I'm sitting at lunch at Pasta Piatti in Ashland, Ore., with Lewis the Dauphin, son of the King of France. He's eating a terrificlooking sandwich on foccacia bread and talking about some of his favorite haunts in town. Lewis refers to his royal self in the third person, self-deprecatingly.

"The Dauphin would only eat at Chateaulin's as he's a spoiled, silken, pampered prince," the Dauphin admits. "He might go for a croissant at Mix in the morning. He'd never go to the Black Sheep, because that's an Islander [British] hangout, though the fish and chips are quite good. He wouldn't come here to Pasta Piatti because it's Italian, though he might take his wife to the Spanish restaurant - she's Lady Blanche of Spain. He'd be interested in seeing the Beau Club, because it sounds French, but on first glance he'd realize it's a dive bar and wouldn't live up to his expectations. He'd probably take advantage of the Blue Giraffe or the Phoenix for a pedicure, facial and massage."

OK, I'm not really lunching with the Prince of France. His actual name is Danforth Comins, an engaging, articulate actor who plays the Dauphin in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's staging of King John. But who better than a local character to recommend the best restaurants, shops, spas and hotels?

And Ashland - an eclectic island of arts and culture halfway between Portland and San Francisco - certainly boasts its share of characters. For starters, Ashland's Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF) is a worldrenowned theater company that stages 11 shows in three theaters for nine months of the year. It attracts actors, writers and other creative professionals, who lend an unexpected diversity to this oasis surrounded by conservative agricultural and former logging communities. In addition to OSF, an active alternative-leaning subculture (think food co-ops and massage therapists) exists in harmonic convergence with a swelling retirement population, students from Southern Oregon University and an increasing number of software refugees arriving in herds from larger metropolitan areas.

As one local describes an average day in the city's Lithia Park, "You might see urban professionals with laptops, a drum circle and a man wearing a dress." And on the subject of local characters, a resident who moved from the Bay Area reports looking up from his Stairmaster at the health club one day to see Hamlet working out beside him. In fact, on Halloween the entire town lapses into character, donning elaborate costumes for a parade rivaled only by the one on the Fourth of July.

With Ashland situated at 2,000 feet and drawing only 19 inches of annual rainfall, the climate is, well, lovely as a summer's day, inviting visitors to take a walk in the hills above town or through the newly revived Railroad District. Scores of lovable old Victorian and Craftsman homes line leafy streets, and charming bed-and-breakfasts beckon on every corner. The intimate downtown presents a collage of galleries, bookstores, cafes, and boutiques. Many of them are a short walk from OSF's three theaters and close to 93-acre Lithia Park (one of 16 parks), with its sweeping lawns, burbling creek, trail network and mountain views. The park was designed in 1914 by John McLaren, who also designed San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.

Downtown is also home to other "off- Broadway" theatrical entertainment (including the art deco Varsity cinema, a dinner theater and shows in a revamped church), as well as an active nightlife and live music scene - though beware of sprites playing the lyre. On any night, you might hear jazz, folk or new age music (or all three), and the annual Britt Music Festival, held just down the road in Jacksonville, is world-class. Monthly First Friday gallery walks have helped Ashland rank as one of the best small art towns in America. And locals claim that the town, with a population of 21,000, has the highest number of restaurants per capita - as well as of cats, dogs and naturopaths - in the United States. Cafes abound, including the welcoming Evo's, which serves a good caffè latte and offers free Internet access, and the Ashland Bakery Café, a warm place for a hot drink and a pastry.