Travel to France

Paris For Dummies

Format: Paperback
Author: Cheryl A. Pientka
ReleaseDate: 18 March, 2005
Publisher: For Dummies
Rating:

Keeping up the "Dummies" excellence....!
Ms. My wife and I (very unitiated to Paris) returned from a beautiful trip there last November -- a large part of that due to this book. Pientka really tries hard to let you get the well known and not so well known of the city and explains the pros/cons to areas so incredibly well. Other books might have more specifics about attractions, but they won't be as comrpehensive as this one. We loved her restaurant choices (even as Vegeterians she had some places for us!). The book was the basis for our trip and we felt we hit everything we wanted (included an out of the way flea market -- my wife loves going to them here and was excited to learn that one happens on the weekends in Paris). The only cons were that it would have been nice to have metro stops (and lines) listed next to each entry and her hotel list could have been more comprehensive. We booked a hotel on our own (not in her book) and loved it. Whether you are going to be in the City of Lights for a 2-3 days or a month, you will love this book. .

Worth it
If you take time to read and digest this book, this may be the only reference guide you will ever need (plus a decent map like the Streetwise) -- especially if you are going for the first time. A great all round guide, took the guesswork out of most aspects of the trip. We went to two of the restaurants mentioned in this book and they were both top notch, with excellent food and service (in English) and low prices -- a definite rarity in Paris. That alone paid for the book twice over. Also, the walking guides and tips were very useful in planning our days.

In fact, the only advice in this book that I'd disagree with would be "Tips for dressing" -- I wore ratty jeans with black sneakers all through, even to the decent restaurants, and found to my surprise that so did everyone else. In fact it makes you fit in better with local young and the hip :-).

Great resource for first time visitors to Paris
The metro stop information on each point-of-interest and accomodation suggestions by neighborhood was invaluable. I looked at several travel guides of Paris and found that this one had the most practical advice and suggestions. It made our travels around Paris much easier. I also highly recommend taking the bike tour of Paris, which is listed in this book. It was a lot of fun! Ignore the clothing advice though, people in Paris do where blue jeans!.

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