Customer Reviews

DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: France

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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Summary:
Every Dorling Kindersley Guide has been a great and interesting book... and delightful to have and use, even if you are not traveling to that location, but are only interested in learning more!

The Guides are well organized in a logical and easy to follow manner. They are beautifully illustrated, well developed with accurate information (it is unusual for hotel and restaurant information to be that accurate), have enough history to help the reader understand the people and cultural background, and have a lot of useful travel information and useable maps in the appendixes.

But, the really great attraction to this book is several fold; it is:
............Very complete
............Easy to read
............Beautifully and artistically completed
............Good shopping, safety and other tips
............Gorgeous photographs too numerous to list.

Summary Negative:

The country books are too general to really satisfy all your needs in any given location. So, if your entire trip is spent in Champagne, or Brittany, for example, you will also want to get the specific guide for that city (but, the Paris Section is fairly good)

Guide Specifics:

The guides are organized as follows:

How to use this guide
Introduction to France
............Intro. to France
............Portrait of France
............France Through the Year
............History of France

Paris and Ile de France, Area by Area
............Intro. Paris and Ile de France

............River View of Paris
............Ile de La Cite, Marais, Beaubourg
............Tuileries and Opera
............Champs-Elysees, Invalides
............The Left Bank
............Farther Afield
............Shops and Markets
............Entertainment in Paris
............Paris Street Finder
............Ile de France

France by Region
............Northeast France
........................Specific Cities / Towns
............Western France
........................Specific Cities / Towns
............Central France and the Alps
........................Specific Cities / Towns
............Southwest France
........................Specific Cities / Towns
............South France
........................Specific Cities / Towns

Travelers Needs
............Hotels
............Restaurants
Survival Information
............Practical Info.
........................Police, safety, buses, trains, etc.
............Travel Info.
........................Maps, tours, currency, etc.
............General Index
............Phrase Book

Discussion:
The book begins with "A Portrait of France", including a complete map, a review of France, it's history, and France thought the Year - including events, etc., and France's History (very interesting).

The Paris section is very good supports this book for those on a general tour of France (see Negatives below). But, one should get the alternative "Eyewitness Guide to Paris" if you wish better information on that city.

Region with an "At a glance" overview, then has subsections of Cities / Towns, then specific locations, churches, historical monuments, bridges, galleries, etc.

Architectural reviews include various views, and cutaways; given greater understanding and better perspective. They are all attractive, if not works of art - honestly.

The travelers' Info. offers good and valid info. on prices, currencies, customs, important words, etc. I used the reviews on resorts, hotel's restaurants and nightclubs, etc. and found they were useful and accurate, and helpful with my touring and site decisions

The books are so well thought out that it has multiple maps, with various lookup tables, and the book's flaps are designed to be used as bookmarks for map pages.

Negative:
The country-wide guides are by definition more general than the specific city guides. So, if you are going to Brittany, get a specific "Brittany" guide for better local specifics. If you decide to get the "France" guide for your 3, or 4 city tour of France, understand that this guide may be a little to general for all your local travel needs.

Conclusion:
As the President, CEO of an International Meeting Planning Corporation we have many resources and techniques to learn about places we have meetings / groups at as well as the cities and sights. But, as a traveler, this book really is top notch and I would recommend it to anyone going on a personal trip, or wanting to learn about a city, or location.

A friend lent me her copy of the book. I loved it so much, I ordered the newest version for myself. It is full of beautiful pictures and loads of information not just about destinations, but history and interesting facts. This one will be close at hand during our stay in France.

If you are going to multiple locations in France, I would recommend this book since it has all the information you need.

If you want a summary (in a brief paragraph or so) of the history of a monument, for example, this is the book for you. On the other hand, if you are the type that wants to know the complete details (2-3 pages dedicated to a monument), don't get this book since it does not provide complete details.

The book also has nice color pictures which is a great plus!

Only disadvantage is that the book is a little heavy so when carrying it around, it might get annoying (but if you have a Knapsack you should be fine).

We have traveled to France the past 3 years and are in the process of planning the 4th at this writing. As always (since discovering these guides)I started with this guide to determine which part of France we will visit and the potential route. I also own the guides to Paris, Loire Valley and Provence. The Green Guides offer much more detail but are infuriatingly arranged in alphabetical order. Eyewitness guides are arranged by area and include some theme tours (wine,cheese,troglodyte, etc)This and the beautiful pictures make planning a joy. I just wish they published an area guide for Southwest France, where we are headed in 2003!!