Rick Steves' Provence and the French Riviera 2004 (Rick Steves' Provence & the French Riviera) [Paperback]

Rick Steves (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2003 | Series: Rick Steves' Provence & the French Riviera

Rick Steves does more than just list where to travel in Europe; he gives travelers inside information on what to visit, where to stay, and how to get there--economically and hassle-free. Travelers can delve into European culture, make friends with the locals, and experience everything Europe has to offer.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Today's tourists are as likely to be toting Rick Steves as Giorgio Armani, tasting the good life without burning through the Kids' college fund.

Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Avalon Travel Publishing (December 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566917379
• ISBN-13: 978-1566917377
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 4.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,322,133 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars overly biased, July 5, 2004

By 

adam sah (bay area, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rick Steves' Provence and the French Riviera 2004 (Rick Steves' Provence & the French Riviera) (Paperback)

While many people hail Rick Steves as a guru of european travel,
we were disappointed by two of his books on a recent trip to
Provence and to Tuscany, and soon learned to distrust his
recommendations. Some examples:
- he panned the hilltown of Bonnieux, Provence as having little
to see there-- we adored it as one of the highlights of the
trip, wishing we arrived early enough to enjoy more of the
shopping. FYI it maybe expensive for your taste, but it was
beautiful and relaxing.
- he strongly recommended against driving into Pisa, saying it
was a nightmare. In fact, we drove off the Fi-Pi-Li freeway,
parked across the street from the town for 2.50 euro, snapped
some fun photos, and drove off. Easily one of the most
efficient parts of the trip, and surprisingly fun to see.
- he didn't say great things about Carrara-- again, a highlight
of the trip to see marble mountains, visit a live quarry and
tour inside a mountain, surrounded by giant rooms of marble.
The souvenirs were some of the best we took back, including a
sculptural interpretation of the Bodicelli's Birth of Venus,
which two sculptor-friends lauded as being a quite impressive
little piece. (obviously mass-produced from marble-dust, not
hand-carved)
- he spends little or no effort on shopping, and too much time
on restaurant and hotel reviews. My fiancee loves clothes
shopping, and I love food shopping -- he covered little of
either. Meanwhile, we didn't care about hotels since we were
renting a villa (italy) and a exchanging our home (france).
- IMHO he spends too much time (pages) fussing over details of
specific hotels and restaurants, rather than covering more of
them in a simple list of ones to try and ones to avoid,
perhaps with a few words only. As a result, he covers a tiny
percentage of what's available, choosing what to cover at
random, often missing real gems. The best meal we ate in
Provence wasn't listed in his guide.
- the Provence restaurant and hotel scene seems to be changing
quickly in response to Parisian tourists but a glut of rooms.
I'm skeptical that the reviews are up-to-date in his (or any)
travel guide.

This is in stark contrast to great travel books like Lonely
Planet's guide to India, which proved unbelievably valuable
in finding out-of-the-way places and avoiding problems when
I went in 1996.

As with any travel guide, it pays to browse online first
(use amazon to read some sample pages)-- there are different
ones for different types of travelers-- from cheapskate travel
to luxury, student to drive-by tourist. This review is written
by someone who prefers to do less and see more, spending a week
in one place and avoid the big, touristy spots (hence the shock
of Pisa).

Finally, we also brought Frommer's, which wasn't much better,
nevermind the Amazon five-star rating.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only guidebook we took!, March 14, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Rick Steves' Provence and the French Riviera 2004 (Rick Steves' Provence & the French Riviera) (Paperback)

We just got back from a week in Provence. We used several restaurant reviews, two lodging reviews and several museum tours. In our experience the information and maps were very accurate and concise.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rick Steves rocks!, August 24, 2004

By 

Kelly H (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rick Steves' Provence and the French Riviera 2004 (Rick Steves' Provence & the French Riviera) (Paperback)

I used this on my honeymoon in France. These are the best travel guides around!