Paris: Best Planning Maps and Tools
 

Would appreciate your feedback on what maps you plan your trips with and also take along with you. The one page sheet map I have now is not detailed enough to trace a decent walking route.

I'm thinking I need one thats more like a 8"x11" booklet that lays it out by each arrondissement.

Also would like to know the websites you use to find pictures of street addresses and/or individual buildings.

ira, didn't you post something on that?

Degas,

Travelnut reminded me of the site that allows you to plug in an address in Paris (perhaps all of France too?) and you can get a 360 degree view of that street. It's www.pagesjaunes.fr

Also, I purchased a map from Borders...I'm sorry I forget the name of it....it's made of cardstock and is laminated...cost about 8 bucks. It was a very handy guide during our trip to Paris. I plan on buying one for Rome too.

Good Luck!!

I recommend two

One is Streetwise Paris, gives you a good city wide overview, enough detail for most touristed areas.. Easily folded, laminated, pocket-sized

I also love the Paris Mapguide, a little booklet with bus and metro maps, and lots of details on all neighborhoods--each page is a small area.

both available amazon.com and elsewhere

Hope I'm not posting this twice, something went a little wonky there...

I love the Michelin atlas of paris by arrondissments. Extraordinarily detailed and very compact. See it here:

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASI...536543-2709654

A seconde vote for Mapguide, available from any of the online bookstores, and also the "yellow pages" mentioned above - nothing like sitting at my desk at lunch and wandering up and down the streets of Paris.

I used Mapguide too. The metro map was very helpful and large enough to see without a magnifying glass. The book was small enough to fit into my purse.

I prefer the laminated street map published by National Georgraphic Traveler, because it's all on one side, unlike the Streetwise maps.

Hi Degas,
I must have 10 maps of Paris but the one I USED was the Michelin Paris Pocket Atlas (by Arrondissements) Map No. 16. It was small enough (maybe 6x9) to fit in the side pocket of my purse and is spiral bound so it lays flat. The detail is great -- EVERY street is on there, plus taxi stands, museums, etc. I highly recommend it.
Cherie

Hi Degas,

I like www.multimap.com and www.mappy.com for online maps.

For hard copy, I use the Streetwise guides.

Degas - try this site:

www.pagesjaunes.fr

On the right side of the screen, under Les Photos de Ville use the drop down for Paris, it will take you to a new page and then type in an address. It will return a picture of the street with a focus on the number of the building you chose. You can also use the map on the right to get to sights, metro stations, streets....good luck

By the way - stupid me - don't forget to switch to english....Brit flag is upper right

I like the "lets go" map, its plastic coated (in case you get a wee smudge of your goat cheese on it from lunch...)
The map is large but it folds up and around so that only the area you're in is shown on the map...about 4 by 8" then I suppose

Also, as to the pagesjaunes its a treat to hit the arrows and take a virtual tour... "oh lookie look...a restaurant...a small park...a cafe... right where I want to be at that moment"

I like the large Michelin par Arrondissement (#15?). I've scanned all the neighborhoods we'll visit (grayscale for better readability). Then, with the scanner software, I add annotations - plot restaurants (red), shops (green), Museum opening days/times (blue) and include phone numbers. I also plot the bus routes/stops. "Pagesjaunes" is fabulous for fining addresses and adding them to my scanned maps. Just before leaving, I print them all. When in Paris, I fold the ones I need for the day and tuck them in a pocket. Just after returning home, and before each subsequent trip, I remove places and add new ones, then print out a new set.

If you can't find it in a travel store, you can buy Le Petit Parisien - 3 plans par arrondissement in any Paris bookstore and probably newsstand. One map is the detailed street map, the second is a map of the bus routes in that arrondissement, and the third is the metro map. The Metro map includes all public buildings (commissariat, hospital, mairie, museums, parking lots, taxi stands and market days (where and when). The 143 page book si about 8.5" by 6.5".

There's no lack of superb free maps available in Paris. Every hotel and info kiosk has free large-scale maps of central Paris, but if you want real detailed maps, head for the RATP (Paris transports) head office opposite the Gare de Lyon (southside towards the Seine) and pick up the dozen or so RATP maps of each Parisian district. These are fine maps with every little street on them as well as metro stations and bus routes. Best of all they're free. Also in the Maison RATP is a free exhibiton of Parisian transports, including usually old metro cars, etc. Metro ticket windows may also have the more detailed series of maps.

I have to say, although the Michelin #16 is a nice-sized book and very detailed, the print was simply too small for me, even though I wear bifocal lenses. I had to donate it to a book sale for American Cancer Society.
So - still using my M. Middleditch MapGuide, as I have since 1997. When we return in April, I'm going to look at some other publications to see what the font-size is before I buy again...

Wow, that was way more replies than I expected. Thanks for all the great recommendations.

I checked out a few addresses and that sure is a handy tool to have around.

I'll try amazon.com tonight and order up a couple of new maps.

I probably have about 6 different kinds of Paris maps, but I will admit I don't do elaborate planning of walks like you are doing so what I use just to get around Paris wouldn't be the same thing something would need without familiarity with the city or for your walking plans.

I do like the Streetwise Paris map to carry around as it is detailed and plastic; I just carry it in the side pocket of my tote bag sometimes. However, it is not comprehensive as it is only the central area. It cuts off south a little into Montparnasse, for example.

I have about 3 Paris par Arrondisements, different editions, which is a small booklet of maps by arrondisement. Each one is small, however, just for directions and so I don't get lost etc -- one I carry most often because it is slimmest is just a small stapled booklet, pages about 3x5 inches and it's only about 1/2 inch thick. I have another a little bigger and one that is thicker and a little smaller.

I don't like carrying around large maps so wouldn't use the Michelin or anything 6x9 on a daily basis to carry in my purse. I don't really like Michelin maps very well and thought the Middleditch is too much, I'm sort of a minimalist.

I've never found one that has detailed bus routes, even when they say they have them, they are just a few pages with rough route lines, you can't tell exact stops or even streets usually. So, I do carry a separate fold-out paper map of the bus lines I got from asking a RATP metro clerk.

I actually think for general walking and planning, one of those cheap maps you get free from your hotel or Mcdonalds etc is pretty good as you can visualize the whole area and relationships pretty well. they don't have as detailed streets, however, but I often carry around one of them, actually, for the big picture. They are often the only ones that go into the areas outside the peripherique, also.

I've picked up all my Paris maps in Paris but browsing at bookstores or a news kiosk (except for Streetwise which you can buy at Borders, etc).

Aside from pagesjaunes.fr which is useful like any phonebook (mostly what I use it for), I really like www.ismap.fr for finding restaurants and stores around my hotel. After I've booked rooms, I put in my hotel's address and up comes the general area map, then you click on the icons at the left as you wish and it marks restaurants nearby (and lists full names and addresses of them below the map).

I used Mapeasy for planning and Streetwise while in Paris and would do this again.

First, I used the Mapeasy map which I could write on and circle things I wanted to see. I color coded
sights near each other so I could visit them on the same day. This map also has stores,restaurants and hotels on it. This gave me a great overview of the city limits, the neighborhood I stayed in and where things were in relation to one another. This map is very easy to read, has helpful comments on it and was a great help in getting me acquainted with Paris.

While in Paris, I carried a Streetwise map - this is much harder on the eyes and much more detailed. This had side streets on it not found on Mapeasy. Streetwise is durable and has a Metro map on the back and that came in handy often. Plus, the Steetwise map fit in my $$ belt.

The combination of the two worked really well. I would refer to my Mapeasy each evening before I went to bed to see where I was going the next day and Streetwise helped me get there!!

Mapeasy maps are gorgeous. Be advised, however, that much is omitted, in addition to many streets, including a lot of metro stations.

I have been meaning to do a post on using the Paris bus system and Degas is inspiring me to get around to it...maybe tonight. We carry the Paris Mapguide, a pocket-sized bus guide "Le Bus: Repertoire des 80 Lignes," and a compass.

I do actually have a small guidebook of just the buslines which I bought in a parisian bookstore. It's by Leconte, an aqua cover, and is probably about 1/2 inch thick and about 6x4 inches or something. However, since all the bus lines are shown on the bus stop shelters, and because I do have the simple paper folkup map, I found I never really carried that around with me in Paris. I think I did keep it in my room for reference. It is actually the same maps you can print one by one from the RATP web site. I find it useful to just print those out for the couple of lines near where I'm staying that I think I'll use the most. They are very good if you aren't aware of them.

I think I had a compass once on a trip that I carried in my purse because it seemed like a good idea, but I never used it so have stopped carrying that. I just try to cut out all the extra "stuff" you tend to carry around. I have a good sense of direction, however, and know Paris fairly well also -- in most cities, I find tall landmarks good for direction (such as Montparnasse and the Eiffel towers).

We used the "Paris Practique" which we purchased in Paris at a newstand - pocket-size and street indexed. It was great - small, but easy to read and lists every street by arrondissement. It was wonderful for locating addresses (restaurants we were searching for, etc). I don't know if you can buy it from Amazon or not. But I think all the tobacs in Paris have copies.

I never brought along a compass until this last trip, when I found a little one less than 3/4" in diameter that fits on my watch band. My wife gave me a lot of ribbing, but quite often it came in handy. We ride the buses almost exclusively, and the key for doing that for me is the Paris Mapguide, because it tells you what bus line runs on a particular street. And surrounding each page, they list the lines at each quadrant, so you can follow along from one page to another. The problem with the system map, which you can get at any Metro or RER station, is that it not definitive enough as to streets. To look up a particular route, I go to Le Bus. The print in the pocket edition is pretty small, but you get a map with the route marked, plus a lot of other info in cluding transfer points to other lines. It is also helpful to identify where to get off the bus, which is a problem in itself.

I use the Paris Mapguide at home becausethe print is a bit larger than the book I take to Paris.

In Paris I use Paris Pratique par Arrondissement which is available nearly everywhere in Paris and also from Borders online here. It fits easily in my purse and doesn't have those nasty metal spiral bindings that tear the pages and get bent and poke things.

It includes bus and Metro routes although they are posted at the stations. It helps in planning to have them in the map.

It has all the streets . . . even the tiniest ones. If you're into planning walks, you might get the erasable highlighters and highlight your route. Later you can erase it and do another route. I use the pink ones so they really stand out on the map pages.

As mentioned above, the web site http://photos.pagesjaunes.fr/ has photos of nearly any address in Paris (or anyplace else in France).

Have a grand time.

Thanks for all the additional recommendations - so many great choices.

SalB - I am having a hard time finding Paris Pratique par Arrondissement on the Borders site - any hints???

Several version on this site:
http://www.ulyssesguides.com/

But evidently will be less expensive if bought in Paris.

Degas - what was the final decision and purchase??

there are many versions of small mapbooks of the arrondisements, all called some variation of Paris par Arrondisements, etc. they are all about the same, although size varies slightly and some typeface or maps are slightly easier to read than others. I have three, and they are all okay.

the easiest thing to do is buy one at a news kiosque or bookstore in Paris. Especially because they do vary some, you might prefer one style or layout to another. For example, some folks like Michelin or the Middleditch booklets but I do not like them that well, they would be several notches down on the list of my preferred mapbooks.

For some reason, the major US bookstores don't carry these that I've noticed (ie, Amazon, Barnes and Noble), except for the Michelin or Middleditch, altough I think a very specialized travel bookshop may. I know you can order them from online French bookstores, but the postage wouldn't be worth it.

Here is a travel bookstore in LA that sells it for $22:
http://www.travelbooks.com/

In Paris, they are about 5 euro. If I were you, I'd plan with a larger city map or guidebook (like Streetwise), and just pick up one of these in Paris. Or, you might browse the Middleditch or Michelin at Borders to see if you do like them. they are too big for me.