AN HOUR FROM PARIS Annabel Simms 1 873429 69 X £12.95 240 pp with maps and illustrations pbk 116 by 197 mm portrait This is a guide to the old-fashioned pleasures accessible within an hour of Paris by train, if you know where to look: • discovering half-hidden châteaux and writers' country houses • walking, boating or dancing by the river • exploring old towns and country footpaths • eating in family-run restaurants with 1950s décor and prices to match Written with an eye for the unusual and containing invaluable practical details and maps, An Hour From Paris describes 20 destinations in the Ile de France, the fascinating yet little-known countryside around Paris. Better-known destinations include the châteaux of Chantilly and Rambouillet and Maurice Ravel's house in Montfort-l'Amaury, but the reader will also discover the Roman town of Senlis, the river-ports of Conflans-Ste Honorine and St Mammès, the Gothic church and medieval moats at Crécy-la-Chapelle, the old border-town and water-mills of Moret-sur-Loing which inspired the Impressionist painters, and the delightfully provincial atmosphere of Luzarches. Annabel Simms is a Londoner who has lived in Paris since 1991. She indulges her interest in eating, walking and discovering by exploring the countryside around Paris, in between teaching English at France Telecom and the OECD.