plambers

H. We will get the Michelin Green guide for our Dordogne trip (base in Sarlat for a week) and then we drive to Goult in Provence for the next week.
We will have a GPS. Do I still need Michelin maps for both areas and if so which ones? Thanks

Michael

I would get them. Any store that sells newspapers and other products will carry at least the local maps.

greg

I drove around Provence last year with a phone GPS and Michelin maps. I didn't even open the Michelin map. When the GPS is working, and unless you have a competent navigator with you who can read maps, it is much easier to follow the GPS instructions to navigate never ending sequence of roundabouts by following GPS voice instructions "at next roundabout, take the 3rd exit, " etc. I carried the Michelin maps in case my GPS went kaputt. GPS, however, can be rather stupid at times. I have studied Roussillon roads before the trip and knew the most direct path to the parking lot is no entry for cars, yet my GPS kept directing me to the no car allowed street.

Dukey1

Do maps show "no cars allowed" streets?

traveller1959

The yellow Michelin maps are scaled 1:200,000 and are wonderfully detailed. The scenic roads are marked with a green line and you find many attractions on these maps like monuments, castles, ruins, aqueducts, prehistoric sites, windmills, caves, beaches etc. Even the important hiking trails are marked.

We have made many roadside discoveries by looking on the yellow maps. Furthermore, by looking on the map you can find the more scenic routes rather than the fastest way.

FrenchMystiqueTours

GPS is great at getting you from point A to point B but I would still get Michelin maps as you can not randomly wander and explore with GPS nor will it give you info about designated scenic roads or icons for touristically/historically interesting things (châteaux, ruins, abbeys, churches, natural features etc.) nor does it show you the starred attractions in the corresponding Michelin Green Guides.

In regards to which maps you need it depends on whether you want the regional or departmental maps and also how far afield from your home bases you plan on exploring. I prefer the departmental maps as they are easier to read and show the starred attractions from the Michelin Green Guides. For the area near Sarlat you at least want to get maps 329 and 337. For Goult you need map 332 but you are close to departmental borders and since the cost is not great you may also want to get maps 334, 339 and 340.

FrenchMystiqueTours

The yellow maps are actually scaled 1:150,000 and are the departmental maps. The orange ones are scaled 1:200,000 and are the regional maps. A slight technical correction I know but just mentioned it for the sake of others. But I otherwise agree 100% with everything traveller1959 mentioned.

traveller1959

Mystique: You are showing me that I am getting old. When I was still young the 1:200,000 maps were yellow, now they are orange, some even blue. Sometimes you have to adapt to modern times. And I noticed that the maps on www.viamichelin.com look different too.

http://www.michelin-boutique.com/gui...cPath=33_34_35

Well, at each gas station and in most supermarkets you find the maps of your region.

Or, if you need more than two or three, think about an atlas with all France for 11.90 Euros.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Yes, the colors have changed over time but no biggie. I've got the atlas too but what I don't like about the atlas is that the bindings (whether spiral or not) are a pain to deal with when the sights or routes you are interested in get split between two pages and also that you don't get a large scale view of a region as the size of the pages limits overall perspective of a large region. On the plus side they are a one size fits all solution without having to buy maps individually.

As you noted, the maps can be bought at many large supermarkets/hypermarkets and department stores (such as FNAC) and also the local maps are found at the full service rest stops on the autoroutes. You'll also get a good selection of maps at many of the larger bookstores and in Paris Gibert Jeune is a good place to look.

You can also buy the Michelin maps from their website and here is a link to the page that shows you the 1:200,000 scale maps of France (Regional maps):
http://tinyurl.com/4bt96ev

And here is a link to the page that shows you the 1:150,000 scale maps of France (Départementale maps):
http://tinyurl.com/6mt4n64

plambers

Thanks so much, especially for the specifics. I have no sense of direction and thank goodness my husband never met a map he didn't like so I am driver and he is navigator.

It seems departmental maps are the way to go.

FrenchMystiqueTours

The maps work best when there is a driver and navigator. My Mrs. drives and I read the maps and I must admit I am an excellent map reader and have never gotten us lost (never used GPS) and pretty much don't read guidebooks when vacationing in France. I find everything I need to see and do on the maps but I do also use the excellent French tourist office websites as a supplement when I find something of interest on the maps. OK, I also visit the tourist offices in person whenever I am in a place of interest or when I'm seeking additional info but it all starts with the maps.

StCirq

I use my yellow Michelin 329 map almost daily here, plus the free Michelin Carte Routière et Touristique map you can get at any tourist office and in many stores. I detest GPS, though I realize it works fine for most folks. I don't want some voice yammering at me while I'm driving, and I've always studied the maps the night before I go anywhere, so I pretty much know where I'm going (except for that nasty disappearing road between Monfort and Souillac).