AAA Spiral Paris

by American Automobile Association

You want to discover Paris. But how do you choose the best from the good, the bad or the average? Turn to Spiral Guide Paris. You'll find the very best of the city distilled into perfectly planned days. You'll also find the full, inside track on the unmissable hotspots -- what to see, how to see them and how to beat the crowds. Just open up, follow our advice and make your precious time go further. A great trip's about treating yourself too -- eating and drinking, entertainment, shopping. We've hired specialist writers to recommend the top places to go. And remember, travel is -- or at least should be -- about new experiences. That's why there's a magazine full of articles that get beneath the skin of the city.

Genres: Travel, Reference, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2000

About the author

American Automobile Association (AAA) offers driving & travel information including maps and guides

Reviews

[Darryl]

My wife and I used this travel guide extensively while in Paris. It served as our bible, tour guide, and street map. It is laid out in a very clearly and the sprial binder makes it very easy to flip to any page. It is filled with clear, color pictures and maps. The guide is broken down into various regions throughout Paris with each section highlighting Must See Attractions, and then At Your Leisure sites that are also in the area. It also has a very nice reference on how to see a region in one day. A subway map is on the inside back cover, and a regional map of Paris is on the front inside cover. Other nice features are sections called 'Finding Your Feet' - which provides great information for when you first arrive in London (either by plane, train, boat, etc..) and a 'Practicalities' seciton that talks about currency, clothes sizes, basic French phrases, etc.
What really made this book stand out compared to other Paris travel guides was it included detailed street maps of these regions. Those proved invaluable for us once we started walking around the area. The book is compact, and fit inside my coat pocket comfortably.
My only gripe is that for some of the attractions, it did not have the right opening and closing times - and it suggested a shortcut to the lines at the Lourve by getting off at the Tuileries metro stop. Unfortunately, this is one stop too early, but the street map easily showed us the way.
If you only want to carry one compact tour guide for Paris - I would highly recommend it.

[heidi]

Useful, with just enough travel information (but not too much to overwhelm). I relied on the laminated metro plan a lot, and attempted a couple of the walking tours. My copy isn't the latest one but I believe during my week in Paris I got a lot out of it nevertheless.