PARIS NEIGHBORHOOD TRAVEL GUIDE
Review by Barb & Ron Kroll
Rediscovering Paris - Ile de France
(Lonely Planet)
This Lonely Planet guide book to Ile de France describes Paris neighborhoods, special events, cuisine, culture, nightlife and architecture, as well as day trips and guided tours.
Neighborhood maps and practical advice on travel passes, public transit, changing money and museum passes make vacations to Paris easy to plan and implement.
Special events
The 160-page travel guide is palm-sized and easily portable. The introduction describes special events, like the Paris Jazz Festival, which offers free performances on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, in June and July.
The Snapshots section provides information and websites for art, nightlife and music. The Families section includes information on Disneyland Paris, the children's gallery at the Pompidou Centre and kids workshops at The Louvre.
Metro map
Many color photos depict all aspects of Ile de France, from family travel to Parisian fashion. Detailed full-colored neighborhood maps show tourist attractions, shops, restaurants, bars and entertainment in each neighborhood.
The inside front cover has an Ile de France map. The inside back cover features a Paris Metro map.
Sidebars provide additional Paris tourist information, such as how to buy show tickets.
Left Bank restaurant
Rediscovering Paris offers money saving tips. In the Left Bank neighborhood, for example, Caroline Delabroy recommends Le Temps des Cerises for good, cheap food in Paris.
The directory discusses pensioner and student discounts. It provides the cost and website for buying a Paris museum pass, valid for more than 60 museums, for two, four or six days.
Transportation passes
The travel guide also tells you where to buy the Carte Mobilis and Paris Visite, with costs and number of days they are valid. These Paris travel passes are valid on the metro, the RER (Reseau Express Regional), SNCF suburban lines, buses, night buses, trams and the Montmartre cablecar.
Each neighborhood is in a color-coded section. Left Bank Paris, for example, includes a neighborhood map and information on tourist attractions (e.g., galleries in the Carre), shopping (e.g., La Grande Epicerie) and restaurants (e.g., Le Cinq Mars), all with addresses, phone numbers, opening hours and websites, if available.
Contents
- This is Paris
- Paris Diary
- Snapshots
- Neighborhoods
- Les Halles and The Louvre in full swing
- A new look at the Champs-Elysees and Western Paris
- The Canal Saint-Martin, Gare du Nord, Gare de L'Est and the Grands Boulevards
- The Left Bank: Chic galleries and exclusive shops
- Bercy, La Grande Bibliotheque and Ivry: Paris of the future
- Bastille Nation and Montreuil: A cultural revolution
- Le Marais: Fashion and design amid a thriving gay scene
- Belleville and Menilmontant: Home to a new wave of bohemians
- Montmartre: Barbes, Saint-Ouen and Saint Denis: Grass roots Paris
- La Villette, Pantin, Aubervilliers and Bobigny: Bursting with culture
- Excursions outside Paris
- Directory
Rediscovering Paris author
Caroline Delabroy was born in the 13th arrondissement of Left Bank Paris and now lives on the Right Bank.