RER line A, www.saintgermainenlaye.com. A prosperous and attractive town set on a hill above the Seine, Saint-Germain attracts few tourists, which adds to its charms. Yet another royal hunting lodge turned palace, the Château de Saint-Germain was much favoured by French kings from Fran√笵cois I to Louis XIV before the building of Versailles. James II of England spent the last years of his life in exile here overlooking the sweep of parkland and fine views from Le Nôtre’s breezy Grande Terrasse which runs along the top of an escarpment above the woods.

It was Napoleon III who established the excellent Musée Archeologie Nationale in the château (www.musee-archeologienationale.fr), which has since grown into one of the world’s premier archaeological collections. Among the treasures is the 22,000-year-old Dame de Brassempouy, the oldest surviving likeness of a human face; a recreation of the famous painted caves at Lascaux; plus hundreds of prehistoric finds, tools, weapons and jewellery from the Stone and Bronze Ages.

Also in town, there is a small museum dedicated to the composer Claude Debussy (1862-1918), who was born in Saint-Germain; and the Musée Maurice Denis, 2bis rue Maurice-Denis, displaying paintings by Pont-Aven and Nabis School artists including Bonnard, Gauguin and Serusier in a former priory owned by Maurice Denis who decorated the chapel (www.musee-mauricedenis.fr).