Maps (as in paper) for France

[Ming the Merciless]

Here you go, Stanford’s link

https://www.stanfords.co.uk/france-...VqSHB9RaKsSataQ0ckbiKRzZsYrsVLTEmTYB3aDqwky7Y

I find 1:100,000 works great for cycle touring / exploring.

 

[DRM]

https://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/carte
I know you want paper maps, but this is good for the initial planning on your p.c

 

[IaninSheffield]

Once or twice a year Aldi/Lidl sell 4 miles to the inch road atlases for a coupla quid. I usually buy one so I can tear out the pages I need and take them as backups on tour.

 

[Profpointy]

Here you go, Stanford’s link

https://www.stanfords.co.uk/france-...VqSHB9RaKsSataQ0ckbiKRzZsYrsVLTEmTYB3aDqwky7Y

I find 1:100,000 works great for cycle touring / exploring.

Just what I was about to suggest. The series verte 100,000 seem ideal for cycling, but just a smidge lacking for walking.

I must admit, I think it a shame that the OS don't do a 100,000 series over here with just a little detail less than the 50,000 but a good bit more than the 250,000. 25,000 are outstanding for walking but cover too small an area for driving (or cycling) or generally working out the lay of the land, the 50,000 aren't really different enough from the 25000 and the 250,000 are really for long distance driving

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Just what I was about to suggest. The series verte 100,000 seem ideal for cycling, but just a smidge lacking for walking.

I must admit, I think it a shame that the OS don't do a 100,000 series over hear with just a little detail less than the 50,000 but a good bit mor than the 25,000. The latter are outstanding for walking but for driving (or cycling) or generally working out the lay of the land, the 50,000 aren't different enough from the 25000 and the 250,000 are really for long distance driving

Appears they do do a 1:100,000 tour range but not covering whole of Great Britain

https://shop.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/maps/tour-maps.html

 

[Profpointy]

Appears they do do a 1:100,000 tour range but not covering whole of Great Britain

https://shop.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/maps/tour-maps.html

I think I've got the lake district one nownyou mention in, but others I've seen seem to merely be the 250,000 printed bigger so have no more detail.

 

[DRM]

https://www.geoportail.gouv.fr/carte
I know you want paper maps, but this is good for the initial planning on your p.c

Also with the above, you could zoom in & out, then print off the bits you need.

 

[srw]

IGN 1:100,000 Top 100 series maps are the best for cycle touring.
https://ignrando.fr/boutique/top-100-ign.html

This. Like the OS 1:50k and unlike any of the Michelin offerings they have proper contour lines - although the vertical separation isn't always the same between sheets.

They're clear, easy to read on the fly and very light - no heavy cardboard covers. Something like them is missing from the OS lineup as others have said.

 

[briantrumpet]

IGN 1:100,000 Top 100 series maps are the best for cycle touring.
https://ignrando.fr/boutique/top-100-ign.html

It's actually a toss-up now between them and the départmental maps at 150k. The Top100 ones aren't always the easiest to decipher (you have to watch out for roads that change to dotted lines at the side, as they are just rough tracks), and though they do have contours and shading for mountains, they are a bit cluttered, however beautiful they are as pieces of art). The 1:150k ones aren't nearly as lovely to look at, dont have contour lines, but are much more clear. The 1:25k ones are also a bit cluttered design-wise (compared with OS), and are stingy on the area they cover - there's nothing like the national park ones OS do covering a wide area.

One thing to bear in mind is that the paper IGN use is truly terrible - unlike OS maps, it tears along the folds after just a few uses, so it's worth getting the plasticated ones if you can.

You can see a comparison between the 100k and 150k maps I use regularly, here: https://unanglaisendiois.wordpress.com/2015/08/28/choosing-routes/

 

[oldwheels]

I've used Michelin maps before with great success. There's a good article here detailing the options available to you:
https://www.freewheelingfrance.com/planning-a-trip/maps-for-cycling-in-france.html

You can probably pick them up easily in Germany, I know my local Thalia book shop stocks them.

It was a longish time ago but we also used Michelin maps before electronic ones were invented. Worked well.

 

[briantrumpet]

When I did St Malo to Die, I just bought a 1:200k road atlas of France and took out the pages I needed. It was good enough for the navigation, but definitely not up to anything on the artistic front. But by far the cheapest way to do it.

 

[HobbesOnTour]

I'll just throw this into the ring from your last thread https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/maps-as-in-paper-for-france.266280/post-6117029

Edited to highlight my embarrassment at posting in the wrong to thread

 

[Profpointy]

IGN 1:100,000 Top 100 series maps are the best for cycle touring.
https://ignrando.fr/boutique/top-100-ign.html

Agree; an excellent series of maps, but perhaps a bit marginal for walking, though I have made do with them for their grande randonees (GR) long distance paths

it's a pity they don't do that scale here here as 50,000 is needlessly detailed for cycling and local motoring, and now that 25000 is available in big sheets 50,000 is kind of superseded for walking. Our 25000 are utterly superb for walking however.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Agree; an excellent series of maps, but perhaps a bit marginal for walking, though I have made do with them for their grande randonees (GR) long distance paths

it's a pity they don't do that scale here here as 50,000 is needlessly detailed for cycling and local motoring, and now that 25000 is available in big sheets 50,000 is kind of superseded for walking. Our 25000 are utterly superb for walking however.

I find 50 000 works well, because I can still -just- follow the map if I get stuck in a city. Also, I'm a nerd and I find the details interesting.

 

[Tim Bennet.]

In the 'old days', the Michelin 'yellow', 1:200,000 scale maps were a cheap and easy way to carry maps for long tours in France as they had little overlap and were regularly updated. Admittedly there weren't any contour lines, but there were lots of spot heights and you could tell when it was going to get hilly as the line for the road on the map became all squiggly. They were also available everywhere in France so you didn't have set off encumbered with an entire 'set' for your intended route.

Also those towns and villages with a municipal campsite all had a small black triangle next to the name on the map which was all the accommodation planning you needed. Admittedly (as is still the case with GPS mapping), you also had to carry a red covered Michelin map of France or Western Europe on one sheet so you could keep an eye on the intended overall 'big picture' type direction you were headed.

But things changed over the years. Michelin stopped printing them and replaced them with 'department' based editions with huge overlap in their coverage and variable scales (but with no more detail at the larger scales). I think my eyes have also got worse and I've become les tolerant of 'unintended deviations' from my route. So much so I now find them rubbish and have turned to the IGN 1:100,000 ones. But the original Michelin's are still available as pages in the road atlas and tearing pages out of this does make for a useable and cheap back up map.