Les Chocolats de Vétheuil (95), the excellent artisan chocolate and ice-cream maker where to treat yourself

When planning a weekend in the French Vexin, between the pretty villages of Vétheuil and La Roche-Guyon, the first thing a friend - who has lived in Vétheuil for over two years - said to me was "we'll go to the ice cream parlour". Almost as much a must-see as the Vétheuil ferry or the church of Notre-Dame de Vétheuil, which dominates the landscape, Les Chocolats de Vétheuil is a must-see if you're in the area.

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Behind the counter, René Dequehen and his daughter are hard at work: he shapes and stacks beautiful scoops of ice cream on cones, while she cashes them in. And so it's been for over twenty years. The speciality of the place is undoubtedly chocolate: as a self-respecting artisan-chocolatier, René Dequehen offers this product in a wide range of sauces. Handcrafted chocolates, homemade chocolate spreads (that you'll want to roll around in), homemade ice creams and sorbets... These snacks and desserts are as generous as they are tasty.

When the weather's nice, we recommend you try our ice creams: from the classic strawberry, raspberry, mint, rhubarb, vanilla and chocolate flavors (three types with different degrees of cocoa, including a cocoa sorbet) to brownie flavors (with homemade brownie pieces, please), salted butter caramel, cookies, chestnut, pistachio, speculoos, white chocolate... Served in jars or cones. Price: 3.20 € per scoop, 4.50 € for two scoops and 5.50 € for three scoops in cones or jars (each ice cream up to 6 scoops).

The chocolatier also offers its own esquimaux, with sorbets coated in a beautiful layer of chocolate (€4.50 per esquimau, and they're really huge). It's hard to put into words what you feel when you taste them, except for the freshness and quality of the raw ingredients used to make the ice creams, and the craftsmanship that wins over young and old alike, ready to queue for long minutes to get their scoops of ice cream.

Les Chocolats de Vétheuil is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10am to 12:30pm and 2pm to 7pm, accessed via rue Soignée. If you're in the area, go for it!