The Berlitz Travellers Guide to France (Berlitz Travelers Guides)

Rating:
Summary: Out of the ordinary--highly recommended
Review: Very well laid out and easy to use, with the right amount of detail, and very good descriptions of relatively less-traveled areas such as the Jura, Poitiers, Brittany, etc. Head and shoulders above any other travel guide for its unerring judgments as to less expensive, less-hyped quality hotels and restaurants. This guide led us to several extraordinary finds, including the best seafood restaurant we've ever been to and several off-the-beaten-path hotels.

Downside: much overblown prose, esp the obligatory historical intros to each region (note the ubiquitous cliche about how "town X's sleepy present belies its tumultuous past"), but even these hackneyed segments can be useful: the higher the ratio of historical to contemporary commentary, the more boring the region or village described.