Let's Go France: On a Budget

The Lets Go series continues to provide the clearest evaluation of the side of travel that must live on a budget. Ways to get from one place to another with less frills but more contact with the local people who also use these routes.

...then this book is the one! If you want to know the where and when about a specific festival so you can plan your trip around certain cities and events, or need to know which arrondisement is safest at night, or which hotels offer a bath and shower in the room, then this book is for you. Complete with current information about safety, political, and entertainment events in France, this guide is a handy reference for those who need to plan or those like myself who want to wing it, but still see some specfic sites and events as well. Small enough to carry in a medium or larger sized handbag or backpack, this helpful paperback gives the modern traveler the how-to information to enable you to see the best of France, the most venues in towns large or small, options on how to best navigate, and includes maps as well. A great book to read fully before traveling, I'll buy the newest version to take with me to France next year.

I always find the Let's Go guides very easy to use and loaded with information, and this was no exception. They are very thorough; you'd be hard put to have a place in mind that is not touched on in some fashion. (Compared to Rick Steves, for example, whose books are limited generally to his favorite places in a country) My only complaint is their slant toward partying college types, so there is overabundant information on those particular activities and places.

Let's Go France: 2001 has all of Let's Go's series-wide virtues in spades. First, it focuses on budget hotels and food, meaning you get an exceptionally careful, detailed survey of the budget scene in the city you're headed for. Second, it gives you more detailed practical information than any other guidebook on the market; Let's Go assumes its readers will end up drenched, tired, and without a car in the middle of Lyons at 3 AM, so it gives them a support system of nitty-gritty facts that other guides don't provide. No other book tells you how often each train leaves the station, what temperature it will be when you arrive, how precisely to walk to your hotel, and what to do if you get rabies. Third, it's funny. Having a Let's Go guide feels like traveling with an exceptionally witty and knowledgeable friend who never gets on your nerves.What's more, Let's Go: France: 2001 is an exceptionally good Let's Go guide. I should know; I was in charge of editing it. We've strengthened, lengthened, and deepened our coverage to help you get a feel for the place as you walk around it, and we've added one-sentence breakdowns (new this year) of all the towns in each region, keyed to a regional map, to help you decide if you want to go there in the first place. City and town introductions have been lengthened and revised across the board with an eye to helping readers plan their travel, and accommodations have been added in each town. Sights coverage is breathakingly expanded. As always, every listing has been rechecked and reconsidered for 2001. All in all, this guide makes budget travel in France significantly easier and more fun than it would otherwise be.

I travelled to many places in Europe and Asia, and used many different kinds of guide books.For this summer when I worked and travelled in France, Let's Go France absolutely made my journey fruitful and well-guided. I wish I read this book before I landed on Paris, especially after I got pickpocketed on Metro line #1 on my first day (Read p.41 Safety and Security chapter- it predicted my bad experience in great detail!)It also has many maps and enough historic and cultural backgrounds for even small towns, which is great for those who seek everywhere.If I visit somewhere else in Europe in near future, I will choose Let's Go series without hesitation.