Customer Reviews

Walks Through Lost Paris: A Journey Into the Heart of Historic Paris

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Leonard Pitt's book "Walks Through Lost Paris" is amazing. In it he chronicles changes made to Paris in the interest of modernization during the Haussmann era (mid 19th century) and later. The changes are documented with abundant before and after photos, allowing you to literally see for yourself how Paris has evolved over the past 150 years.

To Leonard, most of the changes he shows were regrettable, particularly those made in the 20th century. As he says, the one saving grace of Haussmann's many alterations to Paris is that he beat later rebuilders to it(!).

This book should appeal to anyone who has an interest in the unique visual appeal of Paris. The walks are very well narrated and thus should be easy for even newcomers to Paris to follow.

However, I think "Walks Through Lost Paris" will have its greatest appeal to readers already familiar with the neighborhoods Pitt describes. To them (here I include myself), it will be possible to recall the context of the modern-day photos and better appreciate the historical photos of what used to be in the same place. For the repeat visitor, Pitt's book offers a wealth of detail to form the basis of ever-deeper explorations into this stunning, historic city.

As a final note, let me add that I spotted the Parigramme book, in French, "Promenades dans le Paris Disparu" a few years ago and ever since have been looking to see if it had been translated into English. Now it has, and for that I am very grateful.

I hope you'll enjoy this book as much as I have. I've already read it twice in the last two weeks!

At last, in English! I got a copy of this years ago in Paris in French, and was hoping it would finally come out in English so I could recommend it to my friends when they visit. The photos allow you to easily follow along while you complete your individual walks - and it really helps expand your understanding of the city, it's people. and its changing social ways. It also lets you look at Paris in a completely different way -- while it points out what has changed and what is gone, it is also a wonderful volume that lets you see through fresh eyes what is still there - albeit often used very differently. One caveat - this is not a guidebook for beginners -- this is a walking tour guidebook for those who already have an extensive knowledge of Paris and its neighborhoods.

Walks Through Lost Paris: A Journey Into the Heart of Historic Paris

This is a wonderful book, except for one thing. It is so small that the maps are almost unreadable, and the print is not so easy to read either. I've been to Paris twice and walked through all four areas in the book before, but the book opened my eyes to a lot of history and details I'm looking forward to seeing first hand. I am taking it to Paris in a couple weeks, and I'm looking forward to the walks, but I'm going to have to blow up the maps so I can read them without a magnifying glass. This book would be far more enjoyable in a larger format.

Whether one takes the recommended walks or just reads the words, this is a great little book, full of wonderful then and now photos (I especially like the photo of the people in the boat on Rue Jacob during the flood of 1910--see the hats!) and interesting discussions of how Paris came to be what we see today, how sections of the city were saved by those who loved them, and how other sectors were changed and updated. I have a number of walks-around-Paris books, some written for Parisians themselves, and I think this is the best and most interesting. It entertained my husband when he recently spent a week in the hospital. It is not especially touristic, and not a book for those dropping in for a day or two to see the highlights of Paris. This is a book to wallow around in. I found the English version first, but will look for the French, as I'm suspicious of translations.

As an avowed Francophile, I travel to Paris as often as I can. I own maybe 15 "walking tour" books, but this is by far my favorite.

Pitt peppers his narrative with bits of history, architectural explanations -- and even the occasional cultural observation. As a result, his walks provide a deep understanding of the people and events that shaped Paris into the city it is today.

And the photos: I can only imagine the countless hours of research that went into comparing the historical documents with the modern street views. The result is an extraordinary record of the city's transformation, unlike any other I've seen.

If you want to move beyond the monuments and experience the true heart of historic Paris, I highly recommend this book. To me, it's a masterpiece.

This is a great little book to have. Author Leonard Pitt has done some deep digging into the stories of four (plus or minus) wonderful Parisian neighborhoods that are at the city's historic heart- West Bank/St.Germain des Pres; Ile de la Cite; St.Germain to Palais Royal and the Marais. Using photos (contemporary and very old) postcards and drawings to illustrate how specific locations have changed, evolved or kept their original characteristics, Pitt provides some little known information that makes some favorite spots a lot more interesting, even for regular visitors to the city.

There were some major surprises in this book, as a lot of familiar parts of Paris have changed drastically over the years. From the modern perspective, the more open vistas that more or less started with the Haussmann makeover, make the city the marvelous walking tour that it is, but clearly a lot of urban character has been lost as the evolution has taken place.

The book is organized as a menu of walking ours with 192 pages of excellent text and many illustrations.

Having been to Paris numerous times, we have long since enjoyed the don't-miss activities there and have become urban hikers, visiting different quarters of the City of Light. The four walking itineraries in this book changed the way we look at the buildings and squares detailed in this convenient and useful book. A lot of information is packed into it, including very specific instructions for finding the sites described, photos from yesterday and today, and coherent historical information. The only deficit is there is no second book of the next 4 Walks Through Lost Paris by this author. We bought the book in French for our French hosts who were delighted to have it.

Beautifully produced book with superb use of 19th century & current photos to show changes in Paris locations pre & post Haussmann. A great read for anyone who loves & knows Paris, and doubles as an "advanced" and specialized walking guide for those lucky enough to be on site.

By our third trip to Paris we had already seen all the usual tourist sights and wanted something new. This book provided it. After following the walking tours in this book we saw parts of Paris we probably would never have seen otherwise, learned a lot more about the history of the city, and developed a much better understanding of how the city has evolved and why different parts of it look as they do. I would especially recommend this book for people who have already visited Paris at least once. However, it could also be used by someone who will be visiting the city for the first time, if they will be spending more than a few days. Sure, go see the usual sights first, but then use this book to really understand what you're seeing. Following just one of the tours in this book (there are four) will give the reader a much deeper appreciation for this most unusual and exciting city.

While most directions are easy to follow, and overview maps are provided (although not all streets are shown or marked), we still found a few places where we got confused. Fortunately, we had a good Paris map with us, so it wasn't a problem. Therefore, the only thing I would suggest is that the reader be sure to have a good map of the city in addition to this book.

This is a book you need to spend some time with, looking at the pictures and digesting the text. The author shows pictures of "then and now," but with painstaking analysis. I found it riveting and sad. It shows the old Paris, and the new cleansed Paris; a lot was lost in the transformation. I will take it along with me next week to view in person some of the small streets and intersections he highlights, trying to envision what it must have looked like 100 or more years ago.