westiedogs

Hi,
Even though I certainly don't look my age, alas, my eyesight is less than cooperative. I am thinking about getting these based on recommendations, but is the print miniscule? The one I got from hotel last time I was in Paris was readable only with an industrial-strength magnifying glass.

mamc

Streetwise Paris is the best. Mine has been to Paris 5 times and will go in the fall for the sixth. It is very easy to read - I can't recommend it highly enough.

ira

Hi Westie,

I am 62 and wear glasses. I am looking at my Streetwise Paris map.

I can read the smallest print on the map.

elaine

Hi
I find it easy to read myself, but I don't know what your particular issue is with vision and glasses or lenses

My sister who is younger than I finds all maps hard to read with or without glasses, and does carry a small magnifying glass with her.

westiedogs

Thanks...I just ordered one. I really am not a candidate for a guide dog...just sometimes hate that fine print. Now a fine wine........

rkkwan

On the main map, the size of the prints are proportional to the size of the street. So, you won't have problem finding Champ Elysee. However, if you need to find an alley in Montmarte, then they can be hard to read.

Budman

I bought and used the Streetwise Map for Paris and stayed in the Montmartre area. The map was great.

I also bought the Streetwise Map for the subway system in Paris -- Forget it. Too small to see. Get a paper one in one of the main subway stations.

RonZ

The laminated map put out by B&B City Streets is a little bigger than Streetwise and easier to read. But we ride the buses most of the time, and therefore favor the Paris Mapguide, which shows bus routes.

Margie

I have taken our Streetwise map to Paris the last 2 times we have gone and it's great. No problem reading the street names and we use it for the Metro routes/stations. It works for us and it's the only map of the city we bring.

RonZ

Printable neighborhood maps are available on the city transit web site which are very handy, especially if you plan to use the buses. They are listed by Metro stop and show bus lines, bus stops and taxi stands. To see the bus routes, go back to network maps. To locate where a hotel is located exactly, use www.lespagesjaunes.fr

http://www.ratp.fr/ParisVisite/Eng/Pla_q/f_pla.htm

richardab

I INSIST! DO NOT GET THE STREETWISE!

I have a better idea. I swear by the "The Paris Mapguide" which is a small very readable book by Penguin. Look on Amazon. Its $8.00 and you will also see the recommendations of people using it. The best part is that it list major shop, mesuems, sights, metro stations, etc. I love it. Each page give you a chunk of a neighborhood including all the little side streets. Plus when you pull it out on the street it doesn't look like a map!

jody

I have always used Streetwise for many cities...but since I have never been able to figure out Paris bus routes I ordered the Paris Mapguide RonZ mentioned. His advice on daytrips was so helpful , I trust his judgemnet!

Really cheap at Amazon online!

StCirq

I have always used my trusty copy of Paris par Arrondissement in Paris, in conjunction with the very general map of Paris that the hotels I stay at give out for free. Those laminated ones look like toys to me, and I'm afraid I'm going to look like some loony middle-aged tourist with a pop-up gadget, advertising myself as an easy target if I use one. Fortunately, I know Paris pretty well by now and don't often need a map, but when I do, I pop into a café and check my Paris par Arrondissement so I'm not such a bull's-eye on the street. So far, although my eyesight isn't what it was 20 years ago, I can still read the print without any problems.

HOWEVER, the métro and RATP maps are way too small for me to read easily - honestly, they must be 6-point type or smaller. I need to plaster them to my face to figure out which métro stops I need to go to. Richard - does the Paris MapGuide have fairly large-size maps of the métro and bus systems?

marcy_

I really like the Streetwise Maps, but I'm with you, westiedogs, the print is AWFULLY small. I was actually just considering what magnifying glass to take on our upcoming trip to Spain in order to read my Streetwise maps of Barcelona and Madrid!

I think I will try the Paris Mapguide that richardab told about, but is something similar available for other cities?

Travelnut

I have a Mapguide booklet for Paris, also Amsterdam and London. I don't recall seeing them for other cities in the bookstores but I think there may be a list inside the flap. The Metro map is spread over 2 pages I believe. It is a little outdated in that the stop now called 'Grand Boulevards' is labeled w/old name 'rue Montmartre' and it probably doesn't have the new Line 14. I've used mine for 6 years. I had bought a Michelin #16 but the print was too tiny and I gave it away.

rkkwan

The 2003 revision of Streetwise have "Grand Blvd" on its Metro map, but on the main map itself, it still says "Rue Montmartre".

Laidback

If you really plan on using ONE booklet, the best I have found is "Le Petit Parisien". Like Ron, I love to use the buses, and the advantage of "LPP". is that there are 3 plans for each arrondissement; 1 very detailed for the metro, 1 very detailed for the bus stop and routes, and the 3rd the normal detailed map like you find in "Plan de Paris Par Arrondissement"mentioned by St. Cirq. I don't think that anyone has mentioned that the classic Plan de Paris Par Arrondissement comes in several sizes to let you compromise between convenience in carrying and visibility. The same is true for Le Petit Parisien.

Randy

I use the Michelin Paris Map. Before I leave on my trip I take the map to my copy machine and make copies of the areas I will be visiting while in Paris. Usually it only takes about three pages. When I get to Paris I keep the big map at the hotel and fold up the three 8 1/2 X 11 sheets of paper and put them in my pocket. This small piece of paper is a lot easier to handle when you are on a windy street corner than the big map. To make them easier to read, you could enlarge them on a copy machine.

dcespedes

Great idea, Randy!

richardab

Sometimes i enlarge and photocopy map sections and carry them with me. if i go out at night and don't want to take the book i can just fold the map in my pocket.