Customer Reviews

The Riches of Paris: A Shopping and Touring Guide

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Most of the Paris guides available give plenty of information on using the Paris Metro, the museums, and taking a taxi. However, what they lack is information on the very things that make a visit to Paris memorable and personal. Maribeth Clemente's "The Riches of Paris" provides key information on a wide variety of shopping interests. Are you into antique books?-the book has it....Are you into food stores, children's boutiques, or flowers? - the book has it. How about the best place to get a couture scarf, a pen, a cigar? - Again, the book has it. What I especially found useful was my ability to plan my shopping excursions before I got onto the plane...when I arrived I was able to fit in both the best sightseeing and museums AND the shops I knew would be of interest to me. My time was efficiently planned and I was able to fit many more memorable experiences into my trip. Ms. Clemente's index is especially useful in personalizing your trip...seperating shops by like categories, and presenting them in the book by area. This categorization takes the work out of planning a day....one day I planned to visit a particular area...I was set because of the book. Another day I decided to visit all children's toy stores...no problem again because of the book! A must have for getting the most out of your time!

One has not travelled until you have visited Paris. It is a city of wonder, history, romance, excitement and fashion. I studied for a short time in Paris many years ago and fell in love with the city. It also fell in love with my pocket book! The cafes, exquisite boutiques, and Epicurean cuisine will forever be a cherished memory; however, the first-time traveller to Paris should be forwarned; it can be a VERY EXPENSIVE city to enjoy, particularly if you do not know where you will get "the best value for your dollar." As this book clearly points out, most of the better hotels are luxurious and quite costly, as are the better known, finer restaurants. You definitely will not want to leave home without your trusty credit card! I purchased a Chanel Tee-shirt and for the same price, I could have purchased an entire rack of tee-shirts in my country. However, the joy of Paris is for many, a once-in-a-lifetime experience and one you will never regret no matter what the cost. The book is not complete; however, many of the special places of interest are not included in the book, which was rather disappointing. There are also some excellent more affordable restaurants and places to stay in Paris which are not listed here. The book was interesting and informative but did tend to patronize basically the higher-end, upscale facilities.

I am sitting here looking at 7 different travel books of Paris that I received as gifts prior to my trip to Paris. Now this was my 2nd trip; the first one was in 1966 and I was in high school so I don't think it really counts. I felt like I was starting over and I really didn't know where to start. While some of the guide books were helpful, I really wanted to get a few very special momentos of the trip - especially scarves - so I was just thrilled when I happened upon Maribeth's book at Shakespeare and Co. when we were already there. I devoured the book that night and from it easily found several wonderful shops that I never would have seen were it not for her shop. I look forward to using it to an even greater degree as I plan a trip back next year.

GOING TO PARIS I WISHED AMAZON WOULD HAVE ADVISED THAT
BOOK WAS MORE THAN TEN (10) YEARS OLD. MAYBE 10-15% OF THE PLACES STILL EXIST. HOW ABOUT TAKING THIS BOOK BACK?