Fodor's Upclose Paris, 2nd Edition

I was looking for local travel information, and there was a treasurehouse of telephone numbers and Website listed here. This might not be for the spanking rich traveling with an unlimited budget, but for a budget minded traveler like me, I found the tips indispensable. The book is well bound, and like some other books that I clowsely examined, this one did not *seem* like it would fall apart into three unasked for sections in the middle of my trip. A nice map at the end is an added bonus. For little more than ten bucks, I found this hard to beat. If you only wanrt to carry one guide with you, and like me, you're a first time traveler to France, this should probably be the one. Excellent and highly recommended. END

This book may be a little dated (1998 publication), and perhaps that's why I found it so useful, as I was traveling in early 1999. But one memory--one of my favorites of the city--was thanks to this book. We were looking for a place to eat and I suggested this West African place I had bookmarked. The guide described hearty dishes served family-style in a friendly neighborhood setting. We found our way through the winding Parisian streets and came upon a very unassuming storefront in a dark alley. My companions were hesitant but I insisted. What we found inside was exactly how Fodor's UpClose described it. The food was some of the best we had on our entire trip and cheap too. We were kids on a budget! And the book was right on with the rest of its content. I recommend this series and only hope a new edition is put out before my summer backpacking excursion! I give it only 4 stars because of the two-year-old edition.