Lonely Planet Brittany & Normandy

This is a detailed and helpful guide book which appears to cover almost all of the questions a visitor to Brittany & Normandy might ask before and after arrival. The Contents page shows the variety of subjects covered. Among the many sections, there are recommendations on preparing for unexpected health problems; there is a brief language/phrase section and a glossary for quick French/English or English/French one word references on a travelor's most commonly needed words/translations. For each area reviewed, there are brief commentaries about history, points of interest and transport. In the Directory section there are suggestions and telephone numbers and references for finding rentals, camp sites, hotels, restaurants, culture, shopping, and regional attributes and regional agriculture. There are contact numbers or addresses for variously priced lodgings and overnight accommodations as well as other services. Much information, including small maps, is squeezed into this 368 page book to read and savor ahead of the trip, as well as for every day reference while touring. This little book could be the only Brittany & Normandy guide book needed, tucked into your carry-on...and kept in pocket for use from landing until departure.

I hesitated to buy this book to plan a recent tritp to Normandy -- with a high-speed connection to the Internet, doing research with travel books seemed so pointless and expensive. Besides, buying the book seemed to open Pandora's Box -- we're doing quite a bit of traveling nowadays, and if we bought this book, shouldn't we buy a book for every country we're visiting in the coming months? This could easily rack up expenses for frugral travelers. It turned out to be a great decision to spend the dozen or so dollars on this book. Jam-packed with helpful information and wonderful maps (besides the ones in the DK travel guides, Lonely Planet offers better maps than any guide book I've tried to use), I referred to this book over and over again during both planning and travel. The information in it is occasionally outdated, but no book is ever completely up to date. For example, prices have gone up and hours have changed. Not a problem though, because the book offers phone numbers and websites to check the info. We used it to find campsites and places to visit. It pointed us to things that we would otherwise never have known existed -- e.g. the Pont du Normandie and the Route des Traditions. And it steered us clear of some cities so that we could spend more time on what we were interested in. The book also includes sections on the history of the area and information about local foods and customs. It's just chock full of everything you'll need to plan your trip -- info about tolls and transportation, French phrases, etc. Definitely pick this one up!

This one does exactly what it says on the packet. Accurate, up-to-date (it's a year newer than its competitors) and easy-to-use. A bit low on illustrations and pictures, so not got the coffee-table factor, but that's not what it's for. Very good on camp site info.