Which Road atlas for France?

[Leakylunar]

Just looking for a french road atlas , are they all the same or is there one that stands out?

 

[DavidG58]

We prefer the spiral bound ones

but we made a mistake last time didn’t look at it carefully before buying, the definition between paid and free motorways isn’t very clear

we bought ours while in France ?

 

[JohnJan]

We buy an AA France every now and again, spent 3 weeks in early September in France with a 2012 version, wasn't a great deal of difference road wise. We use the map to get and idea of location and planning the routes and then sat nav it to actually get there

 

[Solwaybuggier]

We like the Michelin spiral bound with laminated pages - saves having pages tearing out of the spiral binding. But there is also a non-laminated version specifically for motorhomes, which shows aires, campsites, etc.

 

[Shrimp]

Michelin, not spiral bound the pages tear out of the wires very quickly, we have the one that opens out like a book-

As you can see We are due for an update!
We find having a physical map is very handy sometimes.

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[Leakylunar]

One with aires sounds good, spiral bound and laminated also sounds good ??

 

[Potty]

We have the same as Shrimp but a bit younger. It is a very large scale, 1cm to 2km which does mean a long journey covers several pages but it does seem to have nearly every village so finding aires in smaller places is easier.

 

[nicholsong]

In my view there is no contest. Michelin spiral bound and laminated. It is large scale so is excellent for the roads, but also for touring it includes geographical features and a lot of information for exploring interesting sites.

Costs a bit more than others but not much and it lasts without breaking up.

I wanted the Michelin one for Germany but could not find the laminated one.

Geoff

 

[LesW]

Another fan of Michelin here, also worth mentioning that they have the width of roads too.

 

[Potty]

Another fan of Michelin here, also worth mentioning that they have the width of roads too.

Also has bridge heights

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[DangerMousy]

For France I really like the AA Big Easy Read atlas - at 1:190k I think its the largest scale one around. Very easy to read, toll motorways are clearly marked, motorway service station names are included and you can tell whether they are the quiet aire type or the larger ones with full facilities (if that's important to you).

For other countries we have Michelin maps - they're ok but I don't find them as good as the AA France one. I wish that they did a similar one for the other countries in Europe.

 

[ADJF]

I purchased the Michelin spiral bound map and I'm extremely happy with it. I use it alongside both of the "All the Aires" editions. All brilliant publications and worth every penny

 

[walburga]

Plus one for the AA Big easy read....the Michelin is also good, had several over the years, but the AA one has better defined toll motorways, think I'm on my third now..all sourced on ebay.

Couple of years ago I picked up a very good atlas of Spain/Portugal from a Spanish Lidl, far better than the Michelin map.

Allen

 

[Potty]

For France I really like the AA Big Easy Read atlas - at 1:190k I think its the largest scale one around. Very easy to read, toll motorways are clearly marked, motorway service station names are included and you can tell whether they are the quiet aire type or the larger ones with full facilities (if that's important to you).

For other countries we have Michelin maps - they're ok but I don't find them as good as the AA France one. I wish that they did a similar one for the other countries in Europe.

That scale is not much different from the Michelin one which also shows all the other items mentioned. Haven’t seen the AA one but this is the one I use for route planning, smaller scale but easier to follow for planning longer journeys. A bit old, the roads may have changed but the places should still be in the same place

 

[Lot lover]

We have a Michelin spiral bound as pages tend to stay in place better. I tend to rely on sat nav or online he for determining chargeable or not motorways.

Buying decision was made on a wet day in a large Leclerc while Mme was wasting her time looking at stuff.

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[Leakylunar]

??

 

[Madcaravanner]

Just looking for a french road atlas , are they all the same or is there one that stands out?

May I enquire WHY?

There are excellent free resources on the web some available off line too (Search for Sites)
I do like Via Michelin as it gives me an idea of costings for a potential journey
Google Maps also works for finding things to do and where to eat that are open

All I have used paper maps for in the past has been to write on with maker pen where we have been but now I have that resource on my laptop too

Not condemning your use of them just interested why you would need one as all are out of date as soon as they are printed

 

[Leakylunar]

Mainly using the raid atlas as a way of finding places to visit on decent scale rather than my iPhone, I find it easier to plan routes, I also have an old sat nav which give me directions.
I’ve got plenty of apps to use as well.

 

[nicholsong]

May I enquire WHY?

There are excellent free resources on the web some available off line too (Search for Sites)
I do like Via Michelin as it gives me an idea of costings for a potential journey
Google Maps also works for finding things to do and where to eat that are open

All I have used paper maps for in the past has been to write on with maker pen where we have been but now I have that resource on my laptop too

Not condemning your use of them just interested why you would need one as all are out of date as soon as they are printed

So are the downloadable Apps as soon as they are downloaded, but not the online versions, depending on the hosts' updating.

We are fortunate to have a very good internet allowance when away.

Geoff

 

[Madcaravanner]

We are fortunate to have a very good internet allowance when away.

Geoff

So do I Geoff but always prepared for none ?

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[peterc10]

The wife and I both like maps, and she usually sits with one open on her lap so that she can see where we are going. And we have the sat nav continually on as well. We use the large spiral bound Michelin map. We renew it every few years when it starts to wear out and gets out of date.

Tried the smaller but fatter version but did not like it. It was the same scale so you were turning the pages a lot more often.

 

[Clarky]

We have used a Michelin laminated map book for ages.
As it’s shiny plastic you can use a marker pen (not a permanent marker) to show the route for the navigator to follow and just rub it out later.
it is quite heavy but almost indestructible.

Richard.

 

[jollyrodger]

I have the easy read AA
But haven't taken it out off the folder ,I downloaded all maps required from HereWeGo onto 10" tablet works offline and good enough for purpose

 

[gus-lopez]

As you can see We are due for an update!

That's new compared to the 2001 editions I have just replaced.
Both my French & Spanish ones are michelin now although the scale is a bit smaller than the old ones I had.

 

[Richard n Ann]

I think ours is AA but it's blue ? maybe because it's the 2010 version. It's the best one anyway because as others have said the toll/non toll roads are clearly distinguishable by light and dark blue.

I did look for a Spain/Portugal equivalent but they don't do one. We have to manage with the Michelin version which just has toll booths marked as dots, but you still don't know between which dots the charges apply ?

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[Stonemags76]

Love our Michelin laminated map book, as it stops the pages falling out. Would love similar for Spain, but they don’t do one. Laminated is such a good idea!

 

[xsparks]

Philips spiral is good with qr codes on each page with loads of info. Well worth checking out.

 

[nicholsong]

??? 'qr codes'[sic]

I am into cartography but not heard that one before.

 

[Rob Turner]

Philips spiral is good with qr codes on each page with loads of info. Well worth checking out.

We use a Phillips map, and find them very good.
I’ve also got loads of local Michelin maps from years ago before sat navs but they’re a pain in the arse to get out now.

 

[xsparks]

Qr codes are those little squares that appear to make no sense until you use a decoder on your phone etc.

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