I found this book quite useful. I had it with me on a recent trip to Paris and took three or four of the walks. It's easy to use, accurate, informative and it definitely shows you things you might otherwise miss. On one walk through the Marais, we "discovered" a medieval library I would otherwise just walked straight past.
I suggest taking this book and another one with restaurant and hotel listings. But for people who love Paris and love to walk, this is a good buy. For more on me, and my book The Nazi Hunter: A Novelgo to www.alanelsner.com.

I found this book quite useful. I had it with me on a recent trip to Paris and took three or four of the walks. It's easy to use, accurate, informative and it definitely shows you things you might otherwise miss. On one walk through the Marais, we "discovered" a medieval library I would otherwise just walked straight past.
I suggest taking this book and another one with restaurant and hotel listings. But for people who love Paris and love to walk, this is a good buy. For more on me, and my book The Nazi Hunter: A Novelgo to www.alanelsner.com.

Having already used the "Walking London" and "Walking Dublin" books, by the same publisher, with great success, we were immediately drawn to the "Walking Paris" book. Instinct guided us correctly. My wife and I just used this book over Easter 2008, and were pleasantly satisfied with the range and commentary of the walks. I have been to Paris 4 times, and each walk we took I learned so much about the history of the streets, homes, and monuments that were on the paths. In five days we were able to enjoy around a dozen walks, and as a man I found the maps very helpful. If you plan ahead you can connect the walks to stretch your time. The book also includes valuable Metro information, historical background of Paris, colorful photos, and practical hints. My wife and I both feel that our days would not have been as exciting/ informational without "Walking Paris".

At the same time we purchased "Paris Walks" by Landis et al. and were quite disappointed. For the information that **is** given the detail is phenomenal, yet for such highlights, i.e. Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Sacre Coeur, and the Louvre you will not even find an entry. On the other hand, for a small yet historical restaurant such as Maxim's, you will find over 2 pages of information. This was not our style, but made a good compliment. That is why we think "Walking Paris" is the best.

We will continue to purchase from this publisher for other cities we travel to. You will not be disappointed.

If you're only interested in who built a particular building and when and in what style, then you'll love this book. But in my mind, only an architectural history buff would like it. It's just a list of information, few cultural references, nothing interesting, it's very boring.

If you're only interested in who built a particular building and when and in what style, then you'll love this book. But in my mind, only an architectural history buff would like it. It's just a list of information, few cultural references, nothing interesting, it's very boring.

My girlfriend and I did about a third of the walks in this book while visiting Paris at Easter.

Overall, a very good guide that points out both the expected and unexpected sites of interest on the
walk. The maps sometimes have glitches, so on every walk we found ourselves lost at least once.

Some walks were brilliant and informative. Walking Montmartre and the Marais, I learned a lot more about
neighborhoods I'd been in before (previously armed with a Michelin guide). The Latin Quarter walks were
a little less good but still excellent (and in the Latin Quarter, seemed to take us past all the fine bakeries).

Other walks were simply average: the Louvre to Champs Elysee and Ile St Louis. The walks were fine but
nothing in the guide made them feel special. And while I applaud the idea of trying to create a walk
from Trocadero to the Arc de Triomphe, the actual walk was rather boring.

Still, overall, the best walking guide for Paris I've encountered.

This collection of both hot spots and the best kept secrets of Paris will keep you busy. There's also great information about restaurants on your route.

"Walking Paris" is an excellent, easy to read, easy to carry book of walks around Paris which combines both obvious tourist high spots with hidden and unspoilt and largely undiscovered Paris. It is full of fascinating background information. It also contains helpful information about good restaurants and cafes on your route."Walking Paris" really adds value and enjoyment to your trip to this fascinating and most beautiful city.

When you are in Paris on your own, you often need a bit of direction to get away from the run-of-the-mill sites. This book provides you with alternatives to allow you to see a part of Paris that is not on the usual travel itineraries. On my last trip to Paris, I had the opportunity to use three of the walks described in the book. Each was in a new area of Paris that I had never seen before. It was fun discovering the areas. I had the most fun on the "Le Marais" walk. I had always wanted to see this part of Paris and I was able to see it in depth. This book is a tremendous addition to a travel library. If you plan on traveling without a tour guide, this book will be fill in many of the gaps in your experience of Paris and will provide you experiences beyond the norm.

When you are in Paris on your own, you often need a bit of direction to get away from the run-of-the-mill sites. This book provides you with alternatives to allow you to see a part of Paris that is not on the usual travel itineraries. On my last trip to Paris, I had the opportunity to use three of the walks described in the book. Each was in a new area of Paris that I had never seen before. It was fun discovering the areas. I had the most fun on the "Le Marais" walk. I had always wanted to see this part of Paris and I was able to see it in depth. This book is a tremendous addition to a travel library. If you plan on traveling without a tour guide, this book will be fill in many of the gaps in your experience of Paris and will provide you experiences beyond the norm.

Tres amusant. I enjoyed using this book to explore the most beautiful city in the world.

I used this book for my recent trip to Paris. Out of all the walks we took my favorites were martmartre and le marais. I photocopied all the walks I wanted to take prior to the trip so I didn't have to carry the book everywhere and the map and words are in larger print this way. My boyfriend is a great navigator but I think combining the narrative with the map most people should have no problem following the route. We did have to retrace our steps a couple times but it really was pretty simple.

Having been to Paris many, many times, I pretty much know my way around. I purchased this book for my last trip, to help my friend -a first time parisian- find her way around. Surprisingly, though, it was me who ended up enjoying the book the most. Very well-thought walks, easy to spot places and landmarks but thorough and interesting enough to take you off the beaten path and show you the real Paris, the charming, lively city beyond the tourist attractions. My favourite walks are Faubourg St-Germain and St-Germain-des-Pres and the ones through the Latin Quarter.

I bought "walking paris" because of the good reviews at amazon.com and tried to use it in my recent Paris vacation. I was very disappointed. In the end, I used Michelin's Green Guide. The problems of "walking paris" are as follows:
1. The descriptions of walks are formated as a long narrative. They are difficult to consult unless you hold the book to your nose as you walk.
2. Much of the text involved detailed instruction on which street to go to and where to turn. Such information would be much easier to follow on a good map.
3. The maps are only simple sketches of the routes. They are not easy to follow because they don't provide enough context information. If you deviate from the prescribed route, the map becomes useless.
4. The style of the narrative and sketchy map means you have to follow the route exactly. When I was walking in Paris, I often wanted to wander a bit.
5. Sometimes you have to deviate from the prescribed route, as when I had to because a park through which the described walk is supposed to go through was closed. It's difficult to work out an alternative route based on the information in the book.
6. Because of the narrative nature, you can't tell from the book the highlights of the walks.

This is an excellent book!! We used it not only to guide us on walking tours, but as a quick historical resource. The pictures are nice as well. Our tours took us lots longer than the book said, but we did aa lot of looking and picture taking!! We would buy a book like this for any city we visited if it were available by this author.

I also found this book to be fabulous. I happened upon it in the library and brought it with me to Paris last year. Now I have to have my own copy for my next trip to Paris. I'd spent quite a bit of time exploring Paris already, but with this book I discovered so much more. And remember, if you do happen to get a little lost, you're still in Paris!!!

I just had my first trip to Paris. I bought this book because I like to see a city on foot. I didn't want to be stuck on a bus for hours on end. I had no idea just how great this book was until I used it. There is so much hidden history to Paris that is beyond the normal tourist sites. I saw some spectacular and beautiful places . . . often times with very few other tourists around. That was really cool. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to experience Paris from the ground up. Two bits of advice: Pack some good walking shoes and take a lunch when you go.

If you want to discover Paris beyond the traditional tour book, cliched image, then this is the book for you. With 30 original walks, the author, a native Parisian, leads you t hrough the well known (and some of the lesser known) districts of the City of Light. Unlike traditional walking tour guides, which only offer the route (and nothing else), this book details the route while pointing out buildings and areas of historical interest.
Every route is clearly marked with a starting point, ending point and distance. A good feature of this guide is that the author points out the changes in the street names--goodness knows how many a walker has gotten lost because the Rue du Temple suddenly became something else.
The only shortcoming of this book (or any walking guide, for that) is how the walker has to constantly carry the book with them. A good suggestion is to write out the itinerary on a separate piece of paper, then check all the references when you get back to the hotel.
If you love walking and exploring, than this is the book for you. Just be sure to pack a good pair of walking shoes.

This book is a must for anyone who enjoys seeing a city on foot, and Paris is a city that is best seen on foot, in all weathers. Each tour includes a map as well as an approximate time and suggestions for places to stop for a bite to eat. They are also cross-indexed by topic, e.g., museums, historical, shopping, and even by length of walk. Some of the tours dovetail so that if you are still energetic at the conclusion of one, you can begin another. Contrariwise, if you only want to see part of a tour, you can begin in the middle or, using the map, skip parts.

A couple of caveats: First, it is best to read each tour once through before starting, otherwise you might find yourself back-tracking because you missed a turn and, some people might prefer to move a little more quickly, omitting some of the detail. Second, every now and again, it appears that something is missing, e.g., in the Assemblee Nationale, Concorde, and Opera tour, at the top of page 116, there is reference to a house in which Proust lived while he wrote A la recherche du temps perdu; however, the number (102) does not agree with any of the streets in the area. After backing up and trying several times, we finally gave up on that one.

Those, however, are small points. Overall, the book is very interesting and very informative.

This book is so well organized and helps the bedazzled tourist focus. I am a true francophile, and the use of "themes" plus maps is so helpful. I'm going to do some walks completely, and some walks partially. I've lived in Paris before, but there are still areas I've overlooked. This book will get me oriented, once and for all.

This is by far the best guide book available for Paris. I lived there as a student, yet with this book I discovered new streets and sights on a daily basis. The historical references were excellent -- I took the walk through the area where I once lived and learned some fascinating stories about buildings I used to walk past every day. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Gilles Desmons has crafted a combination Parisian history overview / scavenger hunt! We had such fun - and got such good exercise - taking many of these walks. I recommend it to everyone traveling to Paris, and wish that there were similar books for other destinations.

Having lived in Paris for quite some time myself, I know most of the areas that Gilles Desmons describes, and I can really highly recommend the book. His tours cover all the must-sees, but he also ventures off the beaten track and leads you to unexplored and pleasantly untouristy areas of the city, some of which even I haven't explored yet (but will unfailingly do so on my next trip home to France). His recommendations for restaurants/cafes/shops/museums are excellent, and I appreciate his pointing out certain days or times of the day when the tour is most rewarding (like with museum opening hours etc.). The only little "fly in the soup" (as we say) is that his writing is a bit professoral and stiff, but then again you learn a lot of little anecdotes that contribute to your understanding and enjoying your tour even more, and he points out a ton of small things that you normally would miss if not told of (like, an especially beautifully carved old door). Do yourself a favour and get the book for your (next) trip to the City of Lights, it's definitely worth it even if you have been there before.

My girlfriend and I took about 10 walks from this book. Some of the walks were incredible in the detail you could see in an afternoon or morning walk. The walks on the Left Bank were most interesting, the historical references could have occupied the whole trip. The Passage walk north of the Louvre was kind of a bore. The Marais walk including the shops on the Vielle de Temple would have been an incredible shopping trip if money was no object, we saw one flower shop which had a suspended ceiling full of dryed flowers. Great book if you have the time to spend really getting to know Paris