Fodor's Provence & the French Riviera, 9th Edition (Full-color Travel Guide) Review

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Fodor's Provence & the French Riviera, 9th Edition (Full-color Travel Guide) ReviewThe south eastern area of France is one of the most varied and beautiful of the country. Fodor's has written an excellent in depth guide to this amazing region. This is one of the best guidebooks to one of my favorite areas of France.
The beauty of Provence, there is something for everybody, hiking (from plains to mountains), swimming (and beautiful people watching), fine dining, relaxing, and the fine arts. Fodor's has arranged itineraries and descriptions of towns around all this activities. With careful planning, just about anybody will be happy with a tour of Provence.
The first section of the book is a general overview of the region that serves as a guide to the more in depth sections of the book. Fodor's make an excellent pitch for a two week visit to the area, as Peter Mayle discovered, even with a year, it's hard to really appreciate everything this region has to offer. At first glance the itineraries seem time based, but in fact they are more aligned with the kind of activity - lounging on the beach, art, food, perfume, and wine.
The book is then subdivided into geographic areas. Each has its own personality and Fodor's does an excellent job reflecting the nuances. There are several focus sections marked by an orange edge on the pages. These are great in depth descriptions.
Fodor's is repetitive if you try to read this book cover to cover. Time of year to visit is repeated many times, it's hard to miss that it gets hot in Provence during July and August, and very windy and cold in the winter. From personal experience, heed the advice even if you live in Arizona or Alaska. Almost every section talks about the fabulous breakfast. Be careful with expectations here, they are talking about the ambiance, the wonderful coffee (or cafe au lait) and croissants. They are not saying there will be this incredible huge American breakfast (in some hotels it is almost impossible to get eggs for breakfast). Breakfast in France is light and quick, not the massive all day meal eaten in the US.
Overall the recommendations in this book are accurate. They haven't really changed dramatically over the years - the Cote D'Azur is still packed solid with people in the summer with legendary traffic jams, the northern parts of the region are gorgeous and less packed with people, the food is spectacular (avoid mussels at all costs in this region - other seafood is fine), the people are generally very nice (much more relaxed and accommodating than in Paris), the countryside is spectacular, and seeing the light and feeling the atmosphere artists portrayed in all their paintings of this region. The only other region in Europe that comes close to this feeling is Tuscany.
Fodor's doesn't explicitly state this, but anybody trying to recreate A Year In Provence will be sadly disappointed (short of buying a house and spending a year in Provence). Expectations are everything, some aspects of the book are possible, but finding Monsieur Colombani is impossible. In fact the area where Peter Mayle lived is over run, and the chances of recreating the atmosphere are really tough. Towns like St.-Remy-de-Provence and Les-Baux-de-Provence are more like Mayle's Provence of the late 80's.
The book takes a middle class approach to the visit. By that I mean, it assumes the reader can't necessarily afford the luxurious side of this region (Nice and Monte Carlo are two of the more expensive cities in the world). There is a looking through the window or the wrong side of the velvet rope at something I can't afford attitude, instead of simply describing the expensive as just being that, expensive and luxurious maybe you can afford it. It would have been nice to simply pointing out those incredible things that might be worth the expense, like having a meal with some incredible Chateau Neuf du Pape in area where that wine was made.
The least effective section is the last few chapters, crash courses on the language, money, and getting around the region. One piece is very badly out of date, driving a car and the speed limit. During the last few years, France has clamped down so hard on speeding, very few people drive over the speed limit any more. If you drive, it is important to follow those limits exactly - the police no longer accept more than a few KPH over the limit. In fact, there is photo radar everywhere that doesn't tolerate more than ten over the speed limit. As an American you will likely never have to pay the fine from the radar camera - however (and this is very very important) you will pay your car rental company a nasty fee for sending the police your information (around $30) that is pure 100% profit for the rental company.
One last point about driving in France, there is zero tolerance for drinking and driving. This isn't anything like in the US where we can have a few and still drive legally. There are random stops at night, especially around night clubs, and if you are the least bit intoxicated, you will go off to jail for that night. One glass of wine during the first part of the meal is fine, but skip glasses or after dinner drinks near the end of the meal. Driving in France is difficult.
In general, if you smile and try to speak French, most people will be helpful. Knowing French is helpful, but not critical. This region is accustom to tourists. I lived in France for almost two years and have visited almost every region of France. Since living there, I have visited and vacationed in France many times. I have found the people in this region to be the kindest friendliest people I have met anywhere.
With the right expectations, knowing what you like to do best, and following the advice in this book, a trip to Provence will be a huge success.
"...ease out of the fast-paced-telephone-ringing-crazy-car-driver madness of the big city and into the slow, luscious let's-stop-and-enjoy world of the South of France."
Fodor's Provence & the French Riviera, 9th Edition (Full-color Travel Guide) Overview

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