France Bookstore: Travel Books and Specialty Guides
The books on France in this virtual bookstore have been hand-selected by the author of Sacred Destinations. In keeping with the unique theme of this website, they include not only standard guidebooks for traveling in France but also books for the spiritual traveler in France, beautifully illustrated guides to the architecture of France, books on archaeological sites in France, and introductory books on French history. Links go to Amazon.com for lots more information, reviews, and easy purchasing.
General France Guidebooks
Essential travel guides for practical information on sightseeing, hotels, restaurants and transportation in France.
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Lonely Planet France Lonely Planets are consistently the most popular travel guidebooks, thanks to their wealth of practical information and generous dash of humor. This edition boasts six authors, 23 combined years living in France, 196 days of in-country research, and 184 maps. |
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Frommer's France 2008 Completely updated every year and very detailed, Frommer's France is probably the most reliable and in-depth guide to France. It includes color photos and color maps of France and the Paris Métro. To try before you buy, browse Frommers.com. |
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Rick Steves' France 2008 This famous Canadian traveler always tells it like it is, providing practical advice on what to see and what not to bother with, how to avoid the tourist throngs and what hotels offer all the charm for less euros. Hand-drawn maps are prevalent throughout and easy to use and handy walking tours are also provided. |
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The Rough Guide to France 10 This is my favorite guidebook series, both for my own travels and for researching this website. In addition to readable backgrounds and history, it has just about all the practical information you could ever ask for, including detailed reviews of hotels. Its maps are very clear (I've often been known to tear them out and take them along) and the soft pages lay open for easy reading. |
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Fodor's France 2008 Packed with lots of information on France's sights, Fodor's France also features a compact size, Fodor's Choice Ratings that highlight must-see sights and hidden treasures, and hotel and restaurant reviews for all budgets. To try before you buy, browse Fodors.com. |
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Eyewitness Travel Guide to France Like all DK Eyewitness Guides, this guidebook focuses on photos, drawings and maps that bring France's sights to life. It is easily the most aesthetically pleasing and browsable travel guide to France. The downsides: less emphasis on practical information and a hefty weight. I recommend it especially for inspiration and trip planning before you leave home. |
Spiritual Guides to France
Travel guidebooks designed with the spiritual traveler specifically in mind, focusing on shrines, saints, and sights of religious significance.
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The Pilgrim's France A travel guide tailored specifically to Catholic pilgrims, this book provides extensive background information on saints and events and detailed guides to sacred shrines. It doesn't have a lot of practical information, so is best supplemented by a standard guidebook. See the glowing reviews of this book on Amazon. |
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The Christian Traveler's Guide to France This travel guide focuses on Christian heritage, both Catholic and Protestant. The book begins with an overview of the history, literature, art, and architecture of France, then provides entries on cities in alphabetical order with background information, sites to visit, and biographies of related Christian figures. |
Books on the Art and Architecture of France
Gain an appreciation (and ogle beautiful pictures!) of the unparalled skill and art seen in France's churches, cathedrals and monasteries.
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Romanesque Churches of France: A Traveller's Guide Written by a long-time journalist for the London Times newspaper, this paperback explores the richness of Romanesque church architecture to be found throughout France. Covering 10 geographical regions of France, the book includes 100 churches, 180 photos, and many maps. |
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Romanesque & Gothic France: Art and Architecture A beautiful hardcover book combining text and breathtaking photographs, which together trace the history of Romanesque and Gothic art and architecture in France, including regional variations. The book covers all the major cathedrals as well as some less well-known church gems. |
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The Gothic Cathedral Full of facts as well as artistic intuition, this book argues that to best understand the great Gothic cathedrals are to be understood, one must see themin the light of 12th-century religious experience, through which the supernatural permeated every aspect of human existence. |
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The Gothic Cathedral: The Architecture of the Great Church 1130-1530 "Superb photographs and crisp line drawings with extensive captions that are often as illuminating as the text itself." - Architectural Review |
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Great Gothic Cathedrals of France: A Visitor's Guide  A pocket-sized paperback intended for travel, this is a tour of 12 spectacular French Gothic cathedrals. From the massive façade of Reims to the beauty of the stained glass at Chartres, it clarifies every significant architectural element in text and image. |
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High Gothic: The Classic Cathedrals of Chartres, Reims and Amiens  A comprehensive treatment of France's three finest Gothic cathedrals, translated from the original German. |
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Art and Architecture in Medieval France This comprehensive guide covers medieval architecture, sculpture, stained glass, manuscripts and art found in church treasuries. |
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Art and Architecture in France, 1500-1700 Part of the excellent Yale University Press Pelican History of Art series. |
Archaeological Books on Prehistoric and Roman Ruins in France
Explore mysterious standing stones and remains of great Roman cities in France.
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Oxford Archaeological Guide to Southern France This is one of my favorite series for in-depth background. Academic but accessible, it describes 104 prehistoric and Roman sites. The book is illustrated with high-quality photographs, maps, site plans and line drawings, enhanced by sidebars explaining points of historical and cultural interest. |
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Lascaux: Movement, Space and Time A guide to the prehistoric paintings of France's famous Lascaux Caves. |
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The Roman Remains of Southern France: A Guidebook  The first comprehensive guide in English on the rich Roman remains of southern France, including Provence, the Riviera and Languedoc-Roussillon. The paperback covers aqueducts, stadiums, temples and museum collections and includes practical visitor information. |
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Ancient France: Neolithic Societies and Their Landscapes 6000-2000 BC A hardcover book on the ancient megaliths of France, such as Carnac, and the world of their builders. |
Historical Books on France
Cultural and historical reading for your hotel nightstand or with a glass of wine at an outdoor cafe.
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The Road from the Past: Traveling through History in France Mixing history with first-hand travel writing, this book describes a fascinating journey through Roman ruins, early Christian sculpture, active medieval cliffside monasteries and walled cities, English and French chateaus from the Hundred Years' War, baronial manors, Renaissance art, gardens and palaces. |
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A Traveller's History of France Part of a series aimed at providing context to the many historical sights travellers might come upon in France. The accessible guide includes list of French kings and their linneage, a timeline and an alphabetical list of major events and battles. It also includes plenty of humor and opinions. |
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France in the Central Middle Ages  The first in the Short Oxford History of France series, this book covers the years 900-1200. It traces the emergence of France as a country and covers such key events as the election of Hugh Capet as King in 987 and the Norman conquest of England in 1066. |
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France in the Later Middle Ages Part of the Short Oxford History of France series, this volume traces the development of France and its identity from 1200 to 1500. This was a period full of crisis, from the Albigensian crusades in the first half of the 13th century, through the Hundred Years War, to the beginnings of the Italian wars in the 1490s. |
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Renaissance and Reformation France This edition of the Short Oxford History of France covers the period 1500-1648. Each chapter focuses on a specific area of French history: politics and the state, the economy, society and culture, religion, and gender and the family. It is all tied together to form a readable history of France from the advent of the Reformation, through the civil wars of the 16th century, to the Fronde. |
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A well-respected scholarly guide (not as easy a read as the others listed here) to France's most recent history and an exploration of what "Frenchness" is really all about. |
