France (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
Paris (Eyewitness Travel Guides)
I know these Eyewitness series of travel guides aren't the most comprehensive guides, but I can't help but love them.
The sheer volume of pictures--of everything from famous landmarks to pictures of typical foods--makes this series excellent reading, and the volume on France is, in my opinion one of the best of the series. These is definitely something you should buy if you're thinking about going to France.
If you're going to France you'll almost certainly be going to Paris, too. So you'll almost certainly be needing the companion volume, the Eyewitness guide to Paris. Obviously it's much more detailed than the France volume. It's filled with helpful hints about getting around Paris, eating in the right places, and visiting the right sites.
These Books are so good, and have so many great pictures, that you could even use them to help convince a reluctant traveler to hit the road for France.
Fodor's France
The old reliable. Fodor's has been around as long as anyone in the travel guide business, and their guides are renowned for their reliability and their expert advice on restaurants. It's not as pretty as the Eyewitness guides, but it's packed with more information than you'll ever use. Definitely one to take along if you're touring France by car.
Streetwise Paris
If you're going to Paris you'll definitely need a street map, and no series of street maps is better fro the urban traveler than the Streetwise. They fold up nice and neat, and they're laminated so they resist those nasty sidewalk cafe wine spills that do in lesser maps.
Eating and Drinking in Paris: French Menu Reader and Restaurant Guide
You need this book. Even if your French is excellent, you need this book, not just for the extensive translations of French food stuffs and menus, but for the dining recommendations, and for the tips on how to eat like the French.