Hidden Gems:IF YOU'RE a wine fan you may well have travelled along the Loire Valley, in France, and perhaps even taken the road south out of Chinon, known for its light and supple red wines, often with a distinctive aroma of violets.
But you probably wouldn't have noticed the extraordinary little town of Richelieu, named after Cardinal Richelieu, King Louis XIII's chief minister - often considered the world's first prime minister, in the modern sense.
My own familiarity with the town - in terms of size, it's really only a village - was completely accidental. We were looking for a house to buy in the area, and it was mentioned to us by an estate agent who had a charming maison de maîtrefor sale right in the centre.
Those of you who remember the 1954 movie Brigadoon, starring Gene Kelly, will get the picture right away.
Richelieu is just 700m long by 500m wide. It's rectangular, with imposing walls and a monumental gate at each of the four sides, though one of the four is decorative only. As with Brigadoon, enter the town and you're in a lost world.
What makes Richelieu fascinating, apart from its size, is that it was built between 1631 and 1642 as a model town on the orders of Cardinal Richelieu, who grew up in the relatively modest Château de Richelieu, which he ordered to be incorporated within the walls of the new town.
It was designed by the architect Jacques Lemercier, who was by now famous for the Sorbonne. It took 2,000 workers to complete. And the gardens of the chateau, which were remodelled at the same time, were subsequently used as a template for the magnificent gardens of Versailles.
La Fontaine described Richelieu as the most beautiful village in the universe. Who could ignore such a recommendation?
Do you know of a hidden gem? E-mail us at go@irish-times.ie