24 Hours Paris by Marsha Moore

May 2010 Prospera Publishing
pages, Paperback
Review copy

Non-fiction (Travel)

Ease of reading: 5
Level of information: 5
Paperclips: 3 (infrequent, moderate - some places aren't for under 18's and the brief descriptions aren't suitable for younger readers)
Nayuleska's recommended rating: ♥♥♥♥♥

Summary from Prospera Publishing  (You'll need to click on the book to get the details)

Marsha Moore's 24 Hours series is a new take on travel guides. Full of unique and interesting places to go and things to do, the best part of this innovative new series is that it is the first to list everything by hour. Jetlag at 4 am in Paris? Need food at 2 am in London. Then this is the guide for you.



During my A-levels, I was fortunate enough to take a long weekend to Paris with my sixth form. With all my friends, it was a fun trip. However, I wasn't in love with Paris at all. I'd visited Strasbourg, which I love, also with my sixth form. I preferred it. Paris just didn't appeal to me. I had an enjoyable icecream at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower (I felt dizzy just looking up at it - no way was I going to even the first floor!). That was pretty much it.

I chose 24 Hours Paris because I wanted to be proved wrong. I wanted to find out why people love Paris so much. Marsha has changed my mind rather drastically!

She provides a unique travel book. Most travel books that I've read put their chapters in sections, rather than by hour. In a lot of ways having 24 Hours Paris in hourly sections makes things a lot easier. Sometimes when you're on holiday, you find yourself in an area with a few free hours, but you aren't sure what you can do with the time you have. Marsha solves this. Her hourly chapters mean that whatever time it is, anyone can find something which they can do.

I do mean anyone. After my experience of Paris, I did think it was mostly full of art and not a lot of places sold vegetarian food (or fish). Thanks to Marsha, I now know there is at least one really good vegetarian restaurant in Paris. Yes, Paris is full of places of interest if you enjoy art (I'm not so keen on it), clubbing (definitely not) and food (meat galore). If, like me, you fancy sushi - there are great sushi restaurants. If you're after a quiet time, you can find that in any number of parks, some of which I wouldn't have found on my own. Marsha describes exactly what you can see in the areas - it's so vivid I can picture it without going there. I'm not a night owl, and wrongfully presumed that all there was to do at night was go clubbing. Marsha manages to find some great areas to be quiet in, even in the early hours. That really surprise me - I hadn't thought there were places to relax after 10pm. I'm really eager to hunt down the place selling macaroons, to match it up with some hot chocolate.

Each entry can be found under the relevant category in the index. Within each entry you can find how much something costs, the opening times, Full address and telephone number plus extra details that might be useful. As well as these details, there are facts scattered throughout the book. The most useful thing of all are suggested itinaries if you have a family, or love food, to name a few.

Ever since I was little, I to read travel guides which are in the house for fun. Seriously! Even if I'd been to the place years ago, I would read it from cover to cover, loving all the little details This deceptively small book satisfies my travel reading. Not only that, it will tempt even the most reluctant person to visit Paris (or re-visit, if you're like me).

Marsha can be found on her blog.

Check out 24 Hours London which is also out now! I love London, and I'm sure Marsha will help me find areas of interest to keep me occupied for more than a day.