I would prefer to buy the green guides in France..I know you said I can get maps easily there but how about the green guides?..and the Red Michelin guide too, altho I think someone said I can get it there?

Thanks..

Do you want them in French or English ? I'm not sure how easy it would be to buy the English language versions there.

If you want them in English, you should buy them ahead of time.

Oh my, I never thought of that...I had better get them here then..?...so we are going to so many areas do you think it necessary to bring for each or are there some areas that don't need them????

I would be carrying...normandy, dordogne, languedoc, provence and Paris. Yikes and in a 22 inch suitcase for 7 weeks. That do esn't count the guidebook, dictionary and what did I forget?

Are you set on the Michelin green guides ? Couldn't you just buy another type of guidebook such as a Rough Guide which covers the whole of France ? If you did that, you could then save even more weight by just tearing out the chapters you want, if you could bear to. Oh hang on, you also referred to a guidebook too ? Which one is that ?

I'd be inclined to take an overall guidebook to France, the green guide to Paris & the red guide to France.

I would not go with a 22" suitcase for 7 weeks, however.

What about general reading material ? I generally take at least 4 substantial novels for a 2 week holiday.

Caroline...maybe I could just take the green guide to France. It covers a lot of the different areas????? we can do some planning here from the individual ones..

Re guidebook..??...don't know...I am using Rick Steves, Frommer and Fodor now, Also have out others from the library.

The Green Guides are perhaps best for giving you the things to see, and there is one for France as a whole. Other information in them is sparse, although they do include a few restaurant recommendations. You should browse in the travel section of a bookstore to see which guide fits your purposes best. The Red Guide is for hotels and restaurants, and unless you are traveling with no reservations and recommendations, it is not worth the bulk and weight to take with you. On the other hand, if you are going to be spending a week or more in any given area, I think that you should get the Green Guide for that area, assuming that this is what you decided is best for you. I generally like the Green Guides, but for the Loire valley I used the Nicholson <i>Guide to the Loire Region</i>, because it is more compact, included hotel recommendations, and the Loire Valley is visited mainly for its principal chateaux that do not require the detail of the Green Guide. Keep in mind that if you are traveling by car the bulkand weight of the guides becomes inconsequential once you have your car.

I forgot about that....once we get the car in Paris..we can just put stuff in the trunk. I will just make room for the guides in my carryon.

We will be over a week in Dordogne, Paris and Provence. I am wondering if I need a Paris green guide?..we have been there before albeit 25 years ago and I am sure we can find things on Paris. Your opinion..?

I have well over 150 guide books on France, and probably 100 maps also. The only guide book I take with me while vacationing in France is the Michlein Green Guide(s). I use the others for research, but I don't take them with me. If I need some pages from the Cadogan Guide (second best to the Green Guide), I will Xerox them &amp; throw them away when done. The Michlein Green Guide says the most, with the fewest words. It also has maps of cities, and often recommended walking tours of Cities (Sarlat, Albi, Avignon, Aix, Arles).

I also take the red guide to not only find hotels &amp; restaurants, but to navigate in/out of town. One-way roads and main access roads are indicated on the red guide. The red guide is &quot;interfaced&quot; with the michelin maps.

You can purchase guides/maps here

http://www.maptown.com/

One more thing you should consider when making an itinerary. Where will you be on Sunday &amp; Monday mornings? You don't want to arrive into Albi, for example, on a Sunday when all the stores are closed. In many/most non &quot;real touristy&quot; towns, stores also close on Monday mornings &amp; don't start to open again till 3:00.

Stu Dudley

I have never used the Green Guide for Paris. Most of the important sites are obvious, and there are so many recommendations to be found on this forum that you can simply make a list of what might interest you and proceed from there. But I recommend <i>Le petiti parisien--3 plans par arrondissement</i> for navigating in Paris. It includes market days and location for each arrondissement. Buy it as soon as you get to Paris.

You said you were going to Paris. Take the Green Guide to Paris. I would also buy a book called &quot;Walking Paris&quot; by Gilles Desmons, which has about 20 walking itineraries that get you off the Champs Elysees/Blvd St Germain strut &amp; gets you into some interesting areas that first time tourists often miss (It has Champs/St Germain itineraries also). If you can't find this book, the Cadogan Guide to Paris has walking itineraries also, but I find them hard to follow.

Also, buy the Michelin Map of Paris #11. It fits into my back pocket. Don't rely on those Gallerie Lafayette/Printemps maps that are free - they are worthless.

When you leave Paris, go to the post office &amp; mail home any books you no longer need. I think postage is less than $10 for several books/maps.

BTW, if you have never seen them, the Green Guides are small - 9 1/2&quot; X 5&quot; &amp; 5/8&quot; thick.

Stu Dudley

&gt;&gt;&gt;Most of the important sites are obvious, and there are so many recommendations to be found on this forum that you can simply make a list of what might interest you and proceed from there.&lt;&lt;&lt;

I don't agree with Michael. The Green Guides have opening/closing times, layouts &amp; floor plans of museums (often better than the ones you receive at the museum when you get there). It has walking itineraries, and an index (very usefull, for obvious reasons). I would never in a million years arrive anywhere without the best guide book possible. I vacation 2 months in France most years.

I don't think it is obvious to most first time tourists where Castel Beranger is located, or Musee Jacqamart Andre, or Musee Bourdelle, Hotel de Sens, or Village St Paul, or Hotel Soubise, Promenade Plantee, or Barthelemy Cheese shop, or the covered passageways. etc. The Green Guide also has many intersting stores listed, when describing a walking itinerary through the Marais, for example.

Stu Dudley

You can also get the green Michelin Guide to France, which (obviously) covers the entire country. It's of course not as detailed as the regional guides but covers all the major areas and principal sights.

The red Michelin is pretty heavy and easy to buy in France; it comes only in French in any event.

Underhill,

All of the Michelin Reds that I have ever seen include an English language key in the front, along with a key to the language of the country being covered.

I agree with StuDudley. Bring a Michelin Green for the places you are visiting. They are the best.

I concur with others say about Green Guides. They are in my view indispensible when touring by car. As for Red Guide, I usually take with me just for town maps (can be an old edition as they don't change much), but for up-to-date listing on hotels and restaurants, you can get the latest on their website www.viamichelin.com (need free registration) and in English. The web version has longer description on each establishment, which is only given in French in book form (though there's an English key for symbols). If you are only staying in a limited number of places, I'd just take a printout of web pages.

Yes, the red Michelin has an English-language key, but the comments on hotels and resstaurants are still in French--at least in the 2004 edition. But you can get by very well by learning to translate the symbols.

A guidebook for the whole of France seems to make the most sense for you, if you are not spending the entire 7 weeks in France. If you are, then by all means, get the regional/city guides when you've got a lot of time to explore. Restaurant recommendations are the easist thing to get abroad (though it might not be in good English)...most locals know where the good restaurants are...just ask!

One last thing. Keep to your plan of packing in a carry on sized suitcase! France was the only trip my family took to Europe where we didn't stick to a strict limit of 1 carryon sized bag and a small purse/briefcase. We regretted it! We assumed a large car in France would be plenty of room---different standards, different sizes. Such a hassle! Stick to your carryon and do laundry.