There is a new road that streaks westward at high speed from Munich's efficiently run, 21st-century airport towards the Black Forest.
There is also an old road that meanders leisurely through hauntingly beautiful countryside deep in the emerald, pine-clothed land of the Schwarzwald.
This charming route was not always the old road - for, in 1770, it was "the new road", custom-built to transport the 14-year-old Marie Antoinette: Arch-Duchess of Austria, and her elaborate entourage from Vienna to Paris for her marriage to Louis, Dauphin of France.
This is wild, magnificent countryside. The road winds between the mountains and past the cool depths of one of the magical Black Forest lakes: Titisee. Titisee has a charmed reputation and those who dive into its dark waters are said to consort with Undine and to hear all the sounds of the road reproduced in the romantic ring of bells.
The next village is Hinterzarten. Quaint and lovely, it is set amid striking scenery, overlooked by tall, dark pines and possessed of a fragile, fairy tale church (Maria im Zarten) complete with a gracefully fluted, onion-cupola dating back to 1416.
The local inn - now the luxury Park Adler Hotel - has been family owned since 1446. A double-headed eagle, crest of the Hapsburgs, flaps regally over a low doorway and the picturesque, black, wooden buildings have changed little in 250 years.
Directly opposite, the owners have bowed to the march of time and have tastefully created an impressive new hotel. Reception is housed here, together with spacious lounges, air-conditioned apartments and a state-of-the-art Spa in the Park.
We had requested lodging in the oldest part of the inn and, after complimentary cocktails, were escorted up an ancient, low-beamed staircase and into room 17.
Hardly had our cases been set down than an enthusiastic member of staff was at the door, ready to unveil the secrets of the next suite (number 15), the room that once housed Marie Antoinette.
One can only imagine the girl's thoughts as she stood on the narrow, flower-filled balcony (having left friends and family for an unknown future) looking out over these trees, at the fields where wild deer still roam and over the blue dome of the church towards the distant mountains and the borders of France.
That night we dined below stairs in the elegant Adler Abend restaurant amid lace, ruched lampshades, long-stemmed crystal and fine antiques. What a wealth of history has been witnessed by these papered and panelled walls.
Attended by waitresses dressed in period costume, we enjoyed an excellent dinner and the only cloud on the horizon was the occasional waft of tobacco smoke from the next table. (Smoking restrictions have yet to be enforced.)
In the morning - after a delicious buffet breakfast served in one of the other five gracious restaurants - we explored the village on our doorstep.
The Hinterzarten-Titisee resorts are set on a broad plateau, 855m high, and offer a wide range of outdoor activities - ski-jumping, mountain biking, cross-country skiing, tobogganing, cycling, guided walks and farm tours.
There are also many olde-worlde craft and specialist museums.
Take a walk in the park where the piece-de-resistance is the impressive Hinterzarten Eagles Skisprung-Schanze, a series of specially constructed, spine-chilling Olympic ski-jumps.
We watched open-mouthed as children as young as 12 rocketed off the first of the three runs.
Then, bound for Fontainebleau, we continued our romantic journey towards the gilded palaces of Paris and crossed the River Rhine at Strasbourg.
Forty kilometres south of Paris, the tiny hamlet of Barbizon nestles in the majestic Fontainebleau forests - a stone's throw from the impressive Royal Chateau.
A former haunt of artists from the Barbizon School, the winding, old-fashioned streets of the village are steeped in character, and the famous hostelry Le Bas Breau was once home to Robert Louis Stephenson where he wrote Treasure Island - no doubt inspired by the myths and folklore of the wild, green hinterland.
In more modern times this hotel has played host to both Queen Elizabeth II and Emperor Hirohito of Japan.
Its gardens and cuisine are legendary. The genius in the kitchen will swiftly sweep you off to Sybarite heaven with such delights as trois petites salades de homard, carré d'agneau de lait des Alpes au serpolet, and soufflé Grand Marnier à l'orange.
The next day we took the N7 through the woods towards the beautiful palace where Louis XIII was born. The sprawling pile of Fontainebleau is set back from the road beside a glassy, green lake and amid magical, formal gardens.
A tour of the luxurious interior reveals the grand chapel of François I adorned with an intricately painted ceiling, large, colourful murals and connected by a wood-panelled gallery to the royal apartments.
Madame de Maintenon's bedroom and sitting rooms are authentically preserved; and softly piped, Renaissance music wafts through the ornate ballroom where wide window enclosures give a view of manicured lawns.
The vast library is reminiscent of the manuscript halls at the Vatican. Napoleon's bedroom and council chamber are richly furnished in deep reds and greens.
The coup de grace is the suite of apartments that once belonged to the young Marie Antoinette - queen at age 19.
She used to call this castle her country home and here she lived, played, gambled (it is said once uninterrupted for 36 hours) and slept in the huge, canopied bed where all the queens of France who had preceded her - from Catherine de Medici onward - had slept.
Of all the French palaces, this was the most beloved by the crowned heads who called it their own. Happy ghosts walk the corridors that are today ranked as one of the foremost attractions in France.
We followed the royal progress to Versailles and opted to stay, en route, at Cazaudehore et La Forestière.
Situated in the leafy suburbs of Paris at St-Germain en Laye, this charming hotel is tucked away in yet another once-upon-a-time royal forest and is within easy reach of the Palace of Versailles.
It offers a haven of tranquillity in which to unwind after a day of sightseeing, easy access to Paris from the nearby train station, and exceptional gastronomic delights.
The next morning we set out in bright sunlight along wide, tree-lined boulevards for the short drive to Versailles.
No sooner had we found a space in the large, tarred carpark and congratulated ourselves on the swiftness and ease with which we had reached our target, than the heavens opened and a deluge descended.
Fortunately the storm abated as suddenly as it had started.
Glistening with shining raindrops, the most famous portals in all Europe looked so impressive that they could easily have been mistaken for the Pearly Gates.
We stopped for a photo opportunity and then found ourselves immersed in the world of the Sun King. This is a world of excess and opulence: a sprawling, gilded palace surrounded by a 730ha park.
Walk round the first corner and discover the exquisite symmetry of the orangery and the 1,6km long canal leading towards Le Petit Trianon.
Wander through Le Notre's magnificent gardens that so captivated Peter I of Russia, were the talk of Europe and still inspire today.
Enter the Chateau and the Hall of Mirrors reflects the Age of Elegance at its splendid, glittering best. Here the court frivolously danced the night away and, in an adjoining council chamber, Napoleon signed his edicts into law.
View the State Apartments and the Royal Chapel where the "Teen Wedding of the Year" took place in 1770.
Visit Queen Marie Antoinette's bedroom where there is even a small trapdoor reputedly leading to the tiny, attic room of her equivocal lover, Count Ferson.
Through this tiny door she left when the Revolution broke around her and the whole, elaborate structure of the Bourbon kings came tumbling down.
We, too, had to leave, as there was time only to retrace our steps to Munich for a last night in the highly recommended Kempinski Airport Hotel before our scheduled LTU flight back to South Africa.
- More information from www.frenchguide.com