Friday, June 26, 2009

Guidebooks for vacations

I like to read the available guidebooks when we're going on vacation, especially when it's to a big, famous tourist place like Paris. They tell me which are the most essential sights and how to see as many of them as possible in the time I have. So when we were planning a trip to Paris and Nice, I bought several different guidebooks and ended up using them all.

The most ubiquitous guidebook right now seems to me to be Fodor's, and they're decent. I tend to like the quirky ones, the kind that promise some kind of insider information or have a slant on the place you're planning to go (like the "Hawaii Revealed" series). For our trip to France, I bypassed the Baedeker's, because after reading Forster's A Room With a View it cracks me up. I got a Fodor's on Paris, one on France as a whole, and another on Provence and the French Riviera. They had good basic information. The guidebook I ended up liking best, though, was a Frommer's on Paris. In addition to the basics, like what days and times a museum is open, Frommer's told me about what train to take and which ticket entrance might be less crowded than the main one. It gave me details on what the difference is between a brasserie, a bistro, a cafe, and a restaurant. It had maps of the metro and the RER, so we could see what the station at the end of the line was (which is how you follow the signs for the direction you want to go).

The quirky book I read in preparation for our trip is entitled "Sixty Million Frenchmen Can't Be Wrong" by Jean-Benoit Nadeau and Julie Barlow, and it explores some of the cultural differences between the French and the rest of the world. Some of the most interesting were that the French consider stores extensions of their private space, and so you need to say "Bonjour" when you enter, rather than just begin silently browsing, and that eating a meal is a public activity, rather than just something you do on your own when you get hungry. The ceremony of mealtime is important. I saw a number of children eating multiple-course meals politely with family groups. The most impressive was a child who couldn't have been more than two who sat at a restaurant table for an hour, eating neatly with a fork and making conversation with the adults seated around her. We learned that you have to ask for the check (so you need to know the word, which is "l'addition") because the waiters, who are consummate professionals, won't think of trying to rush you by bringing it before you ask. One time when I watched a waiter filet an entire fish at our tableside and marveled out loud at how quick and efficient he was, he said to me, with a degree of reproach, "it is my job."

In addition to the kind of guidebooks you use for planning, I also find that books you buy along the way can be good substitutes for tours in your language, even the audiotours that have become so popular in museums and art galleries. We found a book in the gift shop at Chartres that helped us "read" some of the iconography of the windows, and I bought a pamphlet from a vending machine at Notre Dame that showed us some of what we were looking at as we walked through. Since we're all fast readers, this worked for us. Most of my guidebook reading takes place as I'm traveling to my destination. We didn't know what we were going to do in Nice until I had five hours on the TGV to figure it out. Sometimes my kids say that I schedule too much "charging about," especially in a big city, but usually I propose a schedule of what we're going to see on which day and everyone else finds it useful because then we don't miss anything out of indolence or inattention to detail.

Do you use guidebooks for vacations? Are there better ones than the ones I've been using?

8 comments:

Alison said...

I was a manager for a while in a travel bookstore, but don't actually do a whole lot of traveling anymore myself. In other words, I have definite opinions about travel guidebooks, but they are all based on 15+ year old information!

I never cared much for Fodor's or Frommer's. The Real Guides (or Rough Guides if you're a Brit) are great, although, looking back, I wonder how well they would work for a family. Some of my favorites, though, aren't so much guidebooks as appetizers. The Insight guides talk a lot about the history, culture, and environment of an area. Their city guides also have pretty good maps and nice walking tour type information. The country guides are excellent pre-trip reading to get you all excited for the visit and give you and idea of what your don't-miss sights will be.

Lass said...

Real Guides and the Lonely Planet guides are great. And to answer your question, yes. Not only do I read travel guides before I go to a new destination, I do a thorough internet search on unusual/quirky/off-the-beaten path type things to do. I also find that reading local newspapers online can also lead to some interesting activities. I absolutely love this type of research and planning. Why? Because I am a dork.

FreshHell said...

I never go anywhere exotic but when I'm planning a trip, I do internet searches. That's what I did before Dusty and I went to DC. I printed maps, bus routes and times, metro info, looked up individual museums for exhibits, etc.

Megan said...

I like the Rough Guides, and Moon's Handbooks as well, at least for the Western U.S.

PAJ said...

I like the Unofficial Guides. There's usually a bit of history, some info about the culture, insights into local public transportation and hotels, a little about restaurants, and individual "reviews" of local attractions, with ratings given by age group (to indicate how interesting the sight will be to each person in your group). The UGs are a good, all-around starting point for info. The Internet provides up-to-date info, which just isn't possible with any printed guide.

Jeanne said...

Thanks for all these suggestions! I'll check out these other books the next time I plan a trip. As for doing internet research ahead of time, well, maybe, but I think I'll continue to be a fan of the more portable book.

Cschu said...

I absolutely love guide books. I have found that I enjoy a trip much more when I have and read at least one or two. The provide good practical information and also whet the appetite for the wonderful things one can do.

Teena said...

We have two travelbook tips, which are more meta-book recomendations than recommendations for particular books. We got a big book to help us decide where to go, then we took an exacto knife and just brought the sections that we wanted with us on the trip. (I know, I know desecrating books may not be your style).

We also like e-books, because they are portable and searchable and much lighter than a bunch of books! We bought several rough guides in e-book format for our big Europe trip and liked them.