Being an avid reader of travel essays and an admitted francophile, I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Caro's book. Her suggested travel method of combining history and architecture is brillant. I've read about the historical events she details in her book, but I had never read about the details of those same events being paired with the architecture of the period. Ms. Caro also does an excellent job of lending insight to the often-unknown dramas accompanying the locales she visits. A must-read for anyone interested in French history, chateaux, or arm-chair travel! As an added bonus, Ms. Caro has even included her own travel tips and recommended hotels and restaurants.

Being an avid reader of travel essays and an admitted francophile, I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Caro's book. Her suggested travel method of combining history and architecture is brillant. I've read about the historical events she details in her book, but I had never read about the details of those same events being paired with the architecture of the period. Ms. Caro also does an excellent job of lending insight to the often-unknown dramas accompanying the locales she visits. A must-read for anyone interested in French history, chateaux, or arm-chair travel! As an added bonus, Ms. Caro has even included her own travel tips and recommended hotels and restaurants.

Being an avid reader of travel essays and an admitted francophile, I thoroughly enjoyed Ms. Caro's book. Her suggested travel method of combining history and architecture is brillant. I've read about the historical events she details in her book, but I had never read about the details of those same events being paired with the architecture of the period. Ms. Caro also does an excellent job of lending insight to the often-unknown dramas accompanying the locales she visits. A must-read for anyone interested in French history, chateaux, or arm-chair travel! As an added bonus, Ms. Caro has even included her own travel tips and recommended hotels and restaurants.

We are planning our second long driving tour of France, and having visited many of the places she details, have found Ina Caro's book to be engaging and immensely informative. I like being able to place "sights seen" in an historic perspective and this book is genius at doing just that. Now I've purchased my own copy -- having renewed the library version twice this Spring, and having read it prior to our 2003 trip as well. We don't need guidebooks to help us find hotels or restaurants anymore. THIS is my kind of guidebook, and it will never be "out-of-date!"

We are planning our second long driving tour of France, and having visited many of the places she details, have found Ina Caro's book to be engaging and immensely informative. I like being able to place "sights seen" in an historic perspective and this book is genius at doing just that. Now I've purchased my own copy -- having renewed the library version twice this Spring, and having read it prior to our 2003 trip as well. We don't need guidebooks to help us find hotels or restaurants anymore. THIS is my kind of guidebook, and it will never be "out-of-date!"

Caro's guide is unique and she provided me suggestions about places to see, and not see, that were very helpful. Some other reviewers were annoyed with her personal travel narratives, but I found them interesting. Her method of how to visit France, by traveling though its history chronologically was very good. In the end, I was able to use her book as the basis for planning my own two week trip. I am a college history professor, and her insights and recommendations about how to travel were very helpful.

Caro's guide is unique and she provided me suggestions about places to see, and not see, that were very helpful. Some other reviewers were annoyed with her personal travel narratives, but I found them interesting. Her method of how to visit France, by traveling though its history chronologically was very good. In the end, I was able to use her book as the basis for planning my own two week trip. I am a college history professor, and her insights and recommendations about how to travel were very helpful.

Despite the her extensive bibilography at the end of the book, Caro's research is at best superficial. In fact, she seems to have relied a great deal on the Michelin guide to the Dordogne. The author also has a tendency to insert herself into the story in an annoyingly coy manner. Not recommended.

Despite the her extensive bibilography at the end of the book, Caro's research is at best superficial. In fact, she seems to have relied a great deal on the Michelin guide to the Dordogne. The author also has a tendency to insert herself into the story in an annoyingly coy manner. Not recommended.

As my wife and I prepare to go to France (Dordogne) for a walking tour with 'Country Walkers', we were advised to read up on French history. This book was recommended. What a great read! I just searched Amazon for more books by the same author and was dissappointed to see that she has no more listed. I would love to travel to France with her. Karen Brown, beware!!

Preciously and annoyingly written ("[t]hat first visit to the Dordogne region was permeated with a magic I still remember as though it were yesterday"; "I can't explain what happens to the quality of light in the Loire Valley between Amboise and Blois"), Caro goes on for pages at a time reciting her trite reactions to French buildings and locales. Using Amazon's "search" function, you will see dozens of references to "Bob," "restaurant," "car," and "waiter," for example. There are more references to French waiters (stereotypically negative) than there are to bastides, for example.

Life is too short to read about someone else's mundane driving errors, or poorly described meals in order to make it to what is a quick and eclectic discussion of French history, seemingly ordered by a pre-set tourist itinerary. There's no real need to read about Bob and Ina's rushed meal at a fancy restaurant in Carcassonne in order to make the two o'clock castle tour. Once you get through that, however, you get to read about the tour guide, "dressed like a reject from the hippie movement of the sixties" in "a rumpled T-shirt and dungarees, [whose] blond hair was coiffured in oily shoulder-length curls--a style [Ina] is not particularly fond of in men."

This seems to be a "how-I-spent-my-summer-and-deducted-it-all" travelogue more than a serious effort at providing a travelers' history. We get someone else's tour reviews, bad lunches, good lunches, missed exits, oversleeping. If you are looking for Ina's history, with some observations about France tucked in, this may be for you.

If you plan any kind of extensive visit of France to see its many historical treasures, you must read this book before setting off. Caro recommends a tour that is chronological, thus allowing you to appreciate how this marvellous country really developed. From the Roman ruins through the Medieval period to the chateaux of the Loire, Versailles and finally into Paris, this will give you spectacular, thoughtful background to help you organize a truly meaningful tour. Unfortunately Caro does not cover the country's pre-historic sites of interest, such as the alignments of Carnac in Brittany (which predate Stonehenge), so you'll have to content yourself with just the 2000 years she does discuss. Simply put: An outstanding contribution to travel literature, one that I wish I could find for other destinations!

What a wonderful book, especially the chapter on Paris (the Summer of 1991), the wonderful details on Roman, Medieval, and Renaissance France, and the personal anecdotes about her and him. Hell, the picnic on the Pont du Gard was practically titillating, although it is somewhat challenging to imagine the oh-so-proper Robert with the effervescent Ina. Still, Way to go Ina. Thanks for the effort.

My wife and I have vacationed in France many times, and have spend many months in France. We love the country and made friends there. I use the Michellin Green Guides a lot, but next time I go I plan to use this book to help plan our trip.

Boy, did I love this book! Like a time travelling machine, with wonderful stories at each stop.

Whether you've visited France, dream of visiting France, or simply feel like indulging in a little armchair travel, this book will delight you. Ms. Caro travels through history and takes her reader along with her. Her love for her subject is evident, and her wonderful writing style and talent for bringing history alive make this book a joy to read. Over the past decade I've read many travel books, but I can say without hesitation this is my favorite.

This book was a pleasure to read - insightful, interesting and well written. If you enjoy understanding the history of what you are visiting, this book is definitely worth your time. Read it in advance AND take it with you to France to re-read as you visit these wonderful places. My only regret is that her journey (and the history lesson) ends too early. Perhaps Ms Caro's next journey will take us from the French Revolution through World War II.

I started reading this book a few days before I left for a trip to France earlier this month. On a whim, I took it with me, and became so fascinated that I changed my itinerary and added destinations from Ms. Caro's Road. They were wonderful, and her insights added so much to the experience! I intend to return soon with Ms. Caro's book udner my arm to continue her tour.

After traveling through France many times by auto ,this book made a already wonderful experience even more wonderful.Ina Caro made all the wonderful things to see in France valid for me with her insights into there amazing history.Yes you car is your time machine in France let Ina ride with you.

Mrs. Caro has managed to deliver a plan for a trip to discover the best places in France and yet provides the reader with interesting , formative and delightful insight into French history. The human element is always present , and her trip could be anyone's trip,the author's obvious knowledge of history gives a real feeling for the stones she describes,and yet take on a life to themselves through her decriptions and explanations. Mrs Caro has managed to make the trip interesting, informative and above all respectful of events and the time line is simply fantastic. This book is worth the investment not only for the historical part which is a gem, but as a planning tool for a discovery trip. I speak from experience for I used her book to plan my 7 weeks trip in France last fall.It was a success , and in many ways thanks to the suggestions found in this lovely book.

This was probably the most useful book we had when we spent 2 months traveling in France last summer.

Ina Caro's book is a wonderful combination of history and travel. I thoroughly enjoyed it.