The world's best maze. Hampton Court Palace, East Molesey, Surrey; contains England's oldest and most popular maze. The labyrinth is bounded by high hedges and reinforced with railing to prevent cheating. Arrive by boat from Westminster Pier or by train from the Waterloo station in London (a distance of 10 miles). The palace, which dates from the early 1500s, is open daily 9:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and 10:15 a.m. until 6 p.m. on Monday. (The last entry is at 5:15 p.m.)



The oldest pub in the world. The George and Vulture in London is the oldest pub in the world. The original, called the George, was built in the 12th century. Sir Richard Wittington, the 'thrice-round mayor of London", visited here in the 1500s just as Chaucer (and Chaucer's father) had done earlier. Daniel Defoe, Jonathan Swift and Charles Dickens were also customers. The Pickwick Club meets at the George and Vulture quarterly and members quote from the many Dickens passages about the place. The fictional Mr. Pickwick, when asked where he spent his leisure time, replied that he was "at present suspended at the George and Vulture". A framed check written by Dickens to the proprietor hangs on the wall.

The best outdoor theater. Penzance, a colorful old South Cornish town of pirates and smugglers, is nearly 300 miles from London. In the summer, open-air opera, including the apt Gilbert and Sullivan work, The Pirates of Penzance, is performed at the Minack Theater at Portcurno. For information tel. (44)1736-810-181. The Minack Theater is carved out of a cliff. The audience watches the performance in the open air looking out over the Atlantic. Take along a warm sweater and a blanket.

Britain's craziest, cheesiest sport, part sport, part rite of midsummer ritual, cheese rolling is still practiced in two regions of Gloucestershire. On the first Sunday in May, three cheeses are taken to the village church in Randwick for a brief ceremony--bear with me, I know this sounds weird--after which they are rolled around the aisles a few times. One is divided among the congregation while the other two are rolled ceremoniously--after being paraded around town in a colorful procession--down a hill to mark the beginning of Wap (or Mayor's Day) celebrations on May 11th. The festivities in Cooper's Hill are a bit more athletic: runners pursue their respective seven(ish)-pound cheeses down a steep slope. The winner of the race gets to keep his or her cheese! An Olympic event? No. But an awful lot of fun!

FRANCE

The world's best pastry shops. The best pastries in the world are made in France, where layers of cake, as light as feathers, are molded together with airy, sweet buttercream and topped with curls of fine chocolate. Pastries in France are too beautiful (and too fattening) to eat but too delicious not to. Within France, the most tempting Patisseries, or pastry shops, are in Paris where they adorn every corner. There are 2,300 of them! One of the best known and most honored Patisseries is Dalloyau, which specializes in morrons glaces (candied chestnuts), mogador (layers of chocolate cake, chocolate mousse and raspberry confiture) and sherbet cakes. Dallayau shops can be found at 99 rue Faubourg St. Honore and three other locations. The king of pastry is Gaston Lenotre, who runs Lenotre shops throughout Paris. His 350 pastry chefs and cooks use at least 12 tons of butter and 300,000 fresh eggs each month. Lenotre also has the best chocolates in Paris. His shops are at 44 rue du Bac and three other locations.

The best ice cream in Paris. The most delicious ice cream in Paris is sold at Berthillon, 31 rue St. Louis-en-l'Ile. The list of rich, homemade flavors is long; so are the lines.

The prettiest ski resort in France Les Contamines-Monjoies, is one of the prettiest ski towns in the Alps-and one of the least known. This small ski area set in a high wooded valley is not far from Chamonix. It has 62 miles of slopes beginning at about 8,000 feet and served by 25 lifts. Facilities also include 15 miles of cross-country ski trails. The quaintest place to stay is Le Gai Soleil, just outside town in a small farmhouse. The building itself dates back to 1823.

The most violent chè¢teau. The Chè¢teau d'Amboise has a violent history. In 1560, 1,000 Huguenots involved in a plot to abduct Francis II and his queen, Mary Stuart (later Mary Queen of Scots) were hanged in the castle courtyard. Charles VII, who was born here, imported Italian architects, sculptors, decorators and gardeners to embellish the chateau. He died from injuries received when he bumped his head on one of the castle' low stone doorways. Leonardo da Vinci spent his last years at Amboise and was buried in the adjoining Gothic chapel.

One of the prettiest wine towns in France St. Emilion is one of the most picturesque villages in France. The medieval town is perched on a plateau looking over the valley of the Dordogne. In the 12th century, pilgrims stopped here on their way to the shrine of St. James of Compostela in Spain. While you are in St. Emilion, visit the seventh-century hermitage, which was hollowed out of rock. Nearby is the entrance to a chapel with a strange underground shrine. It, too, was carved out of rock 900 years ago. A subterranean passage leads to catacombs containing skeletons in ancient tombs. (You must have a guide to visit the shrine.) At the Syndicat d'Initiative, place des Crenaux, you can get a list of wine chateaux nearby. The Chè¢teau Ausone produces the St. Emilion's vintage, among others.