It's easy to get around in Paris. You don't really need a map or a guide to find a good restaurant or a small corner of tranquility or a busy market street. But without a map to point out the highlights and help you navigate, you'll be absolutely amazed at how many places you can walk by and not notice ... until someone asks you if you saw such-in-such. So take at least one map and one guidebook - or sections thereof, if you like to travel light. You can chose between the well done, but brief, Knopf Guides for convenience or the Michelin "all inclusive" approach.

We also have used (and like) the DK additions and, for the less traveled path (including editorial as to what's good and what's over-rated) try Rick Steve's.

MAPS
Knopf Paris Guide - perfect to carry along and look-up all the top places on a tourists list or to find an undiscovered spot. The book consists of 8 map pages that open out and show several points of interest. These are really convenient and just enough information for people who like to explore, but don't want to lug around a 500 page Guide. The Provence Guide features 6 easy-to-use fold out map pages highlighting many of the famous attractions in Provence and the Côte d’Azur. For complete details - ad infinitum - try the Michelin or Steves Guides, all hundreds of pages and mind numbing detail. But for convenience and a great day, the Knopf guides are my favorite.

The Gold Standard in Maps - there are others as good, but start here.

Michelin is a tire company, if you didn't know. They started publishing their Guides and Maps to encourage the French to travel more ... and, I suppose, use more tires in the process.

If you are driving, you won't mind carrying along a good Atlas. I like this one. It's a bit bigger than most. Detail is good. Covers neighbors, too.

Guides

This is the most complete guide you will find. Others may be more readable or more interesting or easier to cary around ... but Michelin is the standard, by which the others are judged. If you want a thorough, albeit lengthy, guide, start here for Paris.

There are about 300 or so Michelin Guides for France, alone. If you are travelling about, you'll need a second guide. This is a Michelin Guide for all of France.

Rick Steve's Guides cover much of the same territory as most guides, but with a running commentary as to what's worth it and what's really not. Try this one if you are looking for a guide that is a little different. As Rick says. "Paris through the back door."

If the Wine Regions are on your agenda, try this one.

Translate this page ...

 

Provence Books and Magazines