The Unofficial Guide to Paris

I have loved the Unofficial Guide series ever since I bought my first one for a trip to Disneyworld. I love the star ratings that are provided for different age groups. So many travel guides promote every attraction evenly, which is not much help when you are planning a trip for two adults and two grade schoolers. Using the Unofficial Guides, I list all the attractions that are 4 stars or more for the ages in my family, and work from there. As for this particular UG-Paris book, it contained the usual high-quality UG advice. It was very useful as I decided on a hotel and decide how to structure my visit to the Louvre. I only wish I had been able to visit more of the parks that were recommended. I bought a couple of travel guides for the trip, but this is the one that I packed in my suitcase. To me, that says a lot.

The Unofficial guide to Paris (UGP) is an excellent resource on the everyday logistics of getting around a major city. We purchased several books once we'd decided to visit France: of course, the Michelin Red guide, Frommer's Guide to France, Fodor's Paris CityPack, and then my husband brought this home as a "flyer" (we'd never used an Unofficial Guide before). Fodor's turned out to be not so useful - they included what I thought was a great Paris map but it basically disintegrated in 2 days into our trip. I immediately followed advice from the UGP and purchased a Plan de Paris - much easier to use and more detail. Frommer's Guide was very useful for finding hotels and restaurants in the Loire Valley (also part of our itinerary). But I didn't bring that book with me. The UGP provided incredible amounts of info on how to make this wonderful city very easy to navigate at reasonable prices and to enjoy with a minimum amount of tourist angst. We found the reviews for restaurants and hotels pretty much on the mark. Frommer's gave the Carte Visite an ever-so-brief mention and never mentioned (that I found) the Carte des Musees. Both these coupons saved us tons on time and money. My recommendation to future travelers to Paris would be to buy the UGP and the Michelin guide and then go to the library for other refs.

I hadn't planned on buying another Paris guidebook, since I've been to Paris twice before, but as I was leafing through the Unofficial Guide to Paris (looking for a particular piece of information), I realized how much information this book contained that was different from other guidebooks. So I broke down and bought it! I really appreciate the perspective of the authors, who have written the book for people who are somewhat price-conscious and perhaps looking for some Parisian experiences that may be slightly off the beaten path. I particularly like the book's organization and the authors' practical insights. I like it when guidebook authors actually offer opinions and don't just list information that may turn out to be a poor choice. Well done!

As a Paris veteran I was pleased to pick up and read an excellent Paris guide written for the everyday traveller. Applefield and Sehlinger have proven to understand the moderate cost traveller more then any other guide book currently on the market. This, and their ability to educate the novice and amuse the Paris regular proves they have written this for everyone. The advice is useful and to the point, while not being from the USA (Canada to be exact) I can appreciate the advice given to the general readers. Very informative and an excellent buy, worth every penny.

This book is full of practical information on everything from planning your trip to cultural customs. It contains just the information a first-time traveller to Paris needs to know, but also has useful information for the more experienced. It is also an entertaining read. By far the best guidebook to Paris I have seen.