Eyewitness Travel Family Guide Paris (Dk Eyewitness Travel Family Guide) Paperback – July 5, 2016

At first blush when you receive this book you're thinking, wow, great pictures, organized by Parisian neighborhoods, sidebars with areas of interest and food choices, what could be better?But when you're on the ground in Paris, this book will drive you up the wall. Please, please find another book. Specifically,* the metro maps show the stations, but not which lines take you to which destinations. "The Lowdown" sidebars mention the lines, but not which direction takes you to which destination or which stop is best (for instance there are two stops listed for the Louvre, but only one stop is the one directly under the museum). The maps in the back show you which metro lines go where, but don't show you which sites are near which lines, so again, you're left guessing and cross-referencing constantly.* food choices listed are mostly very expensive. If you're a family of five like we are, and you follow the guide, you'll easily spend $100 for lunch or $55 for a "picnic lunch" (not $25 like they claim, maybe this book hasn't been updated since 1973). What you need to know in any particular spot *really* is: where is the best patisserie (bakery), where is the best pizzeria, and where can i find a bathroom/pharmacy that's open on a Sunday because my kid just threw up.* "A perfect Parisian day" at the beginning of each section/area is a joke! If you have a little kid (we had a 4-yr old), you *cannot* cover the distances (even with a stroller) listed on those perfect days. Be warned that distances in Paris are more than they look, and while the subway can help, you have to go up and down lots of stairs dodging harried locals.* While the guide sometimes lists parks where your kids can play, it ignores the quality/upkeep of those parks. Sometimes they're filled with needles, drunks, or other unsavory elements. I doubt the DK people actually went to the parks in person.In general, the book paints Paris as a super-family-friendly city. While the locals can be very friendly, especially if you speak french (as I do), the city is not any more family-friendly than say, New York. So you really need to plan ahead carefully so that you don't waste time on dead-ends, end up in a spot that's really geared to adults, etc etc. For that, you need a guide that is truly oriented at families and the special information they need. This guide isn't it.

This was a very helpful guide as we planned our first trip to Paris and once we were there and wanted to change up our plans a bit. We have teenagers, and this is aimed more at families with younger children, but we relied on it heavily because of the great detail with each item, like which Metro stop is closest to each attraction, and what else is nearby. ... I'll quibble with only one item mentioned in the book. Because this book included Les Egouts (the Paris sewer museum), we went there. The book failed to mention the incredibly foul odor and just how much raw sewage you're actually looking at during this tour, ugh! (I was expecting more history, and perhaps a sectioned-off area of the sewer system, and not the working part). Other than that, everything we visited was described accurately in this guide and we relied on it heavily.

My wife and I vacation a lot as a couple or with our adult children and their families. I am retired and really enjoy researching our trips. I usually start with guides from the library such as Fodor's or Rick Steves or Lonely Planet , etc and websites online. Many sources are very good but I have seen nothing that compare to the quality of the presentation of material in a DK product. The maps are excellent , the photos are well done, the material is organized in a very logical manner and the small footnotes designed for children are very interesting and informative for adults as well. In addition, the paper used for the pages is of high quality and sturdy.We will definitely be purchasing DK publications in the future.

A great book for family travel to Paris. Lots of helpful tips. Could have more tips for food with kids. THough there are some we all know this is the hard thing about traveling with kids - the food. But super great tips about places to go with kids, etc.

We went to Paris and had 2 children with us 2 years and 3 years and this was a helpful book. The nice thing about Paris is they have a lot of parks and play equipment in unexpected places. I recommend this book if you are going to Paris with or without kids it has a lot of helpful information.

I got a couple of Paris travel books, but opted to leave them at home and brought just this one. It worked great to find things to do for 10 and 13 yr old. I even bought a London one afterwards for another trip.

Helpful to have metro stops identified.

Nice guide with a lot of useful information and pictures.

Excellent book, so much information.

A great book which is why I gave it 4 stars but is definitely in need of a reprint. Lots of info inside with map locations, nearest metro, what’s good about each location and what the kids will like. It’s good to read on a night in your hotel room and research where you’re going.

I wish we had been able to take this guide to Paris, but it arrived after we left! This was within the stated delivery window, but that was a really long window. I hope to be able to take it next time....

Excellent. Bought a bunch of family guides to Paris and this was the best. Helpful in terms of finding activities/sites and places to eat and parks near each other.

Accurate information and just the right amount. Beautifully laid out and illustrated. I am going to Paris again without the kids, but I will take this book with me - it was that good.