Best guidebooks for a first timer in Paris?
Opinions...

Thank You!

I enjoy Fodors, Frommers, Eyewitness and Access.

I second the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides.

Hi
although the following recent thread was inquiring about guidebooks for Italy, the suggestions and comments on the guidebooks that have different versions for different cities still generally apply.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34567508


I'll add to that list
Paris Mapguide by Middleditch. It's a slim, small, map of paris (one area on each page) plus it has an alpha street listing, plus metro and bus maps, a plan of Versailles, and a bit of general tourist info. It's not a substitute for the others mentioned, but a very valuable supplement.

Rick Steves' books are the greatest. They are interesting, fun to read, and sometimes humorous.

I like the Eyewitness and the Michelin.

I find Fromers/Fodors/Fieldings (I call them the F books) are very generic and so similar in what they say/recommend they could be written by the same person. If you lean to any of these probably pick Fodors . . . . .

( hope this doesn't get me in trouble w/ the Fodors editors )

I really like the DK Top Ten Guide for Paris. I read and brought several different ones and picked this up at the airport when we left a few Paris trips ago. It is small and has lots of information.

On my last trip I enjoyed Rough Guides to Paris.

I always recommend Time Out guides. I used the Paris guide this past fall. You might browse the highlights on their website www.timeout.com. I also enjoyed their special separate book Time Out Walks in Paris, with a different walk with a different focus written by a different author in each chapter with suggestions for food, drink, shopping, sightseeing on each walk. Enjoy planning your trip!

If you're under 40, you also might want to check out Time Out Paris and the Avant Guide to Paris. They're edgier when it comes to nightlife and food.

I like the <u>Blue Guide to Paris and Versaille</u>. It gives room-by-room descriptions of what you are seeing in the museums and other historical and cultural sites, which is very useful if you don't speak French (since signs are mostly in French only). I also used the Insight Guide to Paris Museums and Galleries, which covers the majors but also lots of smaller specialty museums (good for future trips).

The DK books are the best for getting the info you need. The problem with them is that they weigh so much. We use them for reference in both planning and reading up when we are there. We use the streetwise fold out maps for getting around. They are a trifold and they easily fit into a back pocket. You can get them at most bookstores and also on line.

Last time we were in Paris we used the Eyewitness and Rick Steves. We noticed at the Rodin museum almost everyone was carrying the Rick Steves Paris Guide.