Annabel Simms

From the Preface to An Hour From Paris

Several years ago I found myself in the middle of a wood, as completely lost as if I were in Africa, rather than 19 kilometres from Paris. Three paths lay in front of me with no indication of where they might lead and there was not a soul in sight. It suddenly occurred to me that no one knew where I was and that I would never dream of venturing out alone like this near London.
   On impulse I took the left path, which soon brought me to houses at the edge of the wood, and knocked on the door of the nearest one. Five minutes later, following the owner's directions through the same wood, I saw the rooftops of an elegant château emerging through the trees and came out onto a sweeping lawn leading straight up to it. Feeling as if I had stepped into a fairytale, I skirted the château, which looked as if it might vanish as unexpectedly as it had appeared, and peeked over a stone balustrade to the left.

   Sunny rolling countryside lay below me, stretching into the distance as far as I could see, crossed by the moving shadows of the clouds overhead. A few planes purred in the distance and I realised I was under the flight path to Charles de Gaulle airport. Otherwise, I could have believed myself back in the 16th century, when the château behind me had been built.
   This particular château houses the Museum of the Renaissance at Ecouen, 23 minutes from Paris by train. I had rung the Museum and been told it was 'about five kilometres' on foot from the station. In fact it is just over one kilometre, and the woodland paths are now signposted. But it was this early experience that first made me aware of just how interesting and accessible the countryside around Paris is, and how little-known to the French themselves, as well as to foreigners.

(p.13)

My criteria for selecting places to visit were interest, accessibility, lack of crowds and added value, in that order. The interest is usually historical, literary or artistic, but not exclusively so. A boat trip through the countryside or a visit to a guinguette (a riverside restaurant where people dance in the open air) also qualify as offering experiences not usually available to visitors staying in Paris.
   Accessibility means that the places described are all within an 80-kilometre radius of Paris and generally an hour or less away by train. I have taken particular care to check that any walking is by the pleasantest route, avoiding hills and main roads as far as possible, an approach which has sometimes required several return visits to test out all the options for myself. I have learned to distrust official directions.
   My personal preference is for places that do not attract crowds, but I have tried to strike a balance by including some better-known places which do. In these cases I have given alternative routes or times so that the visit can be enjoyed in the company of rather fewer other visitors than you would normally expect.

   By added value I mean that a visit should justify the journey, whether by train or car, in more than one respect. A starting point might be a château or museum, but all of the visits offer at least one other attracton, such as a good local restaurant, a concert or an interesting walk. Several, such as Moret-sur-Loing or Poissy, offer far more than this, but the focus is always on what can be pleasurably accomplished on foot. Again, I have tried to strike a balance by giving alternatives, so that if a five-kilometre walk seems excessive it can be skipped without missing the point of the visit.
   Whether you are a first-time visitor, an old hand or, like me, another expatriate living in Paris, I hope that you will enjoy discovering Paris’s best-kept secret: the unspoilt countryside rich in historical associations which lies just a stone’s throw from the capital.

(pages 16-19)