Travel Notes: Recommended hotels and restaurants in France - Paris, Dordogne (Beynac, Sarlat, Lascaux), St. Cirq Lapopie, Pech Merle, Biarritz, Bordeaux and Spain - Bilbao, San Sebastian and Amsterdam, Netherlands

Travel Notes: Recommended hotels and restaurants in France - Paris,
Dordogne (Beynac, Sarlat, Lascaux), St. Cirq Lapopie, Pech Merle,
Biarritz, Bordeaux and Spain - Bilbao, San Sebastian and Amsterdam,
Netherlands

We traveled in France and northern Spain for two weeks in May, 2005.
Below are some of our favorite hotels and restaurants. During the trip
US $1 =3D =80 0.75 Room prices are for a double with bath. None of the
hotels included breakfast, except in Amsterdam. Hotel breakfast prices
ranged from =80 6 to =80 12.50.

Because there were four of us, we reserved all our hotel rooms well in
advance. I'm glad we did.

Phone numbers: use the initial 0 when you are in country. Don't use
the 0 when calling from another country.

Have a great trip!
Scott Wittet swittetATpathDOTorg

Paris, France
We followed Rick Steves' advice and stayed near Rue Cler, Invalides,
and the Eiffel Tower. H=F4tel Muguet was very comfortable and quiet. The
owner and staff were helpful. Every morning we walked a block to buy
pastries, then another to enjoy them with coffee in the Caf=E9 de PTT on
Rue Cler.

H=F4tel Muguet =80108
Tel : 33 (0)1 47 05 05 93; Fax : 33(0)1 45 50 25 37
11 rue Chevert, 75007 Paris

www.hotelmuguet.com

Our last evening in Paris we had dinner a few blocks from the hotel,
with a beautiful view of the dome of the Invalides. It was my favorite
meal of the trip. The prix fixe menu cost =80 29. Service was
excellent.

Le Maupertu
94 Bd. De la Tour Maubourg 7507 Paris
01 45 51 37 96
www.restaurant-maupertu-paris.com

Dordogne (Beynac, Sarlat, Lascaux), France
The Dordogne region, east of Bordeaux, is gorgeous. And the
history-prehistoric and medieval-is fascinating. Traveling there in
May was a delight-traffic and crowds were not a problem. We had a
car, so we stayed in Beynac, a small, charming medieval town. It is
much less busy than Sarlat, which is a 15-20 minute drive away. We
could not have done all we did without the car.

We stayed at Hotel B=F4nnet. The rooms are a bit run down and old
fashioned, but the young management team was friendly and helpful and
the breakfasts are a traditional, French delight. No aircon, which
would be a problem in warm weather but was fine in May. The view from
the broad veranda facing the river is tranquil and inspiring, in spite
of being just above the road. One of my fondest memories is sitting on
that deck in the early evening, watching the river and swallows, hot
air balloons, and gliders in the sky, savoring a light dinner with
local wine. One lives well in France!

H=F4tel Bonnet =8055
24220 Beynac
T=E9l. 33 (0)5 53 29 50 01, Fax (0)5 53 29 83 74

www.hotelbonnet.com

Except for breakfast, we did not eat in the hotel-the gourmet
restaurant seemed expensive. Plus, there were other options. One of our
favorites was

Restaurant La Ferme des Chateaux
Les Magnanas
24220 Vezac
05 53 30 49 90
(500 meters east of Beynac, direction Sarlat)

Run by the de Oliveria family, at one point or another papa, maman,
brother and sister brought something to our table. The menus offer
variety at a reasonable price, including traditional Perigordin
specialities. The restaurant sits off the road, about 500m from Beynac
at a curve in the road to Sarlat, in front of a large campground. It
offers a large non-smoking dining room (hurray!) and outdoor seating.

In Sarlat we sampled several restaurants offering menus for =8013-30.
We had nice experiences, if not always memorable. Don't miss the
"crepes sarrasin", they are delicious with the local hard cider.

We also enjoyed a cruise on a replica of a 19th century river barge-a
gabarre. The gabarre ticket booth is only 250m from Hotel B=F4nnet, in
front of the Beynac tourism office.
Gabarres de Beynac Tel. 05 53 28 51 15

Prehistoric cave art

Lascaux II, the exact replica of the famous prehistoric painted cave
(about 19,000 years old), is well worth a visit. It's chilly
underground, so bring a sweater or jacket. If one stays on the right
road, it's 30-45 minutes from Beynac. We got a little lost, but still
made it in time to pick up our tickets (we had called from the hotel
before setting out). In May it was necessary to get the tickets in the
Tourist Office in Montignac first, then drive 1.5 km to the Lascaux
site. Lascaux II offers English tours everyday. Reservations weren't
necessary in May, but may be in summer, especially for an English tour.
Reservations: 33 5 53 519 623
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/a...n/infoprat.htm

Font de Gaume is one of the few original caves still open to the
public. The art was painted about 17,000 years ago. It's near Les
Eyzies and Lascaux II. Reservations are necessary as entry is limited
to 200 people per day. They also offer English tours. The cave is worth
a visit, but if you only visit two caves, make them Lascaux II and Pech
Merle (see below) if you can. Reservations: 33 5 53 068 600

St. Cirq Lepopie

We left Beynac via Domme (a lovely, hilltop bastide town) and arrived
in St. Cirq Lapopie about two hours later. St. Cirq, perched on a
hillside above the River Lot, is drop-dead gorgeous and H=F4tel de La
P=E9lissaria is charming.

H=F4tel de La P=E9lissaria =80116
46330 Saint-Cirq Lapopie
T=E9l.: 33. (0)5.65.31.25.14; Fax : 33. (0)5.65.30.25.52

http://perso.wanadoo.fr/hoteldelapelissaria

Pech Merle is a cave with paintings dating back 24,000 years. It is
very close to St. Cirq, on the other side of the Lot river. The cave is
very dramatic-not only are there paintings, etchings, ancient
footprints, and fossilized cave hyena dung-the cave also is full of
beautiful mineral formations, including cave pearls. They don't offer
English tours routinely, but our young guide (an archeology student)
spoke English well and translated the most important points. She was
patient with our questions too. Only 700 people are allowed in per
day, so reservations are necessary in summer. We were lucky-we showed
up about 9:30, joined a tour just getting underway, caught the film in
the little museum afterwards and were on the road to Biarritz before
noon. Reservations: http://www.quercy.net/pechmerle/contact.html

Biarritz, in French Basque country
We drove about 5 hours to Biarritz from Pech Merle, including a short
lunch stop. I found Biarritz to be touristy, but my companions loved
it. There is a beautiful beach downtown, many (pricey) restaurants, a
casino, and-we were lucky-the sun. We also used Biarritz as a base
for two day trips into Spain.

Maison Garnier is a nice old house on a semi-residential street, close
to the city center. It only has seven rooms. Not all are air
conditioned and lack of a/c might be a problem in warm weather.

H=F4tel Maison Garnier =8085 and 100
29, rue Gambetta - 64200 Biarritz
Tel: 33 (0)5 59 01 60 70 - Fax: 33 (0)5 59 01 60 80

www.hotel-biarritz.com

We had two very nice meals in Biarritz, both only a few blocks from
Maison Garnier.

Le Clos Basque
12, rue Louis Barthou - 64200 Biarritz
05 59 24 24 96
Very creative menu, lovely food and friendly service. We were
lucky-got the last table on a busy Tuesday night.

Le Bistrot des Halles
1, rue du Centre - 64200 Biarritz
05 59 24 21 22
Nice variety in the menu, bistrot ambiance. The manager speaks
excellent English. We had to reserve the day before to get a table.

Finally, there is an interesting museum if you enjoy the traditional
art of India, Nepal, Tibet and China. The owner/curator spent 50 years
working for a pharmaceutical company in India. He amassed an impressive
personal collection, then built a museum to show it off.

Asiatica Musee d'Art Oriental
1, rue Guy-Petit - Biarritz
05 59 22 78 78

Bilbao, Spain and the Guggenheim
It takes about 90 minutes to drive from Biarritz to Bilbao. The highway
is good, but the museum exit is not well-signed. Fortunately you can
see it from the highway, then take the next exit to the center. The
museum features changing exhibits-the focus during our visit was
Aztec art. But even if you don't like the art, the building is
fantastic. It's so nice to see a GREAT Frank Gehry building-we live
in Seattle where he built a mediocre one.

San Sebastian, Spain
We decided not to drive to San Sebastian, a charming city only 30
minutes from Biarritz. Instead we drove to the train station in
Hendaye, France, parked there, and took a =802 RT commuter train to the
center of San Sebastian. SS is famous for it's food, especially the
pintxos (Basque tapas) served in the bars at lunch and in the evening.
It would have been fun to stay there, though SS has the reputation of
being Spain's most expensive city.

Bordeaux, France
Bordeaux is a beautiful town-charming cityscapes, pedestrian-only
zones, and much less hectic than Paris. The H=F4tel de Normandie has a
perfect downtown location. The tram from the train station and the bus
to the airport stop nearly in front of the hotel.

H=F4tel de Normandie =8089
7 cours du XXX Juillet F-33000-Bordeaux
T=E9l. 05 56 52 16 80 - Fax. 05 56 51 68 91

www.hotel-de-normandie-bordeaux.com

Amsterdam, Netherlands
Our final stop was Amsterdam (we flew directly from Bordeaux). We
stayed in a room reminiscent of student housing, though it had an
attached bath. But Hotel Van Onna is located on a beautiful, quiet
canal in Jordaan, within easy walking distance to the city center. They
don't accept credit cards.

Hotel van Onna =8080, including breakfast
Bloemgracht 102 / 104 / 108
1015 TN Amsterdam=20
Tel: 31 20 626.58.01
www.vanonna.com