Mary Bouron
To help update this book, Rick and Steve relied on...
Mary caught the travel bug as a child living in London, and later, as an exchange student in France. Born a Seattleite, Mary now confidently calls herself a Parisian. Deeply in love with a Frenchman, and a mother of two, she occupies her free time hunting for the city’s best baguette and digging at the root causes of Franco-American cultural miscommunications.
Tom edits and researches guidebooks for Rick Steves. For this book he researched Normandy and Brittany, visiting sites that his dad saw 70 years ago during the D-Day invasion. Tom has lived and worked in London, Paris, and Germany; he now makes his home in Seattle with his wife Julie.
Kristen, a native of Seattle, first came to Europe as an exchange student, studying theater. Many years later, she has become fluent in French, German, Champagne, and foie gras. She’s been leading tours and researching guidebooks for Rick Steves since 2000. After stays in southern France, Berlin, and Paris, she now lives in Seattle with her husband, Sylvain, and their daughter, Charlotte.
Having studied French for many years and lived in Brittany, Amy now jumps at the chance to travel to France. For the rest of the year, Amy helps plan and manage tours in the Rick Steves tour operations department and lives near Seattle with her husband, Jeremy.
Gene is the co-author of 10 Rick Steves books. For this book, he wrote material on Europe’s art, history, and contemporary culture. When not traveling, Gene enjoys composing music, recovering from his 1973 trip to Europe with Rick, and living everyday life with his daughter.
| Location | Photographer |
| Title Page: Villefranche-sur-Mer | Steve Smith |
| Full-Page Color: Collioure | Dominic Bonuccelli |
| Paris: Louvre | Rick Steves |
| Near Paris: Versailles | Rick Steves |
| Normandy: Mont St-Michel | Steve Smith |
| Brittany: Dinan | Steve Smith |
| The Loire: Château d’Amboise | Steve Smith |
| Dordogne: Dordogne River Valley | David C. Hoerlein |
| Basque Country: St-Jean-de-Luz | Cameron Hewitt |
| Languedoc-Roussillon: Carcassonne | Dominic Bonuccelli |
| Provence: Pont du Gard Aqueduct | Rick Steves |
| The French Riviera: Cannes | Steve Smith |
| The French Alps: Chamonix Valley | David C. Hoerlein |
| Burgundy: Château de la Rochepot | Steve Smith |
| Lyon: Saône River and Bonaparte Bridge | Steve Smith |
| Alsace: Kaysersberg | Steve Smith |
| Reims and Verdun: The Five Defenders of Verdun | Abe Bringolf |
Thanks to Steve’s wife, Karen Lewis Smith, for her assistance covering French cuisine; and to Steve’s children, Travis and Maria, for help with children’s activities.
Thanks to Aaron Harting for his help with the original “Winter Sports in Chamonix” section. Aaron is a travel advisor and assistant video editor in our Edmonds office, assists on a multitude of tours, and has skied his way through much of the Alps.
