Here is a real world, boots on the ground, book in our pocket, review of Paris travel guide books. We took several with us.
By far the best for the average traveler would be Rick Steves Paris guide book. In fact… I know this sounds crazy, but buy two. One to keep as a reference copy and the second to tear out the pages from. Since you are in Paris for 30 days you won’t need to carry the complete 600+ page, 1+ inches thick book with you because you will most likely only visit one destination or attraction per day.
The guide is updated each year and offers several great walking tours for important destinations/areas of Paris. We also reviewed his Italy guide earlier in the year and also found it very useful. http://amzn.to/rickstevesparis - Use this link to buy the book and you support for 30 Days In Paris.
Second book I would bring along would be the Frommer’s Paris guide. I love the pullout map that comes with this book. I carried it every day. It was indestructible and easy to read. The guide book has more photos and is printed on better paper then Rick’s book. Also, having two different guides allows you to compare info between the two. http://amzn.to/frommersparisguide - Use this link to buy the book and you support for 30 Days In Paris.
Everyone likes TOP 10 this or TOP 10 that, well the Eyewitness Travel TOP 10 Paris travel guide is a handy resource. It is good to have yet another take on the sights and attractions of Paris. For example it suggested the St-Eustache Church several times, see Day 26 video. This place isn’t in Rick’s books index, and only ranks a small mention on one page. http://amzn.to/paristop10 - Use this link to buy the book and you support 30 Days In Paris.
The most recent edition of the Hungry Guide To Paris. Especially if you’re a foodie. Get the newest copy with the gold emblem on the front cover. http://amzn.to/hungryforparis - Use this link to buy the book and you support 30 Days In Paris.
Also an interesting collection of articles about Paris can be found in Paris Insights, An Anthology. http://amzn.to/parisinsights - Use this link to buy the book and you support 30 Days In Paris.
Now I didn’t do much in the way of preparing for the French language, but I did buy and regularly review these two laminated study guide sheets.
http://amzn.to/conversationguidefrench - Use this link to buy the guide and you support 30 Days In Paris.
http://amzn.to/vocabularyfrench - Use this link to buy the guide and you support 30 Days In Paris.
And when it comes to language, the big daddy is Rosetta Stone. I have used their training software to learn Spanish and it is very, very good. It is expensive and you must commit to using the software on a regular basis. Learning a language is very hard, but I think the Rosetta Stone method is the best. Beware of cheap $20-30 software packages, I’ve had nothing but trouble getting them to install and run properly.
http://amzn.to/rosettastonefrench - Use this link to buy the software and you support 30 Days In Paris.
Also don’t forget Pamela’s favorite book about France: Julie Childs, My Life In France.
http://amzn.to/childsmylifeinfrance - Use this link to buy the book and you support 30 Days In Paris.
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