France guide books and phrase books
Dec 16th, 2002, 07:51 PM
#1
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France guide books and phrase books
Please share your opinions on the most helpful guide books and phrase books for France and the French language. I know that I can go to a book store and spend hours looking through them, but I think it will be most helpful to know which are the best through travelers' personal experiences.
Dec 17th, 2002, 05:28 AM
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Lisa,<BR>I'll start out by saying what you didn't want to hear, guidebooks "speak" to each of us differently and the best way to pick one or more is to go browsing. My suggestion is to pick a topic that interests you, like the Louvre in Paris, or one or two other topics in France. Look up that same topic in many guidebooks and see how you feel about the details (too many or too few?) and the descriptions and the usefulness of the information.<BR><BR>I'm not just plugging for Fodor's here but I happen to think that their guidebook for Paris (and most places) is an excellent general guide. One caveat is that unlike, say Rick Steves's books, Fodors doesn't cover as many bare-bones budget-minded hotels and cafes.<BR><BR>You can get a preview of the Fodor's book by going elsewhere here at Fodors.com under Destinations, and looking at all the free Paris information.<BR><BR>If you like more detail on art and architecture, in addition to a more practical guidebook, get the Michelin green guide for Paris. The Michelin green guides are basically useless for practical information like hours of admission, general travel tips, etc.<BR><BR>Even with a general guidebook, I also strongly recommend Gustafson's books<BR>"Great Sleeps in Paris" and "Cheap Eats in Paris." Great resources whether you want to be budget-conscience, or just want to get good value for your money.<BR><BR>I wouldn't worry too much about the language if you don't speak it. Any basic phrase book with cassette or CD can teach you to say hello, goodbye, please and thank you. That and a smile will help you in most situations in France unless you are going to very rural areas. In that case, take a class, because a phrase book won't help you understand what people are saying to you even if you manage to ask a good question.<BR><BR>I have a file on Paris; if you want to see it, email me.
Dec 17th, 2002, 09:23 AM
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I agree with Elaine that this is a personal choice. Last year, my in-laws gave us Italy for Dummies. They thought it was a wonderful guidebook and very thorough. I took one look at it and had to return it. It went into great depths for major cities (such as Rome). But we needed a guidebook for smaller towns!<BR><BR>Many people like Rick Steves, but he completely ignores certain areas. Lonely Planet Spain was wonderful, but I was less enthusiastic about LP Italy. Many people on Amazon gave low ratings to Rough Guide Italy, and it was the only guidebook I took to Italy. It was very to the point, which some people don't like.<BR><BR>I also like getting a separate guidebook for hotel. If you're on a budget Hello France! may be a good choice. There are "charming" hotel series which are very good. However, if you already have hotel reservations, these books will not help you much.
Dec 17th, 2002, 10:21 AM
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As far as phrase books, I agree that most travelers' phrasebooks will suit the purpose, but I do think there are some publications better than others. I particularly like the Dover phrasebooks; they are in a variety of languages (I have about 6-8), have good pronunciation guides, and cover all the basics. They also have a good section on food/drinks/restaurants--and they are about the cheapest series you can buy, and very small so can fit in a purse or pocket very easily. Many bookstores don't carry them, but you can order them on Amazon.com, etc. The title is "Say It in French", here is the URL for Amazon<BR>http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0486208036/qid=1040152514/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/102-4266431-3804122?v=glance&s=books<BR><BR>A lot of people ask about general guidebooks, and I agree with Elaine that you really can't pick one best for you without going to a bookstore and scanning through them. I know what I look for in a guidebook is different than many others. If you've ever traveled at all and used a guidebook, you probably have an idea what features and coverage you like. I insist on a thorough and good history section to the country, whereas some people wouldn't even care. I don't care about hotels much because I do that ahead of time, much on line.<BR><BR>That said, I usually prefer Frommers to Fodors, and would choose them if I had to pick one sight unseen; others have their merits, of course. I almost always take a Michelin Greenguide for sites if one is available. It is best for reference and details on museums, cathedrals, etc, but also has excellent walks. I agree it's not good for general travel advice too much (although it does have some), but I wouldn't say it is worthless for admissions, hours, etc. IN fact, I think it is good for that -- a lot of that info is not up-to-date in any guidebook, but Michelin's info is just as good or better than any IMO. That stuff should be double-checked with specific sources, though, or locally upon arrival in newspapers, etc.
Dec 17th, 2002, 11:02 AM
#8
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I like different guidebooks for different purposes.<BR><BR>Michelin Green series for overall information on sights and routes.<BR><BR>Cadogan guides for the "flavor" of the places.<BR><BR>Eyewitness Guides to drool over during the planning, but not necessarily to bring along on the trip.<BR><BR>Guide du Routard and Michelin Red Guide for restaurant and hotel information.
Dec 17th, 2002, 01:46 PM
#10
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I agree with most of the previous advice re Eyewitness guides (good to look at, but too heavy to take), Michelin guides (take green; red is good for restaurants, etc. but usually too bulky), Cadogan, etc. These days I usually have already made hotel reservations before I leave home, so I don't need anything with lots of hotels.<BR><BR>You can photocopy useful pages from books, then leave the books themselves at home. I find that helpful for things like Frommers or Fodors, that have lots of general info - more than I want to take on vacation with me.<BR><BR>Also, use your public library! You can check out many of the guidebooks, and decide which you like the best.<BR><BR>On phrase books, I have a couple, only take one, and they all work equally well. I also take a small dictionary, because I love to look up words that I see (and the dictionaries included with phrase books are not very complete). I also make a small cheat sheet of phrases that I can't seem to remember but that I think I might need, which I can fold up and leave in a pocket.
