Ronald W Kenyon

Le Petit Kenyon: Dining in the Environs of Paris for Walkers Ronald W Kenyon

Publisher Marketing: Le Petit Kenyon was written for people who live in or near Paris and like both walking and dining. It is a compilation of twenty-nine recommended restaurants and inns in twenty-five towns in the Ile-de-France region, except for four just across the line in Picardy to the north and one in Gatinais to the south. All are within a short distance of a train station-some are across the street-the most distant is a forty-minute walk downhill. The restaurants are organized according to the town in which they are located, in alphabetical order. For each, I have provided the distance from Paris to the station closest to each restaurant as well as its address and telephone number. Most of the Paris hiking clubs organize day-long hikes, broken by a pause-picnic. This guide is based on an entirely different concept, the rando+dejeuner, in which walkers can enjoy both a country walk and a sit-down lunch before returning to Paris. Most of these walks are point-to-point, so it's necessary to take the train. Since the average distance of these restaurants is 50 kilometers from Paris and some are as far as 90 kilometers away, it's necessary to catch an early train-one that leaves between 7:00 and 8:30 AM. Arriving at the destination no later than 9:30 affords up to four hours walking before lunch. It's also necessary to call the restaurant beforehand to make sure it's open for lunch and to reserve a table. Many are small and cater to a local clientele, so they fill up fast. Several have changed management or closed since the original review was written; this has been duly noted. New owners may be better or worse than their predecessors, and there's always the hope that the restaurants that have closed will reopen."