Paris (EYEWITNESS TRAVEL GUIDE)

This product was delivered as advertised and on time.

When we ordered our airline tickets, I sent this book to my 12-year-old neice and the "10-best" version to her 14-year-old bro. She brought the book on our trip and they both read it every day. They both had lists of things they wanted to see (but "No museums!"). Neice: Eiffel Tower and Jardin du Luxembourg. Nephew: Notre Dame, Pantheon, Catacombes. It was the second most gratifying thing about the trip (No. 1: neice writing her journal entries on the plane going home. Which she later read to her class). But next time I will order three copies: for neice, nephew and uncle.

This book was in good condition and arrived on time It has great photos and maps and ideas of what to see in Paris

I recommend traveling with a DK guide and a Fodors' guide to all destinations. The combination of these two will serve you quite well.

I recently got back from my third trip to Paris, and of all the guidebooks I have brought with me over these past 10 years, this was the one I used, and enjoyed, the most. Let's face it, every good guide book out there has helpful hotel and restaurant recommendations, and since individuals ofter have very subjective and different perceptions of the same places, you can never please everyone with those picks. In advance of the vacation, I not only used these guide books but also browsed the web ... for info, and didn't always use picks from the Eyewitness book. I also purchased metro and museum passes online before the trip, which I highly recommend.So why did I like it so much? While most books will suggest places to go and give you helpful information such as opening hours, price, etc., no other book can match these books for illustrations, descriptions, and unique three dimenional "cut-out" sketches to give you an idea of the scope or architectural design of places like the Pantheon, Basilica Sacre Couer, Saint Chappelle, etc. The night before you visit an attraction such as those listed above, you can read a multi-page description, learning about the historical significance of the site, or of efforts to preserve it during WW II, etc. I would consistently get stoked to visit ancient churches, plazas, parks, museums and other attractions after spending ten minutes reading about them in the Eyewitness guide. Then, when standing in the splendor of St. Chappelle for example, you might understand the stained glass scheme a little better.I should also point out that these books are everywhere in Paris. It is the one guide book my wife and I consistently saw on other restaurant tables, or being held discreetly by other tourists at the Musee de Orsay, for example. There are helpful maps, not only of the city in general, but of individual neighborhoods making small walking tours easy. There are also very detailed guides to getting home from the airport, which made it easy to take the RER train into the city and avoid an expensive cab ride.Some have snubbed their noses at the book as being for people with no knowledge of Paris who need pictures - I think that's unfair. The 3-D cutouts and pictures are there if you want them, if you care to skip them you can, but the text is as informative and detailed as I have seen in others like Frommers, Fodors, Dummies Guide, etc. The book is also slim enough to stick in a camera bag, or in a handbag of your wife, for discreetly plucking it out during your metro trips. Buy it as far in advance of your trip as possible, and thumb through it at night to get psyched for your trip. Highly recommended.P.S. And if you buy it and like the format, there is also an excellent Eyewitness Guide to the Loire Valley, with unparalleled information about Loire Valley chateaus, lodging and dining, that I used and really liked.

Outdated information since the book was published in 1993! Very misleading on the website.

The publication date is 1997; the book is 25 years old. It still references French francs and visits to Notre Dame. Not happy about spending so much money on a book that could be considered obsolete. If I hadn’t already thrown away all the packaging I would return it. Buyer beware.

This book has hooked me on the DK Eyewitness guides. I'm living in Germany right now and my whole family came to visit this past summer. Using this book, I took my sister, then later my grandmother around Paris. Finally this fall, my husband and I went.The maps were good for helping us find the nearest Metro stations, as well as the roads. The Metro map in the back was a life saver. I could figure out our whole route and where to transfer just as we got onto the Metro.I've noticed people complain these guides are a little heavy, but they must be packing VERY light. Since I already have to carry a diaper bag around, I throw the guide into the stroller bag for easy access and found it very manageable.The only issues keeping it from a full 5 stars, are the road maps and location information. If you're staying outside of Paris, you need another map for your hotel. I wish the roads would stretch a little further, into the suburbs. Also, while the guide says it's updated yearly, some of the hours for certain locations were wrong. Supposedly Luxembourg Gardens were open until around 9pm. We barely arrived and were kicked out at 5pm. Also, the Louvre is open late two nights a week. The book had the wrong two nights. 90% of the times were accurate, but they messed up on some important ones.Overall though, I definitely got my money's worth out of this book. And nothing to do with the guide, but I'm sick of Paris now. Going three times in the span of three months can be a bit of an overkill. :-)