Paris, France — No one really knows how many kinds of cheeses there are in France. Some say hundreds, some say thousands. The reality is, like species in the wild, many remain to be discovered. But if you want to sample the largest range possible head to the Mercure Hotel in Chantilly or Saint-Germain-en-Laye, two historical French towns about an hour outside of Paris. The Mercure hotels are a quintessentially French hotel chain and these two have even more of France to offer. Giant cheese boards bursting with over 100 varieties of French cheeses.

They each have the largest cheese bells in the world (certified by the Guinness Book of World Records in 1989), beneath which lay in wait famous cheeses, fine craft cheeses, unusual cheeses, delicious cheeses. These extra large cheeses bells were conceived by René Tourrette, a celebrated cheese monger from Strasbourg and a member of the prestigious Collège Culinaire de France (The Culinary College of France). The two hotels have special expert teams dedicated to serving the cheeses and explaining them to delighted diners. The Michelin-starred chef Julian Allano is the ambassador of the two establishments which serve fine fare as well as the cheese course, of course. Meanwhile France celebrates National Cheese Day on March 27th. At The Gourmet Gazette we believe Cheese Day is everyday. Special to The Gourmet Gazette

Mercure St-Germain-en-Laye, 11 Avenue des Loges, 78100 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, +33 (0)1 39 21 50 90 http://www.mercure-st-germain-laye.com 

Mercure Chantilly, 4 route d’Apremont, 60500 Vineuil Saint Firmin,+33 (0)3 44 58 47, 77, http://www.mercure-chantilly.com