This book is the best to guide you before traveling to France, and to carry while over there to decide on daytrips and which attractions to visit. This book, more than any other travel guides, is packed with images. It is so much easier to decide on a destination when you can see the shopping promenade or attractions or museums. The detailed layouts and 3-dimensional maps will prepare you for whatever attraction you plan to visit. For Chartres Cathedral, for instance, each of the grandiose church's famed stained glass windows is mapped, shown and described. It also prepares you for local specialties, be it wine or cuisine. The "visual glossary" not only describes territorial specialties, but shows what they look like.