No comments about AUTHENTIK / Chic Paris (Authentik).

5 comments about MapEasy's Guidemap to Paris.

1. As with most Mapeasy maps, this one is great in helping you find not only the streets, but the stores, the restaurants, the hotels and other worthy places.

   Granted, it may not have the most detail when it comes to little streets and alleys, but it will get you where you need to go.




2. If you are going to Paris, especially if you haven't been there before, you will probably want to get a couple of guidebooks and maps to help plan your excursions. I had used the MapEasy guide to Rome in the past, and found it to be an ideal blend of detail and narrative for navigating the city. When I needed a tactical map of Paris, I turned to the MapEasy Paris guide, which I also highly recommend.
   
   There are better and more detailed maps and books more suitable for planning a trip to Paris, but the MapEasy Paris map is the overall best choice for navigating the streets and sights once actually venturing around the great French city. The major streets are well detailed, and not only are historical sights depicted in an easy to interpret, three-dimensional manner, but they also have brief descriptions to help direct your focus to places of interest to you specifically (for example: "Musee Gulmet: Vast collection of Asian art and research library.") Important or noteworthy shops, hotels, and restaurants are depicted, and in the case of restaurants a symbol representing how expensive the food is is also included. Of course all the famous sights such as the Eiffel Tower, Arc De Triomphe, and Notre Dame are especially well detailed, and there are several inset maps on the opposite side of the main map detailing the Parisian periphery, Montmartre, and suggested short driving trips.
   
   The map is a great value, and is printed on a unique rip-resistant and water-resistant paper that is both durable, yet pliable (unlike many of the laminated card stock maps available.) For navigating the streets of Paris this is an ideal choice for tourists or those new to the city. I highly recommend the MapEasy series.



3. I own 8 of these, so see my review under "Rome." They're great!



4. MapEasy maps are the best! It is so much easier to navigate when you have a map with landmarks for restaurants, shops, etc. I never travel to a new city without them.



5. We LOVED this map of Paris for our trip. All of the major sightseeing attractions (the monuments & buildings) are drawn in 3D and to scale. This was VERY helpful to be able to plan a day of sightseeing. Metro stops are shown and helpful info about sights and stores are right on the map. Highly recommended!

1 comments about Time Out Paris Eating and Drinking (Time Out Guides).

1. I'll be in Paris again this summer. The last time I was there I bought the Cheap Eats in Paris book which was pretty good, but this time I wanted something with more up to date information. This book looks great; I've been to Paris enough times to know that this book has good, current restaurant info

1 comments about Paris: An Architectural Guide (Itinerari (Venice, Italy), 5,).

1. This is a fairly slim volume of photos and text on many of the major or influencial buildings and monuments in Paris. There are about 2-3 entries per page, with each entry containing a small black-and-white photo and brief text.

   The concise text is informative and focused primarily on the architectural history of each structure, usually including the name of the architect and highlighting the significant architectural aspects of the structure. The choices of structures reviewed is a good mix, including both major structures and minor, but influencial, structures.

   While I did learn a few things from the book, I would have appreciated a much more in-depth study of each structure. The photos are also often tightly focused on individual structures, making it difficult to understand the structure in relation to its context within the city. The book is organized by time period, rather than geographical location, which also makes it harder to follow the tapestry of each quarter and how the buildings flow into and influence each other.

3 comments about Paris.

1. This is a thoroughly enjoyable book full of insight, witticisms, and full-page photos of the City of Lights. The author speaks candidly and casually of the city as one would of a dear friend, including charming anecdotes of his days there. Mentions are made of the usual tourist spots: the Eiffel Tower, the Moulin Rouge, et cetera, but also little known spots and out of the way places. The myriad of pictures throughout the book only serves to heighten the sense of being there: you can almost feel the well-worn cobblestone beneath your feet as you stroll the streets, hear tourists and natives alike conversing en francais at corner cafes, smell the freshly baked bread from the boulangerie patisseries, and see the sunlight glinting off the Seine. A must-read for anyone who has been or simply dreams of visiting Paris.



2. Just got this book and have only been through it once. I'll go back again and again, because I'll probably never get to actually visit Paris. The aforementioned out-of-focus photos do exist but for my purposes they are not troubling. A couple of two-page spreads annoyingly place the center of attention right on the crease. But it still gets 5 stars from me. I love the writings, too.



3. As they say on ebay, Buy it now! I spotted this book in a display at Saks, tried to purchase it there, only to find that I had to buy the whole library and bookshelves that went with it. So instead of the $48k, I bought it at Amazon alone. I am a lover of all things Parisian and this book is just breathtaking. Assouline lives up to his reputation. The photos are incomparable to anything I could snap with my didgital camera on vacation last spring.

No comments about Plan-Guide De Paris (Modele Depose): Plans D'Arrondissements (Taride Paris Guides).

1 comments about Red Virgin: Memoirs Of Louise Michel.

1. This book talks about the french "Commune de Paris" and how Louise Michel took part in it fighting for the poor and the abandonned people , and how she was sent to Noumea in French Caledonia after being arrested for her implication in the Commune

5 comments about Permanent Parisians: An Illustrated Guide to the Cemeteries of Paris.

1. This book is a delight. While it introduces us to the famousresidents of Paris' cemeteries, we live the ups and downs of the humancondition.The soap-opera foibles and the real tragedies of politics, religion, art and science are all enjoyably told. Walking through the cemeteries of this wonderful city is a true experience that will make the traveler appreciate all the notables who selected Paris as their home.



2. Another fine volume in the series by Culbertson and Randall, this book has four separate tours of the legendary Pere Lachaise, as well as coverage of the Pantheon, St. Etienne-du-Mont, Montmartre, St. Vincent, Les Invalides, Passy, St. Germain-des-Pres, the Catacombs, Montparnasse, La Chappelle Expiatoire, St. Denis, and some suburban sites.

   Interesting narrative fleshes out very complete information: directions to each site, maps of each site, biographical sketches of more illustrious permanent residents, and quite a few photographs.

   An invaluable resource for anyone interested in cemeteries, travelers to Paris, or (especially) both!




3. This is a fairly specialist guide book. If you already know you want to follow the cemetery trail, then take it with you, for it is full of fascinating insights into the lives of some of the most famous people buried in this most wonderful of cities.

   If you are a repeat visitor to Paris, or an armchair dreamer, then this is definitely for you. A morning, afternoon or day spent in Pere Lachaise cemetery is an absolute delight. This book can take you there, and beyond.

   Recommended.




4. Paris has what must be the most beautifully peaceful cemeteries in all the world. Each tombstone becomes a extraordinary tribute to a life well lived. This guide book provides maps, some photographs and interesting biographical clips about a few of the permanent residents of Paris. The book gives directions to graves of such well known Parisians as Marcel Proust, Emile Zola, Isadora Duncan, Oscar Wilde, Alexander Dumas, Gertrude Stein just to name a few. Walking tours are provided for Pere Lachaise, The Pantheon, St. Etienne-du-Mont, Montmartre, St. Vincent, Les Invalides, Passy, St. Germain-des-Pres, The Catacombs, Montparnasse, La Chapelle Expiatoire, St. Denis and a few others.

   After taking this guide with me on a trip to Paris I was able to find every grave I searched for with ease and an understanding of exactly what made these permanent Parisians so interesting. Pere Lachaise is overwhelming in scale but probably the most popular cemeterie in Paris. The Pantheon holds scientists and philosophers. Les Invalides proudly holds the remains of a little man named Napoleon with a great big history. The Catacombs are spookily interesting. Montparnasse has many tombstones that could be sculptures standing in the best art houses of Paris. My favorite cemeterie in all of Paris is Passy, a peaceful, quaint refuge underneath the Eiffel Tower, where birds are chirping and old graves lay covered in simple coats of moss and chipped iron, you can almost feel the restful sleep of those who reside within its walls.




5. I can't help but agree with the other reviewers: this book is entertaining and certainly the only serious guide in English to the cemeteries of Paris.
   
   The fact that I was disappointed in their failure to include either of the two major cemeteries in Florence in their Italian book, in particular delle Porte Sante, the resting place of Collodi as well as stunning funerary sculpture, did not preclude me from using their volume Permanent Italians while living in Italy this past year. And after moving to Paris in August of 2006 I was lucky enough to find a used copy of their Permanent Parisians (1986 edition); I then set about documenting the statuary in the cemeteries of Paris.
   
   At first I started out my research in Parisian cemeteries using only the "tours" outlined in the Culbertson/Randall book, and with one exception found their maps are right on the money. (The one exception is a small but important point: on the map of tour no. 4 of Pere Lachaise in division 89, the Delage family, listed as "J", should actually be located in the center of the division not at the corner).
   
   Some weeks later, while poking around a local bookstore I came across Bertrand Beyern's Guide des tombes des homes celebres (2005, in French only). Beyern, a local tour guide of Parisian cemeteries, has documented many of the major personalities in cemeteries throughout France, not just in Paris, and is one of the leading authorities on Pere Lachaise, the primary focus of my work. I also discovered the excellent map of Pere Lachaise produced by "Editions Metropolitain", and available for purchase just outside the entrance to the cemetery. Those resources along with the half-dozen or so superb French websites covering Parisian cemeteries proved very helpful in locating specific individuals. It was after the first several weeks of my work in Pere Lachaise, as well as a number of other cemeteries in the city that I realized there were a number of problems with the Culbertson/Randall book.
   
   (Unfortunately, their publisher, Robson Books, an imprint of Anova Books, never responded to my request to contact the authors. I suspected that some of the problems I discovered might have arisen since their book was written some 20 years and thought a correspondence might have been of some help here.)
   
   Naturally time changes things: earth shifts, things move, and sometimes graves disappear in cemeteries. For example, one of the most striking monuments in Passy cemetery as described in both Culbertson/Randall and Beyern is that of Antoine Cierplikowski. Unfortunately the stone is, well, gone. Not just the statue but also the entire grave.
   
   And even the headstones themselves occasionally change over time. In division 22 of Montmartre cemetery Culbertson/Randall describe the dancer Nijinksy's grave as under a "plain arched stone", when in fact today there is a fantastic life-size sculpture of the deceased in what appears to be a harlequin outfit.
   
   There were a few typos. Douvin in div. 32 of Montmartre should in fact be Dauvin; and the correct spelling of the name is in even in their photo on p. 129. In St. Vincent's cemetery they list the statue over the tomb of Rene and Jean Dumesnil, when in fact it should read Rene and Jeanne. (Jean is a man's name, Jeanne is a woman; a rather important distinction here). This is the same statue found on the cover of their 1986 edition. I also found it curious that the photo of Theodore Gericault in division 12 of Pere Lachaise was reversed.
   
   I also thought it odd they didn't mention the famous American silent film star Pearl White (Perils of Pauline) who is buried in Passy.
   
   On a more serious level I found the tendency of Culbertson/Randall to mention individuals in the text and then not place them on their maps quite frustrating. Frankly I thought that was sloppy and made me wonder if was less a guidebook than a series of amusing anecdotes about famous and the near famous buried in Paris.
   
   Like one reviewer Passy is also my favorite cemetery in Paris: the unique statuary and fantastic stories, all packaged together into such a small place that is hardly ever visited by the tourists, is a real treat. But Passy symbolizes one of the oddest problems with the Culbertson/Randall book: their map of the cemetery is wrong. Or rather it is their divisional layout that bears little resemblance to the actual official cemetery layout today. The authors have, however, placed their "persons' correctly on the map it's just the numbers for each division that is incorrect. Strange.
   
   In St. Vincent's cemetery, on the other hand, the authors failed to use the official division layout. There are online resources here that will serve the visitor much better here.
   
   But it is in Pere Lachaise cemetery that the largest number of errors appeared (all page references from the 1986 edition).
   
   Division 1: (p. 10) They list Gustave Froment and Louis Lemaire; yet they don't seem to be there. In fact they mention that Lemaire has a pyramid resembling the one on the $1 bill and there is no pyramid in division 1 (with the exception of the "Machado de Gama").
   
   Division 3: (p. 10) The authors refer to Marie Lenormand when it should in fact be Mademoiselle Lenormand.
   
   Division 6: (p. 15) They describe the tomb of Ferdinand de Lesseps (builder of the Suez canal) as "pyramid-shaped". See if you think it looks like a pyramid. Send me a note and I'll send you a photo of the tomb.
   
   Page 24: They have a cool little photo here, which I assume they took, but I no idea where they took it: in Pere Lachaise, in Paris where?
   
   Division 12: (p. 28) Serious problem here. The tomb they describe as belonging to Charles Lafont, a man reclining holding a woman's face is in his hands, which is across from Talma actually belongs to Frederick Arbelot and is in division 11, not 12. Lafont is indeed in div. 12 but the other direction from Talma, and closer to Gericault.
   
   Division 12: (p. 30) As already noted the photo of Gericault is reversed.
   
   Division 18: (p. 36) The authors have placed Kellermann in 18 when in fact he belongs in div. 30. In fairness the delineation between the two divisions is confusing.
   
   Division 18: They also report that the woman reaching up to the barred window of Raspail's tomb is his wife. They are right to note that it is mysterious and sorrowful but how do they know the figure is Francois's wife? A shrouded female figure is a frequently used device to demonstrate mourning and is often seen throughout the cemetery.
   
   Division 19: (p. 37) They have placed Dr. Joseph Guillotin (yes that Guillotin) here, near Dr. Hahnemann although there is no other source reporting his burial in this division. Only the "Friends of Pere Lachaise" website lists him as in fact in a long-abandoned tomb in division 7. Take your pick. Here again is an example of the problem that can result from authors not locating everyone on the map.
   
   Division 31: (p. 48) Charles de Talleyrand-Perigord. The authors claim he has his own area all by himself - but I'm at a loss to know what they mean by "area". There is a very large mausoleum located in division 31 which fits the spot on their tour map. The problem is that there are no markings on the mausoleum to denote Talleyrand or Perigord or anyone else for that matter. Furthermore, while the "Editions Metropolitain" map does list one Alexandre de Talleyrand-Perigord no other source mentions this burial. Not even the official cemetery map lists a Talleyrand buried in the cemetery, let alone in div. 31. Moreover, Beyern claims that Charles is buried at his chateau at Valencay in the Loire valley.
   
   Division 54: (p. 61) It is Charles not Auguste de Morny.
   
   Division 67: (p. 66) In regards to the story about Marie Walewska's "hand" on display, inside the locked mausoleum, it is in fact her heart not her hand which is buried in the tomb with her second husband, the Comte D'Orano. Her remains were sent back to Poland. In any case the authors failed to mention that her son, Alexandre Walewski (different spelling from his mother Marie) and the son of Napoleon I is buried in division 66.
   
   Division 71: (p. 68) Regarding the spectacular story about balloonists Croce-Spinelli and Sivel, the authors fail to mention that the survivor of that ill-fated trip aboard the Zenith, and who would go on to become quite famous in the world of high-altitude ballooning, Gaston Tissandier, is buried in division 27.
   
   Division 87: (p. 75) The Columbarium is in fact not a crematorium (a separate structure altogether) but the place where the urns of ashes are located in niches specifically designed for that purpose. Since there are tens of thousands of niches in the Columbarium in Pere Lachaise the visitor must have the niche number or you will simply never find a specific individual. Sadly the authors only locate Isadora Duncan by number - although they do mention the paid of holding hands which is quite nice.
   
   In any case the "Edition Metropolitain"map of Pere Lachaise can provide the visitor with the numbers for diva Maria Callas (16258), American author Richard Wright (848), jazz musician Stephane Grappelli (417) and a number of other well-known internationally known figures.
   
   Certainly much of the Culbertson and Randall book is true, accurate, enlightening and entertaining. But the existence of so many errors and inattention to detail is nevertheless disturbing.

5 comments about Knopf Guide: Paris (Knopf City Guides).

1. No I do not work for the publisher, but as someone who will spend 4 months planning 14 days away. I must say if I could bring only one book, this would be it. I have used it on every trip to Paris, and have not been led wrong by it. The book touches upon almost every conceivable church, museum, square, fountain, etc. that is within the City proper. If you were to study this book for 2 weeks with a larger Michelin map of the City,(one that is entirely on one looseleaf page, you could put the book down and completely navigate around the City on your own and find everything. Yes it is that good and well thought out. The ultimate writers of the guidebook deserve 'props' for how they did the book. I like the Knopf guides in general, but this one is the best.

   Some caveats:

   1. The hotel and restaraunt section IN THIS BOOK, in the back is too short and dated. The first and only time I booked a hotel in the back of a Knopf guidebook was in Venice and I GOT BURNED BAD! Unless you are talking about something world renown, like the Crillon, or the Cipriani in Venice, use another guidebook! For Paris, Cheap Sleeps/Cheap Eats has never done me wrong. In fact they have been uncommonly good.

   2. There are a lot of tricks for getting around the City, getting into museums, etc. You won't find them in this book, you are going to have to go to Rick Steves for that!

   3. The guidebook cant tell you what is best to see in this City, although it is not the Knopf guidebooks fault. It is the fault of the City of Paris. There is so much in that City, if you step off the plane and honestly look around, your head will spin, and perhaps you will start a lifelong love affair with it, as probably millions of others have. I don't think I have ever been happier, or more content, then sitting around drinking wine and eating frites somewhere in the Latin Quarter. Enjoy yourself and relax, the way the U.S. and the world is going, you may not get back there for a long long time.




2. In 1987 I visited paris for the first time. When I purchased this guide it was like going there many times over. It is truely one of the best books I have ever purchased. It is an art guide, history book, architecture study, travel guide and more.
   
   What more could there be? This is an excellent reference all around. Its easy to research a novel from this tome alone. I felt that I stepped off a plane and had an excellent english speaking tour guide with me.
   
   I naturally proceeded to get the rest of the set of travel guides. It was better than all the encyclopedias I had in school. The benefit of this series is that unless the world changes dramatically, the travel guides will not go out of style of years to come.



3. I love these Knopf guides, they are really beautiful little books and they are chocked full of information, granted they are not a quick guide, but if want indepth information and some deep research on Paris, then I highly recommend this guide, read it before you go to Paris, it will make the trip all the more enjoyable. Bon Voyage.



4. Very useful guide, especially for galleries and places of interest. Didn't use it for housing and not much for food.



5. Easily one of the best Paris guide books on the market, Knopf's City Guide of Paris is a visual and textual delight. Suitable for those trying to plan a first visit as well as for the repeat visitor, the book is a cornucopia of artistic and photographic montages of most all of the major sights to be seen in the city. The treatment which the book provides is so extensive that many people do not exclusively use the book for only tourist visits: the volume also excellently permits us to vicariously revisit the city from home, as well as conduct informal research on the many aspects of Paris' history and culture. As a tourist guide, the book can therefore help you make decisions on what you wish to concentrate on during a vacation visit, but as a resource guide, the text can help you develop knowledge about all kinds of aspects of the city (history, cuisine, art and architecture, etc.). It is truly a lovely book to enjoy both inside and outside the city.
   
   Some side comments are in order. For example, the book has been kept reasonably small so it can fulfill its purpose as a tourist guide. This means, however, that the page size is not the most convenient format for holding and reading the book for any length of time, and yet the beauty and written information in the volume compels us to do just that. This means we are sometimes locked into a small battle trying to open the book to ever greater degrees to make the page overlays more visible during longer reading sessions. And because the book is printed exclusively on high-quality gloss paper - a true delight in most any book - the volume feels like it weighs a metric ton. Why does that matter, you might ask? With airlines seemingly ever reducing and scrutinizing baggage weight limits, this single book is going to add a pound or two to either your checked baggage or your carry-on bag. When you are worried about reaching your baggage weight limits, this factor becomes a real issue. Nevertheless, I can tell you the book is so well done that I've brought it with me multiple times on trips to Paris due to the great information and illustrations it provides.
   
   My own suggestion is that you couple this book with a good map of the city (which is sometimes best purchased while in Paris itself), and you have a great start to understanding the city. Another great addition to this book is one of the "walking guides" for the city (Tessan's City Walks: Paris: 50 Adventures on Foot is excellent). With these few books, you have more than enough to have a great visit to the City of Lights. Bon voyage!

No comments about Special Places to Stay Paris Hotels, 6th (Special Places to Stay).