The Best of Paris (The Best of ...)

Rating:
Summary: outdated
Review: Although the reviews of the restaurants are overall on the target, this guide has a MAJOR flaw -- it is not updated very frequently. This edition, for instance, was last modified back in 1997. Many of its recommendations have moved, closed down, or changed business hours. Another problem is that the book does not make it easy to find any of the restaurants. For some reason, the names of the (allegedly) nearest metro stop are given for the shops, but not for the restaurants. The bottom line is: I don't recommend using this book as your primary source.

Rating:
Summary: Complete, witty and authoritative.
Review: Gayot's Paris offers a French perspective on the City of Light. Most French people I know consider the Gualt-Millau guides the most accurate and up-to-date availabe - notwithstanding Michelin. GM says their guides "...distinguish the truly superlative from the merely overrated" - an extremely useful service in my experience. The restaurant and hotel listings are concise and dead accurate and the shopping notes are great too. Nightlife and sightseeing are very well covered and the critical appraisals of places and sights is particularly helpful. This is a very useful book for the selective traveler, and was especially helpful in sorting-through the mind-numbingly endless possibilities Paris offers.