monarch is a historical gem – well worn but charming nonetheless. Dining is fine in its gourmet restaurant, George (starters €12 to €23, mains €30 to €35, menus €47 and €65).
Hôtel du Bœuf Couronné ( 02 37 18 06 06; 15 place Châtelet; s/d with washbasin €30/35, s/d with bathroom €46/57; mid-Jan–mid-Dec) The red-curtained entrance lends a vaguely theatrical air to this two-star Logis de France guesthouse in the centre of everything. Its summertime terrace restaurant cooks up cathedral-view dining (half-board €64 per person) and the Dicken’s Blues bar is right next door.
Auberge de Jeunesse ( 02 37 34 27 64; www.auberge-jeunesse-chartres.com; 23 av Neigre; dm incl breakfast €13; reception 2-10pm) An easy 1.5km stroll northeast from the train station via blvd Charles Péguy and blvd Jean Jaurès or a trip aboard bus 5 (direction Mare aux Moines) to the Rouliers stop brings you to Chartres’ well-run hostel. Rates include breakfast with cathedral view, but sheets are €2.
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GIVERNY
The prized drawcard of this tiny village (population 544), northwest of Paris en route to Rouen, is the Maison de Claude Monet (House of Claude Monet; 02 32 51 28 21; www.fondation-monet.com; 84 rue Claude Monet, Giverny; adult/7-12yr/under 7yr €5.50/4/free, 9.30am-6pm Tue-Sun Apr-Oct), the home and flower-filled garden of one of the leading impressionist painters and his family from 1883 to 1926. Here Monet painted some of his most famous series of works, including Décorations des Nymphéas (Water Lilies). Unfortunately, the hectare of land that Monet owned here has become two distinct areas, cut by the Chemin du Roy, a small railway line that has been converted into the D5 road.
The northern area of the property is Clos Normand, where Monet’s famous pastel pink-and-green house and the Atelier des Nymphéas (Water Lilies Studio) stand. These days the studio is the entrance hall, adorned with precise reproductions of his works and ringing with cash-register bells from busy souvenir stands. Outside are the symmetrically laid-out gardens. Visiting the house and gardens is a treat in any season. From early to late spring, daffodils,