What I love most about the Lonely Planet guidebooks is that they provide information written by locals, sharing favorite locations and tips for getting around the cities. They also provide information from experienced travelers about a great many matters.The Paris city guide is no exception. There are lots of restaurant tips, great maps, detailed information on the major sites and great ideas for things to do off the beaten path.We leave for our trip a week from today, and I'm very excited about it. But this book raised an issue that has become something of a peeve for me about Paris guidebooks. It's divided by a neighborhood concept that doesn't always work. For example, Place de la Republique is in the 11th arrondissement (administrative area). I've only seen one book (not this one) divided by arrondissement, which allows you to easily find a given item on a map.This book puts the Place de la Republique either in the southern part of Canal St. Martin or the northern part of Marais, depending on which map or section of the guidebook you look at. To add further to the confusion, though, the 11th is considered part of Bastille/Eastern Paris.For a new traveler who does not know Bercy from Belleville, this makes trip planning a little difficult. I would recommend combining information from this book with a book that is organized by arrondissement to get a better understanding of the city layout.
