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Best of Paris and London in 8 Days: Recommended Reading & Viewing

Paris and London are overwhelmingly rich in history, art and culture. Any preliminary reading, viewing or listening you can do will help you get the most from your trip. For more information on any of these books, visit your favorite bookstore or check out amazon.com; for video information, go to imdb.com. Rick Steves' guidebooks are available at our office in Edmonds and also on our website's Travel Store.

Recommended Reading

Non-Fiction: London

• A History of London — Stephen Inwood
• London: The Biography — Peter Ackroyd
• Elizabeth's London — Liza Picard
• Letters from London — Julian Barnes
• 84 Charing Cross Road; The Duchess of Bloomsbury Street — Helene Hanff
• Notes From A Small Island — Bill Bryson
• Secret London (walking tours) — Andrew Duncan

Non-Fiction: Paris

• Culture Shock: France — Sally Taylor
• French or Foe?; Savoir-Flair! — Polly Platt
• The Course of French History — Pierre Goubert
• The Cambridge Illustrated History of France — Colin Jones
• A Moveable Feast — Ernest Hemingway
• I'll Always Have Paris — Art Buchwald
• Suite Francaise — Irene Nemirovsky
• Is Paris Burning? — Larry Collins
• Paris Noir: African Americans in the City of Light — Tyler Stovall
• Paris to the Moon — Adam Gopnik
• A Corner in the Marais — Alex Karmel
• The Piano Shop on the Left Bank — Thaddeus Carhart
• Almost French — Sarah Turnbull
• The Flaneur — Edmund White
• The Authentic Bistros of Paris — Francois Thomazeau
• Paris: The Collected Traveler — Barrie Kerper
• Paris Mapguide — Michael Middleditch

Fiction: London

• Pygmalion — George Bernard Shaw
• Oliver Twist — Charles Dickens
• The Jeeves series — P.G. Wodehouse
• A Study in Scarlet — Arthur Conan Doyle
• London — Edward Rutherford
• The Jupiter Myth — Lindsey Davis
• The Great Stink — Clare Clark
• Lucia in London — E.F. Benson
• Bridget Jones' Diary — Helen Fielding
• Confessions of a Shopaholic — Sophie Kinsella
• In the Presence of the Enemy — Elizab
• eth George
• Murder in Mayfair — Robert Barnard Rumpole of the Bailey — John Mortimer

Fiction: Paris

• A Tale of Two Cities — Charles Dickens
• Les Misérables; The Hunchback of Notre Dame — Victor Hugo
• A Place in the World Called Paris — Steven Barclay
• City of Darkness, City of Light — Marge Piercy
• Inspector Maigret series — George Simenon
• Murder in Montparnasse — Howard Engel
• Murder in the Marais — Cara Black
• Sandman — J. Robert Janes
• Madeline series — Ludwig Bemelmans

General Europe Books

• Europe 101 — Rick Steves & Gene Openshaw. History and art overview for the traveler; humorous and easy to read.
• Innocents Abroad — Mark Twain. Humorous classic recounts an American group's 1867 "Grand Tour" through Europe and the Holy Land.
• Civilisation — Kenneth Clark
• Connections — James Burke

Rick Steves' Travel DVDs

For a fun, informative preview of your next tour destination, watch a DVD from our "Rick Steves' Europe" TV series! Our online Travel Store has 70 shows available on 12 DVDs (a generous five to eight shows per disc)

Films With an Accent

London:

Shakespeare in Love (1999) • A Man for All Seasons (1966) • Elizabeth (1998) • Elizabeth I (2005) • The Madness of King George (1994) • Howard's End (1992) • The Elephant Man (1980) • Waterloo Bridge (1940) • Passport to Pimlico (1949) • Mary Poppins (1964) • My Fair Lady (1964) • A Hard Day's Night (1964) • Blowup (1966) • Georgy Girl (1966) • To Sir, with Love (1967) • Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) • Notting Hill (1999) • Sliding Doors (1998) • A Fish Called Wanda (1988) • My Beautiful Launderette (1986) • Billy Elliot (2000) • Bend It Like Beckham (2003) • The Queen (2006) • Shaun of the Dead (2004) • V for Vendetta (2006) • A Little Princess (1995)

Paris:

Children of Paradise (1946) • The Red Balloon (1956) • The 400 Blows (1959) • Jules and Jim (1962) • Charade (1963) • Blue/White/Red (1990s) • Ridicule (1996) • Ronin (1998) • Moulin Rouge! (2001) • Amélie (2001) • The Triplets of Belleville (2003) • The Phantom of the Opera (2004) • The Da Vinci Code (2006) • Marie Antoinette (2006)