Uou won't be sorry about buying the Paris Map Guide book. The text is larger and easy to read. The book is small and easy to whip in and out of a backpack or bag. Those plans you buy in Paris are tiny and hard to read in my opinion. <BR><BR>You can pick it up at www.half.com for under $10 including shipping. Thats a bargain.

May I also add...<BR><BR>I always print out interesting page from websights and sort of compose my own book. Sometime I cut and paste the text into another text document and cut out all the stuff i dont want. At the end of the trip I simple toss it before I leave. <BR><BR>Good resources for this are--<BR><BR>frommers.com<BR>fodors.com<BR>timeout.com< BR>avantguide.com<BR><BR>May i also add the the Avant Guide book for Paris is excellent and offers some off beat experiences and a lot of the typical stuff. Check out their websight too.

For a month's stay in Paris, I used the Streetwise Map exclusively. It's smallish, plastic and easy to read, shows all metro stops and sites. The only time I needed a larger map was when I went slightly outside the central Paris area.

DK Top 10 Paris is great, compact with a lot of information.<BR><BR>Try Time Out, as well. the top 10 will travel daily, easier though.

i did a borders run to look at some of your suggestions first hand. and i must say that the AAA Spiral guides were awesome. it lays out the city area by area and hits highlights as well as details. it is slightly bigger than the DK top 10, but then again it is in between a full guide and a pocket guide. i guess i will try this one out and see how it goes.

as to maps, i've always used free city maps (usually sponsored by say galleries lafayette) found at the front desk of any hotel in paris.<BR><BR>they have the advantage that one may draw out a given day's route and later discard it for another. generally they are pretty accurate and have a list of street names which can be found in a referrence grid and have the bus, metro and rer station superimposed.<BR><BR>i might add that i don't like toting heavy guides (which i leave in the room) or multipage map books. one can easily slide one of these freebos into one's back pocket and off you go.

unscun, I am so happy thet you found the AAA Spiral Guide to be what you were looking for. As I said previously, I have found these guides to be extremely useful. Have a great trip!

We are leaving for Paris on the 4th of May for our 12th trip to Paris and hoping for someting new I bought Fodor's &quot;Exploring Paris&quot; I am not impressed.. The bookstore and several other books --Oh well.

Sorry Fodors - I do find most of the guidebooks mentioned above useful, but my favorites are the Rough Guide series because they're blunt and comprehensive. I don't need color photos - I'll be seeing the real thing.

Here's another recommendation for Bistros of Paris by the Hamburgers. Chock full of gems. You'll save the price of the book and then some.<BR><BR>Paris Mapguide is fantastic because it has so many buildings, museums, even the bus routes. It's small, but very detailed.<BR><BR>One of my must-haves, though, is also the Access Guide. I like this one because everything is on one neighborhood map (shops, restaurants, sights, etc.) and it's not to heavy to drag around with you. It's great for seeing what else is nearby when you've got time and you're at a sidewalk cafe.

I second the recommendation for the Spiral Guides--I've used Rome and Paris and found them helpful, easy to carry, and pretty comprehensive. I buy and read the Rick Steves guides, but only take photocopies of the pages I want( I can't bring myself to rip them up as he suggests) His brief tours through major museums are worth the price of the book.

The metro maps you may get at any metro station are invaluable.

would the 2 pages of handy french phrases that are found in the spiral guide be sufficient or should i get an additional phrase book?

Highly recommend Barron's &quot;French At A Glance&quot;. It has phonetic pronunciations and lots of other useful practical advice and information. And, you can slip it in your pocket.<BR><BR>Another fabulous resource is &quot;French in Five Minutes a Day&quot;. You'd be amazed at how much you really can learn in five minutes a day, or on the plane on the way over.