I know I’ve said it before and I’m repeating myself, but sometimes you don’t need to go far to feel like you’re on a getaway. The advantage of living in Paris is that you can easily head out to explore the regions of Île-de-France and find yourself completely elsewhere in a very short time.
Through several of my articles, you must have realized that I enjoy the Yvelines department, which I have been exploring (almost thoroughly) for a few years now.
This time, it is in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a town very easily accessible by the RER A train, that I decided to spend a peaceful and relaxing little weekend.
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Cazaudehore La Forestière, Relais & Châteaux
This country house with a deeply familial history is located just 20 minutes from Paris, hidden in the heart of the dense national forest of centennial oaks, in a magnificent haven of peace where you feel far away from the capital…
The hotel and its restaurant, members of the Relais & Châteaux chain for 40 years, constitute a refuge of calm and greenery for anyone in search of escapism and space, right at the gates of Paris.
For the record, the venue has existed since 1928, the year Jean-Baptiste Cazaudehore opened the refreshment stall at the St-Germain-en-Laye stadium (which has since become the PSG training center) with his wife. The guinguette grew and expanded to become a charming hotel after World War II.
Our room no. 10: each of the thirty rooms and suites is completely different and they each feature their own unique universe.
In the establishment’s gardens, there is a monumental sculpture by artist Béatrice Guichard based on the interpretation of Manet‘s Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe (Luncheon on the Grass), which has become the emblem of the establishment today.
The magnificent terrace, perfect for sunny days, evokes Le Moulin de La Galette in Montmartre, with its Parisian lampposts, and immerses us in another era.
Restaurant chef Grégory Balland has been plying his talents in the house kitchens for 10 years now, offering seasonal and quality products in generous and gourmet dishes.
I had already had the chance to discover the hotel’s restaurant during the 2014 Goûts d’Yvelines event, so I was delighted to taste this excellent cuisine again, through its Easter menu, a surprising blend of flavors without ever being cloying, and which I found particularly interesting in terms of food and wine pairings.
The All-Chocolate Easter Menu:
- Foie gras marble, lobster and white chocolate, breaded avocado and chili sauce.
- Scallops two ways: in a millefeuille of sweet dark chocolate, pan-seared with a passion fruit jus, cocoa-infused red carrots, and minty peas.
- Duck breast with kumquats, coffee-infused celery in a cocoa crepe, citrus vinaigrette salad.
- Parmesan and aged Mimolette cheese, baby spinach shoots with 1997 Vintage Sherry, shallot bread, and French toast-style chocolate.
- Tasting of great vintage chocolates: Venezuelan dark chocolate mousse, Bahibé milk chocolate frozen parfait (Dominican Republic), Ivoire white chocolate mousse.
Price:
€79 and €99 with food and wine pairing
The tip: from Tuesday lunch to Friday lunch, for both lunch and dinner, the establishment offers -30% on its menu for those under 30!
For hotel guests, breakfast is also served in the dining room, in the form of a buffet.
Good to know: Jazzaudehore evenings with a particularly well-curated program are regularly organized.
The essential: free Wi-Fi obviously (yes I am a geek, but I am a blogger, so I get forgiven).
Price: between €200 and €250 for a classic room / also check out the special “duo package” offers / “All Chocolate” Escape (All Chocolate menu and its food & wine pairing + one night in a double room, chocolate surprise in the room and buffet breakfast) starting from €165 per person
The Yvelines Relais & Châteaux Cazaudehore La Forestière 1, avenue du président Kennedy 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye
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Outing ideas in Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Take a short tour of the city via the Saint-Germain-en-Laye Tourist Office
Accompanied by Victoria, a guide from the Tourist Office, we headed out for a little stroll in the town center of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, discovering historical homes, the castle (which houses the National Archaeology Museum that I talk about just below), all embellished with crispy anecdotes about the royal court in Saint-Germain.
Practical Information: you can find these visits all summer long, from July to August, every day, Tuesday to Saturday at 3 PM starting from the Tourist Office / price €5 / duration 1.5 hours
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Visit the National Archaeology Museum
The National Archaeology Museum, which holds a jewel I was telling you about recently, the Dame de Brassempouy, following my little excursion to the Landes, is one of my favorite museums. Naturally, with an archaeologist’s background, I can only be sensitive to the collections of this establishment.
I strongly encourage you to visit it, because it is unfortunately a museum that is not very well known to Parisians due to its, very relative, distance (yes, Parisians have the bad habit of having trouble crossing the ring road to discover the treasures of the Île-de-France region).
In addition to the superb collections presenting the most beautiful French archaeological finds from prehistory to the Gallo-Roman era, the museum is spread out in the magnificent Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, a royal residence for several centuries, birthplace of several sovereigns, which was restored by Eugène Millet starting in 1862.
So the interest of the visit is twofold: to learn and understand the history of national archaeology in the territory, take the opportunity to have a quick review of the history of our origins and our “Gaulish ancestors” (I won’t elaborate on the subject because I could talk about it for hours, as it was my specialty during my archaeology studies), and discover the superb venue that preserves these unique collections.
Rates: €7 / €5.50 reduced rate / free on the first Sunday of the month, for those under 25 (members of the European community), for the unemployed and RSA beneficiaries
The tip: if you don’t have the time or the desire to visit the museum, I still encourage you to pass through the door of the Château to simply visit the courtyard and the chapel, which are accessible for free without buying a ticket for the museum.
National Archaeology Museum National Domain of Saint-Germain-en-Laye place Charles de Gaulle 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye open from 10 AM to 5 PM, every day except Tuesday
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I hope that with all this, I will have made you want to discover or re-discover Saint-Germain-en-Laye, and if you too have your favorite addresses for going out and visiting this town in the Île-de-France region, don’t hesitate to share them in the comments!
Photo credits: Nicolas Diolez Photos are not royalty-free, photographer's authorization is mandatory before any use
