| Paris is the perfect place to blow out on the meal of a lifetime. Top rated is Alain Ducasse at the Plaza Athénée hotel, considered one of the best restaurants in Europe. The first-ever chef to have been awarded six Michelin stars (shared between two restaurants), Alain Ducasse swept like a tidal wave through the world of French cuisine in the early 1990s and hasn't looked back. Other greats include L'Ambroisie; the splendid Art Nouveau restaurant Lucas Carton, 9 place de la Madeleine, 8e (tel 01.42.65.22.90), directed by chef Alain Senderens; and Taillevent, 15 rue Lamennais, 8e (tel 01.44.95.15.01), where Michel del Burgo's cuisine is rated as sublime and the wine list out of this world. Prices at most of these restaurants are often cheaper if you go at midday during the week, and some offer a set lunch menu for around €60. In the evening, prices average at about €150, and there's no limit on the amount you can pay for top wines. Recently, some of the star chefs have made their fine cuisine more accessible to a wider range of customers by opening up less expensive, more casual, but still high-quality establishments. In addition to presiding over the Plaza Athénée, for example, Alain Ducasse also runs the cutting-edge bistrotSpoon, Food & Wine and is soon to open another.
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