Customer Reviews

Paris and Provence (Gault Millau)

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If you are visiting Paris, I strongly recommend their Paris book, though I can't speak for this combined volume. It is a particulary good book for those who have previously experience the City of Light and are searching for less "touristy" hotels, restaurants and activities.

For example, I discovered the charming Paris canal boat tour in the GM guide. If you've already done the Bateaux Mouches, this is the kind of excursion that will delight you. They also list chocolate and cheese shops that are well worth a visit.

Get the GM Paris guide if you're looking to add new dimensions to your Paris experience.

At first glance, a travel guide encompassing both Paris and Provence (Riviera included) would seem to be a much welcomed attempt at providing a single book to cover a common itinerary. Unfortunately, it doesn't take long to realize that there are many things missing from what could be a first-rate travel book.

If you're thinking of buying this book, keep in mind that there is little else besides restaurants and hotels in the way of reviews (emphasis on the former). In the Paris section of the book, you'll find almost three times the number of pages devoted to restaurants as there are for hotels. The eateries are arranged by arrondissement, as expected; however, the hotels are instead arranged by class ("luxury," "classic," "charming," etc.), which makes searching for lodging by area impossible. Overall, the commentary is usually quite good, although suprisingly more descriptive for the restaurants. There are also reviews of a select few specialty shops (e.g., flowers, perfume, luggage) which might be somewhat helpful to upscale shoppers. Big ommission: not one map of Paris, even by arrondissement (to my knowledge, the only guide of its kind without one). The requisite metro map was also nowhere to be found.

The organization of the "Out of Paris," Provence, and Riviera regions takes on yet a different convention. In these cases, the cities and towns are arranged in alphabetical order with the hotels and restaurants lumped together. Here, you can actually find city maps with numbered lodging and eating places.

In my opinion, the strength of this book lies entirely in the restaurant reviews. If your interests include anything else besides fine dining, look elsewhere if you're searching for a good, all-in-one travel guide.