The Paris Mapguide [Paperback]

Michael Middleditch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1995

This ultimate guide shows travelers how, where, and what to see and do in Paris, offering pages of colorful and informative maps that are easy to read and convenient to handle--no folding necessary. The detailed maps direct you to the best Paris has to offer, from art galleries, museums, cafes, and theaters to public transportation, parks, and tourist information centers.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (February 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140469621
• ISBN-13: 978-0140469622
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,027,818 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 46 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Useful But Could Be Better, July 9, 2000

By 

James Paris "Tarnmoor" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Paris Mapguide (Paperback)

Of the three map guides I have used to navigate Paris -- the other 2 being PARIS PRATIQUE PAR ARRONDISSEMENT and the little Blue Michelin map guide -- Middleditch's is by far the most beautiful. Metro stops, arrondissements, tourist sights are included; the maps are large and bright; the book is large, but not too large; and yet...

To me, the most important thing a map guide could do is get me from Point A to Point B without too much time-wasting confusion in between. Where all the map guides fail is by not including good bus maps. The Metro is great, but you see only the dark underside of Paris; whereas a trip along Bus #69 will take you from the Eiffel Tower past the Louvre and Hotel de Ville through the Marais and Menilmontant to the Pere Lachaise Cemetery. A comparable trip along the same route underground would involve one more more of the dread "correspondances," which are underground commuter rat races up and down stairs, ramps, and escalators to distant transfer points.

This guide actually tries to suggest the different bus routes by including widely dispersed little red numbers which are impossible to follow closely. If you really have to use the bus, you'd have to print the "plans de quartier" and bus routes from the RATP's website .

We had a whole sheaf of these route and quartier maps with us, so we enjoyed Paris to the utmost, taking the Metro only on Sunday and evenings, when the bus service winds down.

One additional gripe: It would not have been terribly difficult to include taxi stations, as the Michelin maps do.

Despite my criticisms above, the mapguide is excellent, but not that much better than the other two I mentioned. And I realize it would be much more difficult to do justice to bus routes (as they are so changeable), but the opportunity is there to make it a great guide.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent. Don't go to Paris without this book., August 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Paris Mapguide (Paperback)

I work in Paris but do not speak French. For work, my company speaks English. I also like to bicycle or skate around the city, but have found myself lost on several occasions using other maps. My son brought The Paris Mapguide with him when he came to visit. His French teacher had told him about the book. Since I've begun using Middleditch's Mapguide, how to get around Paris on skates, on my bike, in my car or via the Metro/RER is no longer a mystery. During the past six months or so that I've been here, I've bought many maps and guides -- the Middleditch Mapguide is by far and away the best of the lot -- and also the least expensive!!! For anyone wanting to explore this city on their own, this book is indispensable.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly useful and always helpful!, July 16, 1999

By 

Truly Nice (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Paris Mapguide (Paperback)

Having used the "London Mapguide" this past winter, we knew that the "Paris Mapguide" was going to be useful, and we were absolutely right! The Mapguide shows virtually every nook and cranny of the city, and it's almost impossible to get lost with the Mapguide in hand! Its compact size is great and we often took the Mapguide without any other guidebooks. There's some good information in the front of the book, along with good public transporation maps, and all of Paris's monuments and museums are also shown. Indispensable! Every city ought to have a Mapguide. Currently, I think only three are covered - London, Paris and New York. Worth every penny (or centime) and more!