If you absolutely have to rough it in Paris, you have to get this book that will help you stretch your money as far as possible.

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Product Description

The Rough Guide to Paris is the definitive handbook to one of Europe''s most glamorous and romantic destinations. This edition includes a 24 page full-colour section introducing the city''s highlights. There are evocative accounts of all the sights, from the magnificent Louvre to the atmospheric streets of the Marais. The guide includes incisive and up-to-the-minute reviews of all the best cafés, bars, restaurants and hotels and hand-picked listings of shops and markets, clubs kids'' attractions - presenting the reader with the bestParis has to offer, for every budget. A further chapter includes in-depth coverage of day-trips from the city, including Versailles and Disneyland Paris. "All the help and advice you''ll need" Business Traveller Magazine 

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #704713 in Books
• Published on: 2005-11-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
WHEN TO GO

The best time to visit Paris is largely a question of personal taste. The city has a more reliable climate than Britain, with uninterrupted stretches of sun (or rain) year-round. However, while it maintains a vaguely southern feel for anyone crossing the English Channel, Mediterranean it is not. Winter temperatures drop well below freezing, with sometimes biting winds. If you’re lucky, spring and autumn will be mild and sunny; in summer it can reach the 30s°C (80s°F).

In terms of pure aesthetics, winter sun is the city’s most flattering light, when the pale shades of the older buildings become luminescent and long shadows criss-cross the parks. By contrast, Paris in high summer can be unpleasant, with the fumes of congested traffic becoming trapped within the high narrow streets, and the reflected light in the city’s open spaces too blinding to enjoy.

One of the quietest times of year to visit is during the French summer holidays from July 15 to the end of August, when large numbers of Parisians flee the city for the coast or mountains. However, a lot of Paris’s shops and restaurants will be closed during this period. There is, too, the commercial calendar to consider – fashion shows, trade fairs and the like. Paris hoteliers warn against visiting during the months of September and October, and finding a room even at the best of times can be problematic. Early spring, autumn if you book ahead, or the midwinter months will be most rewarding.

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Customer Reviews

Rough Guides are THE BEST
Wow, after reading the previous review, I had to write in. I travel frequently, have used nearly every popular guide out there (Fodors, Frommers, Time Out, Lonely Planet, Rick Steves, and my least favorite - Eyewitness Travel), and The Rough Guides are the best and by far the most comprehensive out there. They are chock-full of information. The colored photos are limited to several pages in the front of the book, but if you want to be a traveler (as opposed to being a 'tourist'), you shouldn't need pages of glossy information that just shows you what you will be seeing once you're there anyways! The Rough Guides gives you history, gives you insight into various neighborhoods and areas and people. They go far, far beyond just the 'landmarks' that an area is known for. If you read them before traveling, you'll feel like one of the locals and the more knowledge you have about an area, the more you can enjoy it. I'm sorry if some travelers are sadly uninterested in learning about the cultures of the areas in which they are visiting. Rough Guides are now the only guides that I will use. And if you're bored by the reading, then maybe you should question why you are traveling there! I will say that Rough Guides does not supply you with a very detailed street map stuck to the back cover like some other books offer and so sometimes an additional purchase (or a visit to a tourism office) is warranted. This personally does not bother me.

Dissappointing compared to other guides
Heavy reading. Not a fun or easy read. Not very user friendly. No pictures of the sites. Informative, but wouldn't recommend this for those traveling to Paris for the first time.