Best travel book?

I%26#39;m from Canada (I have a pretty good command of French), living in NJ, and have been to London and Rome but never Paris (or anywhere in France for that matter).

I%26#39;m going to Paris March 7-12 and I would like recommendations on travel books. I have no idea where to book a hotel or anything (I just know the obvious, visit the Louvre, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower...and my Dad says the cheese is fantastic!)

Any help/advice is appreciated.

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The best thing to do is to go to your local bookstore and find the guide that best suits your personal style. Personally, I am a big Lonely Planet fan, but my all time favorite guide for Paris is the ACCESS guide. I think Rick Steve%26#39;s has this city all wrong (particularly his view on the Latin qtr. and the rue Cler area).

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For information about restaurants and hotels, you need purchase only one book - Michlin Red - available at good bookstore throughout North America.

If you are interested in meeting other Americans while vacationing in France, buy one of Rick Steve%26#39;s tomes.

For information without buying anything try:

http://europeforvisitors.com/

http://www.bonjourparis.com/

www.peoplegoingglobal.com/Europe/France.htm

http://www.franceandus.com/index.html

http://www.lindamathieu.com/

http://us.franceguide.com/magazine/

http://paris.org/

There are of course many other websites, these are just a few.

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If there were a %26quot;..best..%26quot; Paris guidebook, there wouldn%26#39;t be several dozen in the Travel stacks at most mega-bookstores. As has been suggested, you really need to take a littel time and take yourself down to your nearest Borders or Barnes %26amp; Nobles mega-store and scan through several...until you find one or two that %26#39;..resonate..%26#39; with your own personal travel preferences, priorities, interests, special needs and budget.

There are several popular and good guides to choose from. As above, the one guide that I consistntly gravitate to and actually carry with me is the ACCESS-PARIS guide. But as good as I believe this guide is (I especially like its variety of information and organization) there are several others that I have on my bookshelves and refer to regularly. Among the better ones are (in no particular order):

MICHELIN Green Guide--PARIS

BAEDECKER%26#39;S--PARIS

D %26amp; K EYEWITNESS--PARIS

LET%26#39;S GO--PARIS

ROUGH GUIDE--PARIS

RICK STEVE%26#39;S--PARIS

INSIDER%26#39;S GUIDE--PARIS

The one indispensable Paris travel %26#39;tool%26#39; I carry with me is the STREETWISE PARIS compact, accordion-fold Paris street map. I%26#39;ve always found the STREETWISE maps GREAT--the best maps for general planning and touring purposes. The do not provide 100% coverage of the city...but they do provide excellent, comprehensive coverage of the 80%-85% of the city that most people actually visit. Unlike most other compact Paris street maps, the STREETWISE products show every street and identify each by nmae...and have a complete Street Finder Index for its coverage areas. This map also has the merit of being easy-to-use in tight, crowded spaces (crowded Metro cars %26amp; buses, tink café tables and busy street cornewrs...and fits comfortably into most pockets and purses. The laminated map is also very durable.

When you check at your local bookstore, be sure to check the bargain / sale bins for slightly out-of-date, deeply discounted Paris guide books to use as %26#39;filler%26#39;

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I%26#39;m a big fan of Moon Metro Paris. I had it in addition to another one but I used Moon Metro the most while in Paris.

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I%26#39;ve alqyas found the Time Out Paris guide the most savvy, the most fun, the most infprmative and the most lively of all the Paris guide books.

In terms of helping you locate different sites (including many you were prbably unaware of), the Eyewitness Travel Guide can%26#39;t be beat.

I once saw Rick Steves on TV and knew immediately I%26#39;d have no interest in anything that nerd had to say about Paris.

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As been said visit your local bookstore and check what suits you.

There are numerous guides on the shelves to suit different tastes and

styles.

I rely on the Streetwise Map also as mentioned by KD. In addition I recently used Knopf Mapguides and my friend had brought Metro Map as mentioned above. Both are fold out maps by arrondisement.

I found the DK eyewitness invaluable for my first trip to Paris although is heavy for carrying around. It is nicely laid out with pics and short %26quot;snippet%26quot; on the main sights in each area. I also rreferred to the Insight Guide but mostly for reference not to take with.

Michelin Green Guide is good and is lighter to carry with.

Internet also has good resources

http://us.franceguide.com/magazine/

http://paris.org/

www.parisnotes.com/superlinkstoparis.html

are a few.

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%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;I once saw Rick Steves on TV and knew immediately I%26#39;d have no interest in anything that nerd had to say about Paris%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;

I%26#39;m not a fan of Rick Steve...but let%26#39;s not begin bashing ALL of his advice. His guides tend to be written for and appeal to a certain segment of Paris tourists--most usually first time, budget tourists. For many of these, his %26#39;folksy..homespun...down-to-earth..%26#39; style is comforting and reassuring For many of these, his guides suit them right down to the soles of their comfortable walking shoes...it %26#39;..resonates..%26#39; with them...and that%26#39;s just fine. If it %26#39;works%26#39; for you...that%26#39;s really what%26#39;s matters.

I%26#39;m not sure I%26#39;d take much or any of his hotel or restaurant advice...but the self-guided museum and neighborhood walking tours are okay. And like most travel guides, you%26#39;ll usually find some bit of information or advice not found anywhere else---hey, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn every now and then.

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I think Rick Steves books have a lot of value. Maybe he is not %26quot;sophisticated%26quot; or %26quot;chic%26quot; but many of his suggestions make sense to the novice traveler.

The thing I like the most about Steves%26#39; travel guides and TV shows is that he always stresses respect of the culture you are visiting, manners and also trying to learn a bit of the language before going. He also stresses trying to get off the beaten path a LITTLE to experience some of the real life in the destination.

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I%26#39;m still preparing for and researching my first trip to Paris this spring, but I have to agree that what book is best really depends on the individual. When we first started planning this trip we used Rick Steves books - these gave us a great introduction and the courage to decide on independent travel rather than a tour. We%26#39;ve since gone through many of the most popular books (for free from our local library), and each of us has a distinct favorite. The internet and of course TA are also full of great information. I%26#39;ve found planning and booking our own trip has been a long and sometimes difficult process, but it has been and continues to be a blast.

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I recommend the Top 10 series. They%26#39;re small enough to carry with you, cost $10 (less on Amazon), and have the Metro system handily laid out on the inside covers. I find them really helpful. Lonely planet is a distant second, IMO.