Best 2 Gude books to take to Paris/Provence/Nice that will fit in your back pocket! (Leaving in 13 days)
 

I went to the library and found the Rick Steves France 2003 book and amazingly, it WILL fit in my back pocket. Yeahhhh. I love his books as he cuts out alot of the nonsense. I also liked (for it size that is), the Eyewitness Top 10 Paris - Guide to the 10 Best of Everything. This seems to be another "cut out all the drivel and get right to the meat of the issue" guide, plus, it has pretty pics of places we'd consider. This is always good for showing the wife - "honey, this cathedral or museum looks like this - what do you think? Wanna go check it out?"

Is there another one we should consider bringing that will fit in my back pocket? This back pocket thing is a MUST! I don't lug a knapsack when I'm with her, like I did in the old days when I was single. I checked out from the library the Lonely Planet France, but it's as heavy as a freakin' phone book & 1080 pages. We're not even bringing it. I looked at the Rough Guide France and Frommers and Michelin and they don't fit in the back pocket. Are these 2 books that we ARE bringing, enough? We're not utter Francofiles but I'd hate to SOLELY rely on Rick Steves info for Provence and Nice for 10 nights if there's another "fit in the back pocket book" we could check out from the library.

There's always the idea of BUYING a Lonely Planet book and breaking it into sections that would conveniently fit into my back pocket for each part of the trip. But, then I'd have to spend $24.99 - hey, I'm thrifty. "You got a problem with that? You talkin' to me" :o)

13 days to go. Very psyched. WWYD? (What would you do)

Steve
USA

I don't think there are very many guidebooks that fit in back pockets, mainly those "best of" ones. I'll tell you what I do for larger areas like Provence -- I have 1-2 larger guidebooks I've probably used for planning and research. I always have an itinerary and know I'm only definitely going to maybe 3 cities/towns and have the possibility of a couple others. I photocopy those pages of the guidebooks (on both sides of the paper) and just carry those few pages around with me during the day. Even then, I don't take or carry around some of the pages that have to do with things I won't need (such as hotels, as I've booked them already), only the sightseeing or some restaurant/shopping info.

Hi
Christina's suggestions are good.
For another actual pocket-sized book, Fodors's City pack for Paris is excellent. The enclosed map is so-so (too large to handle easily imo) but the book is great

Thanks Christina! Great idea to photocopy the pages of importance...

Why the heck didn't I think of that? Doh! Then I wouldn't need to carry much in the way of books at all, though I do love Rick Steves and the Paris Eyewitness 10 best book for it's nice pics.

Steve
USA

Go to a used book store and I'll bet you'll find guide books that are only a year old. Then you don't feel so guilty ripping them apart. About the only thing that changes is the prices--and they're usually out of date by the time you get there, even with the most recent editions.