Books with a travel theme - whether practical, beautiful, inspirational or just a good read - make a great Christmas gift. Photo / ThinkstockBooks with a travel theme - whether practical, beautiful, inspirational or just a good read - make a great Christmas gift. Photo / Thinkstock

Is there an avid traveller on your gift list?
Or even someone who doesn't go too far from home, but simply loves reading about faraway places and other cultures?
Maybe you have a friend or loved one who might enjoy spending the day gazing at pictures of places they love or long to see.
Books with a travel theme - whether practical, beautiful, inspirational or just a good read - make a great Christmas gift.
Here are a few ideas and recommendations:
Shannon Bennett's France, A Personal Guide to Fine Dining in Regional France, Melbourne University Press
Dreaming of a sojourn in the south of France? By reading Shannon Bennett's book, which takes a gastronomic tour of this divine country famous for its food, you'll have plane tickets booked by the end of summer.
Chef and owner of Melbourne's internationally-renowned restaurant Vue de Monde, Bennett takes the journey of a lifetime as he explores his favourite country.
Whet your appetite as Bennett and friends review fabulous French eateries, from three-star restaurants and local bistros, to luxury hotels and rooms with a view. Bennett even provides a perfect three-day break in Monte-Carlo, a movie producer's guide to Cannes and a sommelier's tips on choosing the best French wines. There are recipes for everything from goose and foie gras rillettes and salade Lyonnaise to bouillabaisse and gateau
Basque.
Not for Parents: (Paris, London, Rome and New York), Lonely Planet
Not For Parents: The Travel Book, Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet has published its first series for children, Not For Parents books on Paris, London, Rome and New York. The paperbacks offer curious kids cartoons, photos and drawings packed with tidbits on local history, geography, the arts and pop culture.
Not For Parents: Paris, 'Everything You Ever Wanted To Know', for example, mentions everything from crepes and the origins of plaster of Paris to a look at Deyrolle, a bizarre showcase for taxidermied animals.
Lonely Planet is also offering a version of The Travel Book for kids subtitled Cool Stuff to Know About Every Country in the World.
Great Journeys, Lonely Planet
Lights, Camera... Travel! Lonely Planet
Lonely Planet's new books for grown-ups include Great Journeys, a coffee-table book about "the world's most spectacular routes", from the trail to Peru's Machu Picchu to America's classic Route 66, and a collection of stories by celebrities called Lights, Camera ... Travel! including Brooke Shield's tale of her wintertime visit to the Arctic.
More at New Zealand Herald.