France (Country Guide)

I like the Lonely Planet Series very much. It is candid, charming, lotsa tidbits and enjoyable read. I am going to Paris and bought this and the Paris one. My only criticism is that some of the hotels are on the low end, I not sure I would stay in. This series takes a fresh look at Europe and is very up to date enconomically, socially and politically. I found other travel books like reading those translators of literature using British accents for all novels regardless if they are French or Russian or whatever!

Up to date 2007 edition. Extremely informative about every corner of the country. A must have reference book if you are going to travel to France.

What I liked best about this book was the overview of the country. It gave history of the country and then also gave ideas on what to see and do if you want to enjoy learning the history of the country. If you aren't into that sort of thing this book offers the traveler ideas of places to go and things to see that are more modern and not necessarily educational/historic. This book also offers time and money saving tips and off the beaten path places to see and experience while you travel. If one is interested in doing specific tours or seeing certian things the book offers different tour packages in terms of what one might want to see or experience while in France. It is a great way to help narrow down and/or increase the amount of things to do or see when you visit France.

Lonely Planet guidebooks range from excellent (Thailand) to less than mediocre (France). I found the France guide to fall short, especially because there is no section on what constitutes an appropriate tip or gratuity at a restaurant. While there were many useful and interesting tidbits of information (the text box on Cemetaire Pere la Chaise for example) the absence of any mention of tipping jaded me against this particular guidebook.

Written by a team of six authors (Nicola Williams, Oliver Berry, Steve Fallon, Catherine Le Nevez, Daniel Robinson, and Miles Roddis) with 23 combined years of living in France, the seventh edition of Lonely Planet's travel guide France is as high-quality as ever, packed with up-to-date research, 184 maps, and a handful of color photographs. From locations and descriptions of restaurants, hotels, and businesses, to a solid primer on adapting to French culture, to historical insights, transportation tips, recommended tours and trails, an extensive index, and even unique touches such as the URLs of France's most popular bloggers, this updated and expanded seventh edition of France is a "must-have" for anyone determined to make the most of their visit to this proud nation. Readers can even visit [...] for additional daily updates!