One more map question. Does anyone know the best pocket map of Paris that will be easy to carry around every day and yet detailed enough to find most streets? Where's the best place to find it?

Hi

I found the Streetwis Guide to be very useful. It's available through www.amazon.com.

OOPS

That's StreetwisE

I am also a fan of StreetWise but if you want a slightly more detailed one, which also shows bus routes, The Paris Mapguide, by Michael Middleditch , is a good one to get.

i've mentioned this before: those free fold up paper maps one finds at every hotel desk are perfectly adequate for the average traveler.

generally sponsored by large stores (eg. galleries lafayette) they normally have a street listing which corresponds to a grid on the main map and a fairly good map of the metro/RER and sometimes the bus routes.

granted they don't list every alleyway (or even, smaller streets), but for the first or second time visitor, they work just fine. they generally highlight the main attractions and, of course, the store locations.

actually, there are some advantages over more extensive offerings. the first is that they are free which allows one to ink in a specific itinerary, make notes or circle particular sites. at the end of the day you merely throw it away and pick up another for the next.

they are light and pliable, easily folded to a given area of town and easy to stick into a pocket unlike some book type maps. i've used them in every major city in europe and they've never let me down.

The best, IMO, is to buy one in Paris at a newsstand/kiosk. There are several versions, but I bought one for about 6Euro that measures 4.5x7" so fits easily in purse or most pockets.
It has a dark blue cover with white lettering, and is titled "Paris Pratique, par Arrondissement".

Also, the print/font is manageable. I had to give away my Michelin #16 b/c just couldn't see the fine print.

It has:
- metro map
- RER map
- bus map
- street index
- street maps, broken up into arrondisements (and an insert of Paris with that arr. highlighted for perspective)
- includes outlying areas, ie both Bois, Defense area

I bought a pair of $2 reading glasses to allow me to read small print. Thus, the Michelin #16, "Paris, Atlas Par Arrondissements," is one of the last things I would ever dispose of. The ISBN is 2-06-001601-0 to help you find it at Amazon.com.

My favorite is the free maps that the hotels provide. I get a new one everyday as it gets crumpled in my pocket.

Streetwise ! I use them whereever we travel..
Not only do they show the streets, but they show monuments, Metro stations and Sights of Interest.

Paris atlas par arrondissements...is terrific!!
I also love "The Paris Mapguide" (Michael Middleditch)
ISBN# 0-14-046962-1
He also publishes great mapbooks of NY & London....just wish he' d come up with a map for Venice!!!

Any suggestions for a GREAT venice map????

Hopscotch, I've bought a $200 pair of bifocals, still couldn't handle that Michelin! But it did look like a good book.

I like the Paris Pratique even better than the Middleditch that I've used since 1997, b/c it covers ALL of Paris (unlike Streetwise, or most other maps you get at Borders, B&N,etc).

Michelin #57 Paris Par Arrondissements