The French think they have the best of everything, and to a certain extent, they're right. There can be no question that France contains the most awesome ensemble of visual art, in the form or incredibly diverse architecture, painting and sculpture, of all countries the world over. And it's also true that the geography and cultural diversity of France is varied enough to give the traveler a sample of all Europe. France is the most visited tourist destination on earth, so there's definitely something to this.

Art and architecture aside, we must wonder what all the fuss is about: Food is, by definition, a matter of taste. The notoriously pompous (but thoroughly impressive) French intellect is largely invisible to tourists, reserved for exchange students and long-term expatriates. What is it about France that makes us all swoon? It's the spirituality of the place, the ever-present humanism, and the radiance of imperial history long faded into a slightly uncomfortable egalité that keep hordes of tourists pouring into Notre Dame. We love to see the awesome heights humans can achieve when they're presented with the right combination of spiritual, intellectual and imperial motivation... and an endless supply of expendable labor!

No travel guide can capture the subtlety of this concept. Sure, it can present you with a catalog of architectural landmarks, hotels and restaurants. It can pour out the boring facts about this cathedral and that chateau, but it can't possibly capture the experience of sharing the same physical space with awesome human achievement. You simply must go there, stand silent, and let it all slowly sink in. The dates of construction, height of spires, numbers of "stars" for hotels and restaurants, numbers of pieces of artwork, lists of Nobel laureates, etc... simply don't matter. Forget about it. Put the book down. Stop. Look around, and let the place speak to your soul.

This book is written in standard Rough Guide format, with all the sections you expect. While the historical and literary contexts are quite good, the catalog of places (the bulk of the guide) is so summary that it also comes off as a huge, 1000-page list. France is a place where good hotels and restaurants stay open for decades (and centuries), so the listings are right up to date. The same small hotel in the Latin Quarter in which I stayed almost 20 years ago is still listed, for example.

I'd like to see a bit more coverage of important natural sites in this guide. True, most people come to see Paris and Nice, but more curious travelers will want to explore the Alps and the coast of Brittany. The authors do well presenting the often overlooked wonders of provincial France rather than concentrating all their effort on Paris.

Buy this book if you like nice, fat volumes packed full of words rather than glossy photographs. Rough Guides are intentionally instructive in style and format.

The French think they have the best of everything, and to a certain extent, they're right. There can be no question that France contains the most awesome ensemble of visual art, in the form or incredibly diverse architecture, painting and sculpture, of all countries the world over. And it's also true that the geography and cultural diversity of France is varied enough to give the traveler a sample of all Europe. France is the most visited tourist destination on earth, so there's definitely something to this.

Art and architecture aside, we must wonder what all the fuss is about: Food is, by definition, a matter of taste. The notoriously pompous (but thoroughly impressive) French intellect is largely invisible to tourists, reserved for exchange students and long-term expatriates. What is it about France that makes us all swoon? It's the spirituality of the place, the ever-present humanism, and the radiance of imperial history long faded into a slightly uncomfortable egalité that keep hordes of tourists pouring into Notre Dame. We love to see the awesome heights humans can achieve when they're presented with the right combination of spiritual, intellectual and imperial motivation... and an endless supply of expendable labor!

No travel guide can capture the subtlety of this concept. Sure, it can present you with a catalog of architectural landmarks, hotels and restaurants. It can pour out the boring facts about this cathedral and that chateau, but it can't possibly capture the experience of sharing the same physical space with awesome human achievement. You simply must go there, stand silent, and let it all slowly sink in. The dates of construction, height of spires, numbers of "stars" for hotels and restaurants, numbers of pieces of artwork, lists of Nobel laureates, etc... simply don't matter. Forget about it. Put the book down. Stop. Look around, and let the place speak to your soul.

This book is written in standard Rough Guide format, with all the sections you expect. While the historical and literary contexts are quite good, the catalog of places (the bulk of the guide) is so summary that it also comes off as a huge, 1000-page list. France is a place where good hotels and restaurants stay open for decades (and centuries), so the listings are right up to date. The same small hotel in the Latin Quarter in which I stayed almost 20 years ago is still listed, for example.

I'd like to see a bit more coverage of important natural sites in this guide. True, most people come to see Paris and Nice, but more curious travelers will want to explore the Alps and the coast of Brittany. The authors do well presenting the often overlooked wonders of provincial France rather than concentrating all their effort on Paris.

Buy this book if you like nice, fat volumes packed full of words rather than glossy photographs. Rough Guides are intentionally instructive in style and format.

You certainly wouldn't want to need this book in a hurry. It took almost 4 months for it to be delivered. On top of that, when Amazon lose something in the post, they re-charge your credit card and then refund you-I'm still waiting for my refund having paid twice for a book that took months to arrive. They obviously don't have good customer service as I feel at this stage I should be refunded entirely!!
Other than that this book is very helpful, it has excellent transport tips and guidelines. It also has good detail on all the different regions in France. I like the layout of it too and would chose the RoughGuides over other guidebook brands. I needed information on one particular region in France, how to get there and wanted to know what to do and despite this book being aimed at the whole of France, I still found plenty of information on the town and surrounding areas. There was even really good restaurants recommended for all budgets. Very happy with the book over all.