| |||||
Rick Steves' Paris 2006 (Rick Steves' Paris)
Books: Travel: Airline Travel Guides: Item 8
|
Rick Steves' Paris 2006 (Rick Steves' Paris)by Rick Steves, Steve Smith, and Gene Openshaw
|
109 of 112 people found the following review helpful: The Best Published Guide for Planning a Trip to Paris, May 14, 2000 Reviewer:James Paris "Tarnmoor" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - I have used both the 1999 and 2000 editions of this excellent guide, and can only say that it is the best of the lot, closely followed by the Lonely Planet and DK Eyewitness guides. What makes Steves' guides so useful is that he addresses himself to Americans who are not used to foreign travel with the principal goal of eliminating their fear by helping to get their feet wet. To this end, his guides are more PRESCRIPTIVE than DESCRIPTIVE. For a good DESCRIPTIVE guide, I would turn to another guide such as Lonely Planet or Rough Guide, supplemented, perhaps, by Rachel Kaplan's excellent "Little-Known Museums In and Around Paris." A PRESCRIPTIVE guide like this will urge that you avoid the Madeleine, Opera Garnier, and Pantheon because they aren't worth it -- and don't bother with the Bastille, because it was torn down over 200 years ago. Steves concentrates on accommodations and restaurants in only three parts of Paris: Rue Cler (near the Eiffel Tower), the Marais, and the Rue Mouffetard area. That saves perhaps a hundred pages and makes the book more compact and easy to carry during a trip. One of the strong points of the book is the merging of material from Steves' useful "Mona Winks" art guide into his Paris book. "Mona Winks" shows how you can visit the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, the Cluny Museum (highly recommended), and Versailles without killing yourself. For the Louvre, as an example, he concentrates how you can devote your attention to parts of the Sully and Denon wings and see the key works in about 2-3 hours. (Okay, if you're a purist, don't flame me: You and I would, of course, devote more time -- but that's not the issue here.) For the most complete info on Paris, I would suggest you supplement Steves with two fantastic Internet resources: the postings on the rec.travel.europe newsgroup (especially by JACK), and the website of the RATP (which runs the Metro and buses in Paris) at http://www.ratp.fr
Product Review
Rick Steves, author of 21 guidebooks and host of the television series Travels in Europe with Rick Steves, has spent 100 days a year traveling Europe, every year, since 1973. If any American knows Paris, he does, and his self-imposed mission is to make the city just as accessible to those of us who don't have the good fortune to spend months there at a time.
In his amiable, informed, and ruthlessly candid way, Steves focuses on the best--including nice places to stay and eat that give lots in the way of character and take relatively little in the way of francs. He suggests walking tours, museums, and itineraries that include both famous landmarks and little-known finds. He knows it all: art galleries and crêpe stands, street cafés and romantic neighborhoods, activities for kids, and great places to shop. Most importantly, he knows how Parisians live, and his guide provides the best information to let you experience not just the sights of Paris, but Parisian life as well. --Stephanie Gold
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
Who but Rick Steves can tell travelers how to take self-guided walking tours along the Champs-Elysées and through the Marais? With Rick Steves’ Paris 2006, travelers can experience the best of everything the city has to offer – economically and hassle-free. Completely revised and updated, Rick Steves’ Paris 2006 includes opinionated coverage of both famous and lesser-known sights; friendly places to eat and sleep; suggested day plans; walking tours and trip itineraries; clear instructions for smooth travel anywhere by car, train, or foot; and Rick’s newest "back door" discoveries. America’s #1 authority on travel to Europe, Rick’s time-tested recommendations for safe and enjoyable travel in Europe have been used by millions of Americans in search of their own unique European travel experience.
Shop Bookstores:
Books
Resources
Most Watched Book Auctions
Airline Travel Guides at Sduf
News To Peruse
More Subjects
Book Review Directory
Reviewed Authors
Reviewed Titles
Review List
Site Map
