48 hours in the Chevreuse Valley

During this gourmet itinerary, you'll be reminded of the present day, through architecture and suburban development. But you'll soon find yourself far from the Grands Boulevards. The half-timbered houses are full of flowers, the grain fields quieter than the Champs-Élysées and the woods more peaceful than Boulogne. The Haute Vallée de Chevreuse nature park offers the chance to get out into the countryside, on a 60,000-hectare estate. Versailles, the country's most visited château, is a fascinating example of how the French are linked to their history and to the monarchy, in an almost permanent tribute by the Republic to its royal past. History was written here. Democracy is expressed here with Mirabeau in the Salle du Jeu de Paume, and of course you can wander through Le Nôtre's gardens, the grand apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, the King's bedroom... Leaving the château, you'll continue on to the Trianon, the Grand Trianon, by Hardouin-Mansart, and the Petit Trianon, created by Gabriel for Louis XV, then given to Marie-Antoinette by Louis XVI. The tour doesn't end there: Versailles is also a lively, bourgeois town, with a wealth of quality food and drink outlets. The Notre-Dame market is one of the largest and liveliest in the Île-de-France region. Its location has remained unchanged since the 18th century, and the halles are open every day except Monday. From Versailles, drive to Buc, then on to Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse along the beautiful aqueduct, almost 600 m long and 21 m high, built in 1684 on Louis XIV's orders to supply the gardens of Versailles. Then on to Châteaufort, a pretty village with old-fashioned holiday homes, the first real stopover with a rural feel, and Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, where Raymond Devos' elegant 19th-century home, La Hiéra, has been converted into a museum of the artist's many memorabilia. Near Chevreuse, the château de la Madeleine, a fine fortified complex built as early as the 11th century, dominates the village, emerging from a clump of trees. It is home to the nature park and offers superb views over the Yvette valley. On your way out of Chevreuse, be sure to stock up at the Jardinerie de Chevreuse, before entering the real woodland and countryside, where stud farms and stables flourish. Take a detour (left towards Bullion) to discover the Château de Breteuil. Listed as a historic monument, it is a remarkable 75-hectare ensemble, with its park and formal gardens. It's open to visitors all year round, especially its furnished interior, which depicts daily life at the château through the centuries, thanks to 50 wax figures staging the history of France. We arrive in Cernay, in the heart of the Haute Vallée de Chevreuse regional nature park. After a drink at the Café des Sports, head for La Celle-les-Bordes, the most beautiful village on this route, with its Louis XIII château, once owned by the Duc d'Uzès and his wife, the first woman to obtain a driver's license in 1898. She was also the first woman to be ticketed for speeding, in the Bois de Boulogne at the wheel of her Delahaye, at 15 km/h instead of the authorized 12 km/h... We then join Les Bleus at Clairefontaine, home of the National Football Center. At the same time, we enter the Rambouillet forest massif. In Rambouillet, the superb 14th-century château has seen many kings and heads of state, and was restored by Napoleon, who spent one of his last nights in France here before leaving for St. Helena. François I died here, Charles X took refuge here and signed his abdication in 1830. De Gaulle and General Leclerc met here in August 1944, before the 2nd Armored Division headed for the capital to liberate Paris. Finally, the G6 (formerly G7) was held here in 1975. If you can't go hunting for dix-cors in the vast 20,000-hectare forest, visit the Musée du mouton at the Bergerie nationale de Rambouillet, created by Louis XVI for the study and development of sheep breeds. The site is home to an equestrian center, a farm and a merino conservatory. For a change of scene, don't miss the Rambolitrain, one of France's most important railway museums.