Rating: 
Summary: The most useful of guides
Review: This book is great for planning and dreaming, but it's an absolute must-have when you're THERE. I love this (and all the Access guides I've used) more than any other books I've tried to use in European cities, and not merely because their first-rate graphic design is clean and modern and their reviews are extremely reliable. The true test of their quality is this: they're lightweight, compact, and extremely easy to use when you're walking around the city. The map/number system works beautifully, not just to help you find particular things, but to use for landmarking when you're starting to feel a little lost. Another very helpful feature are the lists of "favorite places" and "things-to-do" lists of local frequent visitors to this most beautiful but complex of cities. The lists lead you to the coolest restaurants, sights, and those out-of-the-way places that make you feel less a tourist and more a traveler.
Rating: 
Summary: I Love Paris
Review: This is a very average tour guide. Confusing and not as useful as the others.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite Paris guidebook
Review: This is the book my wife and I always (and still) carry around with us when strolling in Paris (discreetly tucked into an overcoat pocket, of course). I think the best way to use it is to skim it repeatedly before going, and hi-liting or placing post-its on places that sound worth visiting. Then, once at the given locale, Access tells you what else is interesting in that neighborhood.I've heard criticisms of this book to the effect that it doesn't categorize restaurants, hotels, and the like. It isn't that type of guide. What it does best is truly point out the best of each neighborhood, and provide historical background as well. One other note: previous editions have far better maps than the newest edition. I beg Access to return to the beautiful detailed maps and abandon the more generic maps in the current edition.
Rating: 
Summary: Uggghhh! Frustrating and difficult to use guide
Review: We brought this guide along as the one of two that we chose to lug all the way across the Atlantic. One was this one, the other was Frommers France (much heftier than this one). After two days of trying to make this one work we finally gave up and carried the Frommers around everywhere because we could never find restaurants or enough information in the Access guide. It was really frustrating to stand at the Louvre, look across the street at a massive church and find absolutely no entry in the access guide. It is very difficult to find a restaurant by type of cuisine (French, Alpine, Chinese) and many of the hours of museums and restaurants where incorrect in the guide, causing us a lot of lost time in futile trips. Definitely opt for the Frommers Paris or Frommers France books if you have a choice. They were great
Rating:
Summary: excellent guide to enjoying Paris
Review: We recently took this and two other guide books to Paris, and as another reviewer said, we did not even bother to carry the others with us after the first day. The guide is excellent for seeing the city on foot and attempting to experience the essence of the many different quarters. If you're looking for "the best of Paris in 2-3 days" you might look elsewhere. This book leaves it to you to decide what you feel is important to see (because there is just that much) and gives information according to location. A map is at the beginning of each section with numbers corresponding to all the things listed to see, do, eat and buy in that area. While restaurants are not listed by ethnicity, it never took us long to locate the kind of restaurant we were looking for in the book. In addition, each section contains a good introduction to the history of the quarter and the essence one should try to get from it.
My only complaint is that the street maps do not point out Metro stops, and we sometimes had to do guess work to calculate our routes after exiting the Metro. (though there is a convenient Metro plan inside the back cover)
Rating:
Summary: Use this Guide in Paris!
Review: You will not be disappointed if this is the only guidebook you take to Paris. My husband and I, neither of whom speak French, took Michelin, Frommers, and this Access guide with us on our honeymoon in Paris. After the first day, we put all the other books back in the suitcase and relied on this book. The restaurant ratings are accurate both for price and quality. The color codings (red for restaurants, blue for hotels, black for history) make it easy to use on the fly. The maps are great as well.
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