Caen's town centre offers two major areas for
eating
: with cosmopolitan restaurants in the pedestrianized
quartier Vaugueux
and more traditional French restaurants on the streets off
rue de Geôle
, near the western ramparts, particularly rue des Croisiers and rue Gémare.
L'Alcide
, 1 place Courtonne (tel 02.31.44.18.06). Anonymous-looking bistro-style place that serves classic French dishes cooked with great attention to detail. Menus from 82F/¬12.50 up to 135F/¬20.58. Closed Sat.
Le Boeuf Ferré
, 10 rue des Croisiers (tel 02.31.85.36.40). Gourmet restaurant, with stone walls and timbered ceiling, serving rich and substantial meals; foie gras is the house speciality, as featured on the no-choice 135F/¬20.58 menu, and there's always plenty of duck and red meat. Midday menu 75F/¬11.43, dinners from 95F/¬14.48. Closed Mon & Sun evening, plus the first fortnight in March and the second fortnight in July.
L'Insolité
, 16 rue du Vaugueux (tel 02.31.43.87.87). Attractive half-timbered restaurant with terrace and indoor seating. A 65F/¬9.91 vegetarian menu offers a "
symphonie des crudités
", but the main emphasis is on seafood, with a 95F/¬14.48 menu that features a trio of steamed fish, and a knock-out 250F/¬38.11
Prestige
menu. Closed Sun evening, plus Mon in low season.
Maître Corbeau
, 8 rue Bouquet (tel 02.31.93.93.00). Fondue is the speciality in this eccentric little place, and they won't let you forget it, festooning the whole place with cheesy iconography. A typical fondue costs around 80F/¬12.20, while set menus start from 92F/¬14.03. Closed Sat lunch, Sun & first 3 weeks of Aug.
La Petite Auberge
, 17 rue des Équipes-d'Urgence (tel 02.31.86.43.30). Plain and simple restaurant, with a nice view of the St-Jean church, serving very good-value Norman specialities - including a daily 68F/¬10.37 menu that doesn't force you to eat tripe. Closed Sun evening, Mon & first 3 weeks of Aug.
Les Quatres Épices
, 25 rue Porte-au-Berger (tel 02.31.93.40.41). Lively West African restaurant, just off rue du Vaugueux. Everything is à la carte - prawns with sweet potato for 95F/¬14.48, grilled fish with ginger for 76F/¬11.59, plus plantains and meat galore - and African music plays non-stop.
Looking for cheap or discount hotels? Want to find special internet only room rates? EZTrip.com has great hotel specials, including discount hotels in Anaheim, Hawaii, New York, London, Memphis, Paris, Las Vegas, Orlando, San Francisco, Sydney, Toronto - anywhere you want to go! For the best hotel discounts click on 
Copyright Rough Guides Ltd as trustee for its authors. Published by Rough Guides. All rights reserved.