What is the best travel guide to Paris?

Question

I'm a 16 year old girl going to Paris next easter with my school French class and I would like to buy a travel guide but I don't know which one is best. Please tell me what you think is the best travel guide and (if possible) what features of the book make them your favorite. I also appreciate any advice from you guys on how to travel in paris (what to see, what to do, how to act, what to eat, where to go, how to dress, what camera to bring, what safety precautions, etc.). Thanks :)

Answer 1

I LOVED Paris!!!!! You will have an absolute BLAST!!! Best guide by far was the Unofficial Guide to Paris. It was easy to read. Easy to navigate. Told you the best places to go, to see..things normally one wouldn't do. I got mine on amazon.com really cheap. Paris..they dress how ever they want haha. I saw everything there. I wore jeans..classy jeans nothing with holes..nice shirts everyday. You see a lot of button downs. Just a casual fashionable look. The French are SO nice, the rumor of them hating Americans (not sure if you are) is not true at all. Just learn "do you speak english" "Hi" "Bye" "Excuse Me" "Thank you" "Please" in French and you will be fine. If you show them that you are trying their language they are way receptive to speaking to you. Eiffel Tower- We went right before sunset. It is STUNNING at sunset!! Every hour on the hour they light it up with the flashing lights, its great. But they close the 3rd story at sunset, so if you want to go all of the way to the top get there a bit early. BUt I highly highly recomment the tower at sunset...I got the best pictures!! I brought a very good camera, with a good zoom. Make sure it runs on batteries, with the difference in power outlets it just makes it easier..I had a spare set with me and it worked wonderfully. Keep your purse in front of you or hold on to it, pick pockets are bad. If you want to keep it, do not keep it in your pocket. Get a good bag that has a latch on it, so no one can reach in and yank it out. Try the croissants, pastries, sandwiches, Snails (they are awesome!), Creme Brulee, Mussels, the food is amazing!! The Louvre is a great museum too, save an entire day for that. GO shopping!!! Window shopping in France is awesome, its all so expensive but so great to look at!!! The best shopping was right behind the Opera house..there is the best shops!! Expensive but great to look at. If you want good deals, look up markets. Also, there are parts of the outter Paris that have stores with great deals. I went to Disneyland Paris as well, was fun for sure!  I have more ideas if you are interested, just message me!! Have fun!! Ohhhh take a journal and write down everything you do, see, try...I did it and am SO glad I did. You see so much it all blends together..is great to go back and go OH YEAH I DID THAT!! ENJOY!!!

Answer 2

There are several excellent guide books on Paris.   DK Eyewitness, Lonely Plant, Frommers,  and Rick Steves are some of the best.  Go to your local Barnes&Noble store  and look over the guide books to see which one you like best.

Answer 3

There is a online Travel Guide with tips and advise. It also has a least of all attractions with a brief description. Go to www.frommers.com.

Answer 4

If you are looking for ideas on places to go, information about somethings and a younger perspective, I would go with Lonely Planet Paris.

If you want history, information, dates and a more knowledge based guide, I would go with Michelin Green Guide Paris which you can buy in English or French.

Answer 5

A useful resource can be found at:

http://www.gostreetmaps.com/paris.html

which features tourist sights dotted along the map and a shopping overview for Paris.

Answer 6

I vote for DK Eyewitness, too.  I don't have one on France or Paris, yet.  Going to buy it (France - you only need Paris) as soon as my Border's card shoots me out a good coupon!  (the country guides are $30!!!) good to get a discount, but worth every penny!  they are VERY in depth, tell you what specialties to try in cuisine, and have such beautiful photos you will want to do EVERYTHING!

Of course, most of your time will be taken up with your tour group.

Still, the book is so pretty, you should have it, anyway.

Never trust the prices given in a travel guide.  Given the time lag between when the research is done, and when you are reading the book, you can figure at least two years' worth of inflation...plus the terrible state of the Dollar.

The rest of the info is usually good.  

Bon Voyage!

Answer 7

http://www.10best.com/Paris/

Attractions & Activities

Best Attractions & Activities

Art Museums

Attractions

Gardens

Historic Sites

Religious Sites

Science & History Museums

User Suggested

10 Best / Paris Guide

try the link above.  i think for your trip as a 16-yr-old this is a great guide & you can also get the hardcopy at a bookstore....it breaks down mega-info into catagories such as shopping, restaurants, attractions & activities (example above), etc....& then each catagory into 10 best.  also has readers recommendations so it's not all touristy stuff.  extremely usable & HELPFUL.....

above all -- wear comfortable shoes!!!!!!!!!  the smaller camera the better.....if you carry a purse keep it close to you at all times....just in case.....  walk everywhere you can.....

Answer 8

The best guide to the sights of Paris is probably the Dorling Kindersley Eyewitness Travel Guide to Paris. You can order one from their website http://us.dk.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,... Its just vastly better than the usual Rick Steve's/Frommer/Fodor's junk.

I know this sounds silly but being a "good" tourist is hard work and you should spend almost as much time preparing as you do actually being there. So don't just get a guide book but read thru it very carefully BEFORE you go.

Make a list of what you want to see based on your personal interests and the amount of time you have. Of course, its fine to come back to this forum with more specific questions after you have had the time to do some research of your own.

There's also a lot to Paris that is beyond the tourist sights. Its the ambience and the attitude of Paris which need to be lived and felt.

You should spend some time just strolling around the city to appreciate its architecture and to get a feel for its medieval layout, the Belle Epoch improvements of Baron Hausman, and the modernizations seen in places like the Les Halles Forum and the new Opera in the Place Bastille.

You should take a little time to just sit in a cafe in the Latin Quarter or St. Germaine and people watch. Go the Luxembourg Gardens and feed the pigeons. Watch little kids sailing toy boats in the big pond there.

Be a bit courageous about food. Go to places that don't cater to tourists and don't have English menus. Just point to things on the menu or, better still, walk into a cafe at lunchtime and ask for the daily special which you'll almost always see displayed on a chalk board. don't worry if you don't know what it is! Try it! The worst that will happen is that you'll have a hilarious story to tell about how you got served a calve's head with cream sauce or something else too weird for you to eat.

Mainly, don't stay in a tight little tourist cocoon. Strike up conversations with strangers, be open minded, put your map in your back pocket and just wander around, get lost, experiment, learn, take the time to really look at things.

Bonne chance!