The Ile de France is a historic region of France that encompasses Paris, Versailles, Fontainebleau, Saint-Denis, Marne-la-Vallée and Disneyland Paris. The fertile grounds and flat, limestone plains are surrounded by the Seine River and its tributaries; the Marne and Oise rivers. Most of this area has been paved and industrialized around location Paris, but further-out suburbs grow wheat, barley, corn, sugar beets and dairy cattle. Fontainebleau and Compiegne house tall forests and parks as well. When most people visit France, they spend some time in this economically important region.
The Ile de France is world renowned for having some of the best food in the world. To partake in local cuisine, visitors should order bouchées à la reine, navarin of lamb, potage St. Germain, beef mironton, tête de veau vinaigrette, pot-au-feu, fricassee of rabbit, or French onion soup. Paris is also famous for its locally grown mushrooms, asparagus and beans, as well as fruits like Groslay pears, Faro apples, and Montmorency cherries. Cheese is a popular food produced locally, with the most popular varieties consisting of brie de Coulommiers, brie de Meaux, brie de Melun and brie de Montereau. To go with that cheese, red wines from Argenteuil and Butte Montmartre should be sampled. People with a sweet tooth can try: the Paris-Brest, the Saint Honoré, Parisian king cake, chouquettes, Nanterre brioche, Parisian brioche, the Bourdaloue tart, the Moka, puits d’amour, the Opera, mille feuilles, the savarin, and Parisian flan. Guests staying in Paris Hotels often eat like kings!
While in Ile de France, there are an overwhelming number of world-renowned restaurants to visit. Sometimes the best way to sort through them is to check out what professional food aficionados and travelers are raving about. According to the Trip Advisor website, the top-rated restaurants for visitors to Paris are Le Florimond, Guy Savoy, Le Timbre, Pierre Herme and L’Atelier du Parc. UK site Travago considers the best restaurants to be L’Escargot, Michel Rostang, Le Divellec, Guy Savoy and Toro. Food and Wine magazine recommends award-winning Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, Café Constant, Café Jacquemart-André, Da Rosa and Le Baratin. For romance, Gayot magazine recommends Les Ambassadeurs, Le Cinq, L’Espadon, Le Grand Colbert and Le Grand Véfour.
Aside from the obvious destinations in Ile de France, like the Notre Dame de Paris, the Paris fashion district, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysees, the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre, there are many other sights to behold. Off-the-beaten-path, but not unbeknownst to King Charles X, Austrian Emperor Francois I and Napoleon, lie the Catacombes de Paris. This underground labyrinth covers 300 kilometers and houses the graves of La Fontaine and Montesquieu. More famous tombstones can be found at the Père-Lachaise cemetery, where Jim Morrison (of the Doors), Oscar Wilde, Sarah Bernhardt and Edith Piat rest. One wouldn’t want to miss some of the famous castles where great men lived, either, such as Château de Fontainebleau, the Concierge, the Pantheon, Cité médiévale de Provins and the Versailles Castle. One can even visit Auberge Ravoux, the mansion of famous painter Vincent Van Gogh!
Matthew McMillan is a leading expert in the genital wart removal. His works are regularly featured in online health publications on matters relating medications of genital warts. For more information on genital warts cream, visit TreatmentForGenitalWarts.com.
