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L'Esperance is the kind of place that I always dreamed of, for a honeymoon, and for a twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, it was utterly scrumptious. In France, chef Marc Meneau's restaurant and hotel has long been a legend. You read phrases in guide books saying things like "arguably the best dining experience in Burgundy," and it has garnered multiple Michelin stars, and the sort of general feeling of "vaut le detour." Not only worth a detour, I think it is worth a pilgrimage.

Though you have to go deep into the country to find it, once you are there it has all of the glamour of any sophisticated Parisian spot, along with the advantage of being set in a peaceful small town. M. Meneau has created an exquisite garden, full of twining ivy and peonies, and a dining room made of glass in which to gaze out at this setting. You can have breakfast out on the terrace and look at the roses twining over bridges which span the small stream. We stayed in a centuries' old mill house, a short walk from the main hotel, and could hear the water rushing past, long into the night.

During the day, you can visit the medieval town of Vezelay, perched on the hill above Saint-Pere-sous-Vezelay. The cathedral looks like you're on the film set of a Peter O'Toole historical film, and indeed, it is the very spot where Thomas Becket excommunicated King Henry II. There are mysterious stone carvings on the top of pillars, and a glow of age-old stone suffusing the interior. Vineyards sweep up the side of the hill, and you can look out on the countryside, with its miles of rolling farmland.

But the main reason—the compelling reason—to come to L'Esperance, is to experience the absolute devotion of a supreme chef to his art. A musician friend of mine describes the highest artistic achievement as comprising "attention to every detail," and there were a million details to keep track of while orchestrating such a feast. Dinner began out on the garden terrace, on our first evening, with two different courses of amuses bouches, one of which consisted of crisp vegetable beignets. We moved inside for a first course of (what else?) foie gras, served on a base of white bean sauce which was all frothy, somehow. The maitre d', passing by our table at this juncture, observed, "the best way is to eat this with your eyes closed," which was exactly what I was doing, when not exclaiming in rapture. A fish course followed, with an orange-tomato sauce, then a main course of Bresse pigeon accompanied by two sauces, one rich and dark for the dark meat, the other a bearnaise.

The cheese cart represented one of the great achievements of French culture (we tried a couple of yummy local varieties), and then they brought not only a caramel souffle but accompanying caramel ice-cream. An army of tiny confiseries, petits fours, and bon-bons followed us into the lounge (all done in green with ivy motif) for coffee, until we cried, "Please! No more!" Yet another artistic touch: a bowl of dried orange zest accompanied the coffee.

The French phrase for all of this is "vraiment exquis," and exquisite it was. But what made it utterly romantic was the warmth of spirit with which everything was offered. Marc Meneau came out each evening, in his chef's apron, and courteously greeted each diner at every table. If you are still doing this for your guests after more than twenty years, you are a man who has found his vocation. Everyone on the staff was unbelievably professional and kind.

My husband and I insisted on speaking French the entire time (in such terrible accents, and with such limited vocabulary that they must have had a hard time not to laugh). But they invariably replied to us in French, often repeating things for us when the panicked look of incomprehension came over our faces. They served us a stunning breakfast each morning, with a pyramid of fresh fruit, fromage blanc, croissants and bread, and even a crême brulée! (Yes, for breakfast.)

The only thing that saved us was the fact that the hotel dining room closes completely on Tuesday. We spent that evening eat fruit and drinking a bottle of local chablis in our room. It was also fun to see a bit of the behind-the-scenes bustling about--a restaurant is above all a theatrical show. Huge bouquets of flowers were redone, the dining room furniture meticulously brushed, and the gardeners sent out in squadrons.

We loved it all. Part of the romance was simply being in a place with so much history. We were able to see a 12th Century chateau, "Le Chateau de Bazoches-du-Morvan," ten minutes down the road from L'Esperance. If you are sportif, there are several opportunities close by for hiking, cycling and rafting. There were also several local spots for wine-tasting—the one bottle we bought was fabulous. Although there was a bit of a long drive required, we also managed to fit in (during the rest of our week) a trip to Fontenay Abbey, which is incredibly anachronistic. Dijon showed us the grandeur of the Dukes of Burgundy, in addition to offering the world's best carpaccio at the Brasserie du Theatre. My favorite of all for sight-seeing was the city of Beaune, with its famous Hotel-Dieu, a medieval building which has a compelling painting by Rogier van der Weyden.

But Vezelay was absolutely the highlight of Burgundy. Our final evening at L'Esperance, we had the same menu all over again, watching the candles flicker in the dining room as the light faded outside. When we drove off the next morning, I felt a pang of homesickness as soon as we pulled out of the driveway.

Romantic, for me, is the luxury and artistry of M. Meneau's establishment. But it can never be truly romantic without the warmth and friendliness that allows you to relax. The countryside slowed us down. We spent part of one afternoon sitting by the mill stream, reading Much Ado about Nothing aloud to each other. (I always travel with a Collected Works of Shakespeare—M. Meneau's library was all in French!) It was truly special.

If you want to make a day or two stay in Paris, on your way to Burgundy, we can highly recommend the Hotel Prince Albert LOUVRE (this is a chain of three hotels, but this one is two minutes' walk from the Jardin des Tuileries, and two blocks from the Louvre). It is extremely comfortable (and I think a fantastic bargain for a location in the center of Paris), and the staff is always endlessly helpful about giving information, booking restaurant tables, and cheerfully looking after luggage. We have stayed there many times, and always enjoyed it.

There are a number of restaurants in the vicinity—it's hard to go wrong in Paris—though the best meal we had on our latest trip was at the Cafe Richelieu in the Louvre. Still more fun was grabbing a baguette sandwich at the corner shop entitled "Plaisirs et pains," a block away from the hotel, and joining all of the other Americans in the Tuileries, to sit outside in the sun. It is worth popping around the corner to Restaurant Les Cartes Postales, at 7, rue Gomboust, and also to check the menu at A la Grille (both on or close to the Place du Marche St-Honore).

The Louvre continues to be awe-inspiring, no matter how many times you've wandered through it—the building itself challenges all of my ideas of architectural space. One good thing to know about is the "Museum Pass," which can be purchased in increments of one or three days or a week. (We once bought one for a week, and went to the Louvre every day, which for me is the best way to see it all.) In addition to the fabulous Old Favorites (Nike of Samothrace, Michelangelo's Slaves, the Venus de Milo, "My car is double-parked outside--where's the Mona Lisa?") there are a suite of fascinating rooms of Objets d'Art which display opulent furniture. My own favorite art-work is the "Wedding at Cana" painted by Veronese, which is filled with joie de vivre, funny little dogs roaming on top of the tables, colorful costumes, and intent musicians. I hope that the couple in the painting was able to honeymoon someplace as wonderful as L'Esperance.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

The L'Esperance website can be found at www.relaischateaux.fr/esperance—the postal address is Marc Meneau, 89450 Saint Pere sous Vezelay, France, fax # 03.86.33.26.15, telephone 03.86.33.39.10 (and yes, the staff speaks impeccable English), with an additional e-mail address of Marc.Meneau@wanadoo.fr If you want to find information about cycling and rafting in the area, check out Abloisirs.com, a small company that offers information about this.

The Prince Albert website can be found at www.hotelprincealbert.com, and the address is 5, rue Sainte Hyacinthe, 75001 Paris. Their fax is (33)01 42 60 04 06, phone number (33)01 42 61 58 36. If you want to e-mail them directly, the address is aloum@aol.com, and the website will play music for you while you book your reservation.

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