5/5 So good I watched it twice...
  by javamdnss (Florida, United States)
I rented this from the library. I haven't been to France yet but I have seen a few videos on it. This is one of the more enjoyable ones. I actually did learn a few things on the areas including some history on them. The scenery was breathtaking. I like how the regions are divided into separate shows or parts. You can watch just one in a sitting if you prefer. I like how he prefers to stay as a local too, and get the local view on things. A very enjoyable way to spend a few hours!
I will be buying this one to watch at leisure.

4/5 Tres bon
  by djf (usa)
After reading the "bad" review here - I ordered it anyway because of the reduced price and the quality of Rudy's PBS programs. I have been to Paris many times and have spent days driving through the French country side from Paris to Nice to Les Alps and Alsace.

I was pleased I ignored the "bad" advice. This is a very nice video which should help anyone remember their trip to France.

Value and quality - very good - tres bon!




2/5 There are better resources
  by Peter Bridge (San Diego CA)
I can't figure out how Rudy has gotten the mileage he's gotten. I think I've watched all of his videos (heck, at some point, you've seen everything else), and I have found him to be consistently, extraordinarily, shallow in his research, and in his understanding of his subject countries and locales. Please understand, I say that in the context of knowing many of his destinations, in some cases quite well.

If you want a light, fluffy, skim of the region, Rudy is your man -- he never covers anything that you wouldn't know about if you gave nine minutes to absent-mindledly flipping through a competent guidebook... and in the same depth. Think of Rudy as a tour bus, passing through at twenty miles an hour, giving you a glimpse, but never quite stopping to let you smell the roses. Or the horse manure. Lite, cheerful, sanitized, smooth, and lo-cal.

For a basic introduction to a country or region, Rick Steves is a better resource, whether or not you are seeking bargain travel -- look especially to Rick for help with building and prioritizing a trip around available time, and for help findingnice little spots the big books may overlook. If you want more than Rick offers, you'll have to start working your way through rather more serious volumes. Rudy ain't it.

On a positive note, the pictures aren't ugly. If your library has nothing else, and if you've seen everything else on Netflix, you probably won't regret the money invested. On the other hand, if you've already been to the destination, you may well be asking, "Why, Rudy, why? It would have been so easy to do a much better job."

Two stars. The subject matter, regardless of its treatment, doesn't allow me to go lower.