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Title: Lonely Planet Paris (Paris, 2nd Ed) by Daniel Robinson, Tony Wheeler, Steve Fallon, Lonely Planet Publications ISBN: 0-86442-622-4 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: November, 1998 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (13 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy
Comment: This is the letter I sent to Lonely Planet...I hope it helps!
I have taken my time about emailing you with my comments - because of how frustrated I was with your book (LP Paris)- I didn't want to waste any more of my time emailing! I bought a Paris only book because I wanted a detailed book on Paris - I have travelled there quite a bit before, so I wanted some help to see and enjoy some out of the way aspects of the city. After seeing many people with the Green Guide(s), I purchased it. However, I hated its alphabetical organization - and its maps were dreadful. So I paid more than 20 euros for the LP Paris guide. I was sorely disapointed. I cannot comment on restaurants or hotels because I was staying with friends. I did notice quite a few very nice vegetarian restaurants that were not in the guide. I did enjoy using the maps - they were helpful. However...(in no particular order)...
1. The listings of internet cafes is really lame. Your reviewer lists only the MOST expensive ones and misses many cheaper ones relatively nearby - or not. Yes, they may come and go (the EasyInternet is long closed, by the way) but still the list is inadequate.
2. The Musee Rodin - first of all I had a hard time finding it in the index - Auguste Rodin, fine. The reviewer fails to mention the excellent audioguide. See next.
3. Musee de la Magic and Curiosite (whatever), this place is crap. The curiosity side is junk - lame optical illusions and dusty old wind up toys. The magic is about 10 minutes worth, well done, but the admission is around 7 or 8 euros. A rip off. The audioguide is one of the worst ever. Technically it doesn't work and the pronunciation and grammar are next to useless. This was about 4 or 5 euros. I am certain that your reviewer did not go to this place. This is what a guide is supposed to be about - letting me know the scoop and saving me some money! This is Paris, not Pyongyang - the reviewer(s) should get it right, it isn't like this is some new place to go! Wear out some shoe leather!
4. Musee National des Arts d'Afrique et d'Oceanie - hello Steve! This is closed! It was planned for some time.
5.Fontainebleu - you mention the SNCF combination ticket (good) but don't say where it can be purchased - only one booth 2 floors below the Gare de Lyon. I spent almost 45 minutes looking all around for it - along with some nice German tourists. Go the extra mile Mr. Fallon, actually get out there and help! See next!
6. Probably the most lame and infuriating...the 183 bus to Orly-Sud. Hey why not mention that there are, in fact, TWO 183s - one that actually goes to the airport and one that only goes as far as the Maire. I found out the hard way, losing almost an hour getting onto the right 183 after merrily skipping onto the 183 waiting at the metro stop (enjoying my "good" luck). By the way I know you didn't actually take this bus, either (shoe leather, shoe leather) because, had you done so, you couldn't have failed to notice the block of slightly rundown apartments designed by Le Corbusier which the bus runs right by! I barely made my plane. Again, travel guides are supposed to be written from real experience, not from some internet search or a phone call to the Tourist Agency. Boooo!
7. This criticism is not unique to this book - I am simply tired of carrying around extra pages - 7 pages of LP advertisements, but even more annoying, the at least 30 pages of the standard LP guidance (10% of this book) to wit: a section on litter, business hours, drinking and driving (duh), "air travel glossary", HIV/AIDS organisations (important yes, but why is it in a travel guide?)...so much of this is just re-hashed from LP guide to LP guide.
8. Finally, the maps are well drawn, but the indexes associated with them are absurd. They assume you know WHERE the place is, so you can find the number!! NO, I don't know where it is (yes, that is why I am using the map!), so I want to LOOK IT UP, ALPHABETICALLY! Listing numerically only helps if e.g. you are near #161 and are curious to know what else is around in the area, but even then you must pick them out of the index because they are further broken down (eating,drinking, the ever helpful "other"), and not strictly number order.
9. Along with the not just in this guide part, I find it really rapacious of you to mention your "Ekno" phone card. It is SO EXPENSIVE!! Can you be any more biased? I bought a Delta Multimedia card for 15 euros, available at pretty much any tobacco shop, and got 400 minutes of calling to the US!! This was from a private phone - from a public phone it was worth 100 minutes. Your Lame-O Ekno is 49 cents a minute!! Please!
OK that is most of it! I am very disapointed in this guide. It should be super, FILLED with information based on actual experience - and it is clear that it is not.
I think Lonely Planet is just resting on its laurels with this one. Everyone knows where to go in Paris, it is the details that would make a book worth buying. Too often, this book doesn't have them.
Rating: 4
Summary: Restaurant suggestions alone worth the cost of the book
Comment: Just returned from Paris where the Lonely Planet guide once again proved the value of the series. I have used their guides in Italy, Spain and Mexico. They have consistently proved to have the most detailed information and are marked by their slightly-off-the-beaten-path restaurant advice; if you want to eat where and what the locals eat at excellent prices and with marvelous service, BUY THIS BOOK. I am still remembering the tartare du poissons and the lapin aux pruneaux--and with wine and dessert less than $25 per person.
I was traveling with a friend who had purchased a guidebook from another well-known series. She soon announced that , "Your guidebook gives better directions and has more accurate information."
Rating: 4
Summary: A useful guide to Paris
Comment: Like most Lonely Planet publications, this one tells you everything you need to know about the target locale, in this case Paris. It is a bit matter-of-fact in some areas where I would like to see more enthusiasm from the author, for example, about the lovely Montorgueil area, recently gentrified, and quite charming. But, in general, I would consider this a fairly reliable guide.
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Title: Loney Planet Paris City Map (City Maps Series) by Lonely Planet ISBN: 1864500115 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: June, 1999 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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Title: Lonely Planet France (France, 5th Ed) by Jeanne Oliver, Steve Fallon ISBN: 1740592913 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: January, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.99 |
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Title: Lonely Planet French: Phrasebook (French Phrasebook, 2nd Ed) by Lonely Planet, Lonely Planet Publications ISBN: 1864501529 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: April, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Lonely Planet City Map London (City Maps Series) by Lonely Planet ISBN: 1864500085 Publisher: Lonely Planet Pub. Date: June, 1999 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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