Rick Steves' Paris 2012 [Paperback]

Rick Steves (Author), Steve Smith (Author), Gene Openshaw (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 29, 2011 | Series: Rick Steves

You can count on Rick Steves to tell you what you really need to know when traveling in the City of Light—Paris.

With the self-guided tours in this book, you’ll explore the grand Champs-Elysées, the eye-popping Eiffel Tower, and the radiant cathedral of Notre-Dame. Learn how to save money and avoid the lines at the Louvre and Orsay Museums. Enjoy the ambience of Parisian neighborhoods, and take a day trip to the glittering palace of Versailles, or to the Champagne-soaked city of Reims. Then grab a café crème at a sidewalk café and listen to the hum of the city. You’ll see why Paris remains at the heart of global culture.

Rick’s candid, humorous advice will guide you to good-value hotels and restaurants in delightful neighborhoods. You’ll learn how to navigate the Paris Métro, and which sights are worth your time and money. More than just reviews and directions, a Rick Steves guidebook is a tour guide in your pocket.

Product Details

• Paperback: 712 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing; 2012 Edition edition (November 29, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1612380069
• ISBN-13: 978-1612380063
• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 0.9 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #24 in Books > Travel > Europe > France > Paris
  • #68 in Books > Travel > Europe > France > General

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 55 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Kindle version ALMOST UNUSABLE April 17, 2012

By MJ

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I love the book, hate the Kindle version. I had the bright idea that it would be so helpful to put a lot of travel books onto my Kindle, then I wouldn't have to carry around heavy books. I ended up not trying many different ones--they may all have similar problems, but this one was really poorly published for the Kindle. Maybe if I had a Kindle fire, it would be a bit better.
Here are the problems with the way it's been published for Kindle:
Color maps are completely unreadable--grey blurry with no legible words at all--in black and white format.
Regular maps which presumably are in black and white in the book but are on 2 pages are readable but barely, and they are of course put onto 2 consecutive pages, but without any indication that it's the second half of the first page--words (and roads) trail off and are difficult to locate on the continuation page. While you can increase the size of type in text, you could not enlarge the maps (and if you could have, they would have been really blurry, as I discovered when I used a magnifying glass to try to read what was on there).

Navigating the book is really difficult. On my trip, I met a couple who had 2 versions of the book--the wife had the paperback version and the husband had the Kindle version. They agreed that they could not get along with just the Kindle version. Anytime I wanted to go to a specific section, I had to go all the way back to the Table of Contents, try to remember under which chapter/section title the information I wanted was, and go there. You couldn't search the book, you couldn't even search the index, which was not very good anyway in terms of finding something. But if you wanted to look for, say information on something that began with the letter S, you had to start with A and go through the pages till you got to S.

Bottomline, if you want to use this book while traveling, and you want to go to a specific section--say the guide to a museum, or look for restaurants near a specific site--you face wasting a lot of time and significant frustration as you try to find your way to a section you read before.

Basically, it's a problem with the publishing rather than the book itself. Very disappointing.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Practical, easy to read/navigate through February 17, 2012

By Lapimienta

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I've always used a Frommers or Fodors guide in my travels, but this was recommened to me by someone who'd been to Paris last year and used it. She said it was more practical, had lots of alternatives, and included things like what's worth the trek and what isn't. She was right. I really like this guide. It provides self-guided tours to most of the major sights and practical advice regarding spending your time and money. Lots of handy maps of the museums and different sections of the city, along w/street maps of East and West Paris and the metros. Typical reviews of restaurants and hotels, best times to visit the sights, day trips, etc. Smaller than some other guidebooks at 8"x4 1/2" x 3/4", it fits in my backpack w/o taking up too much room, and even fits in my jacket pocket. It seems like a guide for someone who wants a little more perspective than offered in a Lonely Planet Guide, but not so much that you're overwhelmed by the choices in it. I'll update after I've actually taken the trip and used it to review accuracy and usefulness on-site.

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Leave Home Without It December 15, 2011

By PG

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

All of Rick Steves' guides give great tips on avoiding lines, saving money, using transit systems, what to see, etc. In addition to the tips you get a solid background on the area you are visiting, making the trip even better. Saving time and money make vacations a lot more fun.