Publication Date:February 3, 2003 Availability:Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days Condition:Pristine copy of the Euostar travellers' favourote guidebook. The food pages are fun, but its the individual and off-beat ideas for exploring that make this a classic. Find where the beheaded aristos were re-assembled in Paris, the eccentric museums of Brussels and Napoleon's looted art collection in Lille.
Turns a city into a villageAugust 28, 2005 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I ordered this book after using the smaller Bradt Guide to Lille on a recent trip to France. I understand the comment from the reader who complained that this is not a regular guide book with all the restaurants in the whole city kept in one chapter and all the hotels in another chapter. I reckon that for a daytripper or someone just passing through in a hurry this could be inconvenient. But I don't think that this book is for those people. It takes the city and turns it into a group of different neighbourhoods. Each district becomes a village destination in its own right, so it explores the sights and restaurants on your hotel's doorstep. I will test it out on my next trip. But the success of the smaller Lille book was showing me round a neighbourhood and giving a really local feel to my visit. I hope that this one will do the same for whichever corner of Paris I decide to explore.
This book suffers from an important flawAugust 13, 2005 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
It is arranged by location, so that Paris is covered by a dozen or so chapters addressing different areas of the City. Which is great if you have a view about where you want to be; but if you don't, you have to look in the dozen different chapters to study the hotel reviews. If your interest is in finding a hotel, or a restaurant, with particular features, regardless of area, the book is almost unusable.
A different perspectiveJuly 29, 2004 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I recently travelled to Lille with the mini city guide from the same author and publisher and found it so useful that I bought this bigger three-city guide. I am pleased to report that the same sense of humour and appreciation of the often-overlooked aspects of the cities is to be found in this book too. I was also pleased to see that this guide concentrates on the lesser-known, and presumably less touristy, dining rooms of Paris, rather than the trendy designer addresses that one reads about in most current newspapers. I have already turned down the corners of a few pages with mouthwatering descriptions of restaurant meals to discover and will certainly be booking my not-too-trendy but hopefully charming hotel from this selection.
Thorough and usefulMay 2, 2004 4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I bought this book after reading about it in the Sunday Times. I had read Laurence Phillips' Bradt Mini Guide to Lille, which was excellent and very detailed. This has less on Lille than the other book, but the Brussells and Paris sections are very thorough. We stayed at one of the book's chosen hotels and the review was really on the ball. Found it excellent in discovering the off beat sights of Brussels and great for eating out as well. I will certainly be using it on my next trip to Paris. It is heavier than the Mini Guide format, but packed with inside information. Very useful and a great read too. I shall look out for the new edition.
Informed and entertainingMay 1, 2004 2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I chose this impressively thorough guidebook on my last visit to Paris, since I was already a fan of the same author's brand new Bradt mini-guide to Lille. As with the other book, the restaurant reviews are informed and entertaining. If one of the restaurants we chose had changed hands since this volume was written, I am not complaining. The food was even better than we had been led to believe by the favourable review and the new owner is a film star. The book comes into its own with its detailed and unorthodox reviews of museums and sights. The magic and curiosity museum in a charming little shopping street was an absolute treat. We also found a bookshop that served wine at midnight. I will be using the book again on my next Eurostar holiday to Brussels.
