Mentioned on this forum is the "Paris Par Arrondissement", an excellent bus map costing 40F in Paris. I found it on Amazon.com and they want $25 (if it is indeed the same thing). Can anyone recommend a bus map of Paris, the best routes, etc. Staying off St. Germain in the 6th. Where can I find it in the U.S.? <BR> <BR>Help!!!

Meg, <BR>I studied abroad in Paris for a semester in Spring 94. I bought a little book called Plan de Paris par Arrondisement. It is much more than a "bus map." It includes all the bus routes with the names of each stop (so you can read it and know exactly where you are). More importantly it has detailed maps of all the arrondisements with all the street names. And if that is not enough, it lists ALL street names with map location, where they begin and where they end. <BR> <BR>$25 is a considerable investment, but if you plan on visiting Paris a few times in your life or if you plan to study there, nothing beats it!

Thanks Mariarosa. Do you think "Paris par Arrondissement" is the same book? I just can't find it anyplace where I can look at it and decide. Thanks

Don't waste your money on that, it's a ripoff -- not in theory, just that price and you should note that are importing it from Paris, I guess and say it will take 6 wks. You can buy those all over Paris at news kiosks, etc, for much less than that cost when you arrive. Now I have one that is getting very old and I can't find one like it but there are actually a variety of publications that have that same name--mine is much thinner and a bit bigger than the little dictionary-sized red books (and, mine does not include bus lines, so you can't be sure). In any case, I have heard that Restoration Hardware is trying to be hip and has stacks of thes e in their store, not sure of the cost. However, on Amazon, you can buy "Paris Mapguide" by Michael Middleditch for only $8, it's readily available and includes bus lines. I'm pretty sure the Michelin Paris map, also on Amazon, has buslines but am not positive. YOu can print out a map of the buslines on www.ratp.fr, but they are not real close-in or detailed, but can give you a general idea of what's available in your area and where it goes. If you can wait, you can get a bus map for free in the metro station when you get there.

Thanks Christina <BR> <BR>I have the Middleditch book and yes it indicates bus routes but they are confusing. You're right, I don't want to spend $25 and not even see what I'm getting. I'm a planner and would really like to map out some routes before I go, but I may have to wait and pick the map up there. Do you think the Paris Tourism Office may send me one? <BR> <BR>Thanks again.

I second the recommendation for the Paris Mapguide that Christina mentioned. It is a fabulous tool to carry in your purse with the bus numbers and direction arrows printed on the streets. It also (of course) has a metro map and operation times of most museums and attractions. I bought mine at B&N.

Meg, <BR>I checked Amazon, and it sounds like it's the same one. I bought it for about $12 in a store called Inno (near Montparnasse) in '94, after I saw real French students who had it. I think you only need such a detailed map and the stop-by-stop bus route if you will be spending a good amount of time in Paris. With this "book" I never got lost. I could find any address, without any explanation, and I always knew if I was going the "right" way during a bus ride. Plus, it is very compact, so it is easier to peek into it than a big map. However, if you are only going to Paris for a week you'll probably be OK without it. Remember, Paris will not change, so even if you go to Paris every 5 years, you'll probably use it everytime.

Meg, if you really want the real thing before you go, I found a better source. First, there are a couple books that are common in Paris with similar names; one is called Plan de Paris par Arrondisements and the other is called Paris Commode (you also sometimes see a book with the first title nicknamed "L'Indispensable"). As someone said, it's not just a bus map, it's maps of all of Paris by quartier. It's about 50F in Paris, the Commode is only about 25F. I used to live in Los Angeles, and there is a bookstore there that sells only French books called La Cite des Livres(big expat French community in California), so I checked them figuring they'd have it and they do -- for only $15 and in stock (check on that), which beats Amazon. Their web site is www.lacitebooks.com (go to the section called "maps and guides" and look for "L'Indispensable") $15 is about twice what you'll pay in Paris--not sure of their S&H fees, but shouldn't be worse than Amazon. I don't know if the Tourist Office will send you the bus map, they might, I never thought of that--I believe the official name of the map you get from RATP (the metro agency) is called "Grand Plan de Paris", you should mention you want bus routes. I have seen some maps that try to put everything on them and I know they can be very confusing. In fact, I think I had one of those big maps and threw it away when I was cleaning up to return home, probably because it was so big that I never carried it around with me. I think I've heard the Michelin Paris maps have bus lines, also, but I don't much like Michelin maps or find them convenient for cities--you have to unfold them and spread them all over a table or something, they are so big. These small pocket-sized books are better.

Thank you Christina! I will contact La Cite des Livres. I previously tried a "google" and "savvysearch" for French bookstores and didn't come across that one. <BR> <BR>Maybe you or someone else can answer another question. We are staying right behind the Saint Germain church. Which bus routes are convenient for us to go to Madeline area and other interesting places? And someone can recommend a route that gives a scenic tour of the capital. <BR> <BR>Thanks again.

Michelin does make a pocket-sized book of Paris maps, with transport maps, info on museum opening hours, etc., though it doesn't sound as romantic to say "I have a Michelin map" as to say "I have Paris par Arrondissement." The Michelin booklet uses the same coordinates as their fold-out map, which makes it easy to use them together -- the big one to get the overall picture and the booklet for detail and easy use while walking. <BR> <BR>Different people find different maps harder or easer to read; since there are a bunch of these booklet-type maps available in France you might want to wait until there to comparison shop. <BR> <BR>

Meg, <BR>Try the web site http://www.ratp.fr/Pla_q/f_pla.htm <BR>and click on Bus Ile-de-France. You can choose each bus route for a detailed map of that route with all stops clearly marked. I found it much more helpful than any of the maps I purchased.

You can get a free Paris bus map by asking any metro cashier for "Un Grand Plan de Paris" (An Grahn Plan duh Paree). On the front is the metro, on the back a bus map. A very good guidebook for the buses is called "The Paris Mapguide." I got mine at Borders. The bus map in "the Michelin booklet # 11, Paris Plan par Arrondisement has a bus map but very hard to read. However it's great for locating all the streets of Paris which the regular Paris street maps don't show. For more go to: www.anamericaninparis.com <BR>[email protected]

Here's another recommendation for the bus routes map you can download in pdf at www.ratp.fr - when you print it, uncheck "fit to page", and print landscape vs. portrait, and you'll get a magnificent, very readable, map of the bus routes. You can also download each bus route, so you can see exactly where the bus stops are located. Note that the overall map is handy for determining which routes will take you from one area to another, but due to all the one-way streets, it's best to check each specific route map for the streets they travel. Also at the same website, you can click on English, then itineraries, enter a starting point and destination, and you'll get specific directions and maps for traveling to and from by bus. I also recommend the Paris Mapguide if you plan to travel a lot by bus. I also have the large Paris Par Arrondissement. I've scanned each neighborhood in grayscale (the annotations show up better) and plotted restaurants, shops, etc, and highlighted the attractions, museums and sight color coded by days closed, also noting hours, phone numbers, etc. While an expensive "map", they have the most detail, include all the streets with street numbers, and you can actually read all the street names. The buses in Paris are amazingly easy to use. Keep in mind that the buses don't stop at every stop unless someone is getting off or you you flag them down. Even though you'll see "zones" on most bus maps, they have been eliminated, so one ticket (same as metro) or fare is valid for the entire route. But, there are no free transfers. When you switch lines, another fare or ticket is required. As with the metro, the end of the line is on the front of the bus. If there's a line through it, that bus does not go all the way to the end of the route. Note also that there are many versions of Paris Par Arrondissment (only difference is the size and amount of area covered on each page). So, the one costing 40F in Paris may be a different one that the version on Amazon. The one I have is the Michelin 15. Each arrondissement is spread over two 9x12 pages and costs only $12 at Amazon. If you scan or photocopy the pages, you can fold them up put them in a pocket for easy reference while out and about. I started doing this (copying and annotating) after our first trip, when I realized how many places we had been a few steps away from we'd have loved to have visited without realizing it until after we got home. And, then there was the day we went to visit the passages, discovering that we had been only two blocks away a few days previously. Time is so limited and so valuable once you're there that all the pre-planning you do really pays off.

Meg, if you are still around, just wanted to say I was shocked, shocked to see that Cite des Livres is closing down (on their web site says 3/14)! They've been there forever, I wonder if the internet had something to do with it, as I buy foreign books that way so here is more advice. First, I checked further and that book on Cite is NOT the one with bus lines, anyway (nor is the one on Amazon). I have one called "Paris Arrondisements Pratique, l'Indispensable" which I found out is the publisher's name (and the publisher of the one Cite has) and I don't think this book has bus lines. The red book on Amazon you'll see a lot is published by Leconte (Plan de Paris par Arrondisement) (about 50F in Paris) but I don't think it has bus lines either. This same published (Leconte) has one called "Plan de Paris Rues-Metro-Autobus", no. 406 (ISBN 0810000660) and that's what you want; the cover is blue and white and it is 40F in Paris. Interestingly, I found a guide just called "Autobus" published by Ponchet, brand new in 1/01, which is green and looks like a guidebook only of bus, RER and metro lines (71F). They are at www.ponchet.com and also sell other guidebooks (seem to sell online, but I don't know). That seems expensive only for bus lines, though. You can order these books through French online CD/book sites and that is the best bet if you really want one in US. I would suggest the site www.alapage.com which has all of these, the Autobus by Ponchet for 60F and the #406 Plan de Paris Rues-Metro-Autobus by Leconte for 38F. They have overseas delivery in only 2-7 days for 59F (about $8), so that's about the same as you'd pay from Cite des Livres for the book plus postage. FNAC (www.fnac.com) is one of my favorite French book/CD stores in Paris and they have the Autobus guide, but do not seem to have the 38F Paris Rues-Autobus book by Leconte; you cannot save money by shopping around as I think prices are regulated in France and these sites can give you only 5 pct off, I think, so both are the same price; FNAC charges 59F for shipping also but then 15F per article, so you might as well go for Alapage.