DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Paris

Great organization, eye-catching photography, well written narrative and superb cartography! DK Eyewitness Travel guides have got it all but, for me, it's the photography that really separates them from the competition. And "Paris" covers it all - restaurants, music, beer bars, walks, art galleries, museums, spas, architecture, palaces, hotels, cafés, theatres and churches. And all of the information is organized by neighbourhood in the city so I can make the most effective use of my time once I'm in a certain area. Here's my "best practices" strategy. Read "Top 10 Paris" first. Make some basic choices, get your mind wrapped around Paris geography and begin to localize your choices to certain areas. Fine tune your choice and plan your attack day by day by reading "Paris". Familiarize yourself with some of the local customs by reading the basic country information in the back of the larger "Paris" guide - currency, communications, etiquette, food, beer and wine, local transportation and specialized hints like local tipping practices. Why not five stars? Frankly, with the internet now providing so much current information, I can't see the value in attempting to include lengthy (and probably outdated) lists of hotels and restaurants in densely packed small print index lists at the back of a book like this. As a pre-planner, "Paris" proved itself to be invaluable. My limited time was well spent and I felt comfortable filling my day with a thoroughly enjoyable selection of attractions that were well matched to my personal tastes and those of my traveling companion. There was not even a single instance where we felt we were misled by the guide into choosing an event, a food, a pub, a hotel, a church, an attraction, a park or a café that was not to our liking. And it was the ideal size to be easily carried around during our travels to keep handy as a pocket reference. High praise, indeed. Even with the help of such an invaluable, compact and realistic guide, Paris is simply too big, too diverse and too fascinating to tour in a single week. That said (and well you might ask), my personal Top 10 in Paris from the perspective of a first time visitor were as follows: Panthéon Musée d'Orsay Notre-Dame Arc de Triomphe Musée Carnavalet Chateau Versailles Parc Monceau The Left Bank Opéra National de Paris Garnier Au Trappiste (an outrageously expensive beer bar) Jardin du Luxembourg (So sue me ... I can't count and I couldn't hold back choosing one extra favourite destination). The point REALLY is, I had most of these picked out before I ever got to Paris and the descriptions were SO good that my advance choices proved to be quite correct during the reality of the city visit. I don't think I could give higher praise to a tour book than that. Highly recommended for all travelers, real world and armchair alike. Paul Weiss

The DK Eyewitness Travel Guide for Paris is a perfect product for the first time traveler to Paris. I have used it the last 3 times I was in Paris, but I found it most useful on the first trip. It also makes great reading before going to Paris. Read it on the plane! The historic chapters are brief but essential to understanding the history of France and the city of Paris. This is especially helpful in uderstanding the revolution and the Bourbon restoration after Napoleon I under Louis XVIII and his younger brother Charles X, followed by their cousin Louis-Philippe I and the take-over of government by Napoleon III. Medieval Paris is still present in Paris at the Louvre, Notre-Dame, and Sainte-Chapelle. Sainte-Chapelle is not easily accessed and the guide helps you find your way to the entrance of this Gothic jewel. The guide has a special section on Sainte-Chapelle, the first Gothic structure, with its thin columns holding up beautiful glass walls of red and blue. Renaissance Paris can be found in the wonderful Place Royale (Place des Vosges). This space is amazing, and continues to be used for housing and shops after 400 years. Within Place des Vosges is the Victor Hugo Museum, showing his apartment furnished with his original furniture. Just relax in the central courtyard. The guide color codes the various Quaters of the city, offering the highlights of each section of the city, along with suggested walking routes. This helps the travel orient to the book while walking and also helps avoid the naggig problem of missing a point of interest while nearby. A full 22 pages is devoted at the beginning of the guide with an extended time-line showing the history of Paris and offering tips on sites to visit to capture various eras in the city's history. I found this especially useful in understanding the grand transformation of the city under Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann in which avenues and boulevards were widened, and the city became more accessible with broad grids and multiple spoke-like intersections. Because of this design, traffic jams are rare. When traveling, a slow-down on one street can be rectified by simply moving over one street. Travel patterns in the city are infinite. The guide is well illustrated, with photographs, maps, drawings, charts and tables, all of which help the traveler orient and enjoy. Because many travelers are in Paris only for a couple of days, the guide highlights the cities main tourist attractions and gives these sites ample explanation: Sainte-Chapelle, Versailles Palace, Pompidou Center, Musee d'Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Jardin du Luxembourg, Musee du Louvre, Notre Dame, an the Arc de Triomphe. The guide includes a map of the metro system, which is inexpensive, convenient, and quick. However, be careful of pick-pockets at the metro stops at the major tourist sites. The gude advises you to buy a book of 10 metro rides at once for a cost saving. If you plan on being in the city long, this is a good idea. Th

...P>It is outstanding. The illustrations are excellent, the maps accurate and detailed. The only better map is the No 2 Plan to public transport available free from Metro stations, which shows metro , RER and bus routes with named streets, and the more expensive book maps by arrondissement available in Paris.<p>But unless you want to cart around two books, the maps in this volume are excellent (warning: there are a few places they DON'T cover, so if you are planning visits to some of the less touristed arrondissements, you will need a map book as well). <p>I used this in conjunction with Fodor's Around Paris With Kids, and together they covered everything we needed as a family.<p>The house style of Eyewitness Guides is now well-known, and this volume is as good as, if not better, than any. You really can't go wrong if you pack this. It will even make you want to go places you might otherwise have dismissed.

I just got back from Paris and can honestly say this is all you need. I kept this book in my pocket the whole time. It has great maps for getting around. The Metro map is quick and easy to use for getting around. The book breaks down Paris into areas and gives you pictures and descriptions of all the interesting sites to see in that area. Each description provides a metro stop and a location on one of the maps. The maps give you locations of all the metro stops. This was an invaluable tool for my group. We would go to an area and have full confidence wandering around knowing that DK would help us if we ran into a problem. I bought a bunch of books before my trip, but this is the only one you need!

My wife and I went to paris with about 5 different books and about 6 different maps. Turns out this was the only one we really needed. We were able to find and do more in 1 week than anyone we have ever met. Including people who went for 3 weeks. This guide covers everything by district/quarters.We never would have found the Catacombs without this - and I strngly recommend them. It also gives you a chance to make decisions ahead of time of what you would like to do and what you might like to do given the time. It is not exactly the perfect book because it does not always tell you the prices of museum passes and ticket prices. So I'll save you some time. Buy the Museum Carte at the very first place you go. This will get you into every single place and museum like thing you could wnat from the Louve, Musee De Orsey, Georges Pompedeau and even the Museum Rodin and Versailles!!!!. If you use it 3 times, you have saved money. Also, The museums have "Special" entrances and lines for Carte holders so keep your eyes open cause you can skirt the long long long lines and go on in. But make sure you have this book under your arm where ever you go.