Going to France tomorrow, taking the bike doing some xc, just crossed my mind I really should have a map. Can I pop into waterstones and buy something like an OS.
Bike Forum
[closed]
Do the French have OS maps or similar?
-
Posted 1 year ago #
-
yes - IGN maps. They do a really good 1:25000
You might struggle in Waterstones, though - near that London place? They definately have them in Stanfords or just buy one when you get there.
Rachel
Posted 1 year ago # -
Actually, failing that, IGN maps are available on Viewranger I think, if you have iPhone or similar thingy.
Posted 1 year ago # -
yes IGN even better than OS. If you can't find them in the UK, do not worry you'll probably be able to get them at the local newsagent in France
Posted 1 year ago # -
You can get IGN for MemoryMap if you visit dodgy website.....
You aint seen me right?
Posted 1 year ago # -
yeah IGN maps
edit Doh computer being too slow.
Posted 1 year ago # -
How'd you work out that IGN are better than OS, juan?
Oh wait, you're French, I remember now
Posted 1 year ago # -
Just call in somewhere like Auchan in the area you're going to and they'll have maps.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Yes they are all online interactively at http://www.geoportail.fr
You can plot them google earth style with they're software too. Cracking for checking out routes.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Just come back from riding in France ... IGN maps are good but OS are still better.
Most big supermarkets sold them so you shouldn't be stuck.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Thanks everyone, IGN it is then, I'll wait till I'm local and buy the paper version. I do have all the gadgets but I find theres just no substitute for a map first time round.
Thanks again STW'ers
Posted 1 year ago # -
The best maps for France tend to be the Michelin ones. Why not just Google Earth it and print it out?
Posted 1 year ago # -
Cotswold Camping do them, but Stanfords have a more complete range.
Nowhere near as good as OS maps.
Posted 1 year ago # -
OS are best. na na.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Michelin? at 1:100k / 25k ?
Nah, IGN, they are better than OS for reading trails- they stand out more. The paper isn't great quality though.Posted 1 year ago # -
word. IGN bleu.
Posted 1 year ago # -
If you know your onions, you'll know the OS is notoriously inaccurate.
I travelled with some Dutch cartographers (map makers) a while back and their stories of how "approximate" the OS mapping system was and how they make things look good but completely out of scale and with a high level of inaccuracy really opened my mind to the possibility (fact) that my once held belief that the UK's mapping was the very best and super accurate, was in fact, the butt of most of the world’s cartographers.Sad but true.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Ti29er - Member
If you know your onions, you'll know the OS is notoriously inaccurate...Ah, so it's not really my fault I get lost so often
Posted 1 year ago # -
IGN maps are available at Go Outdoors too.
Posted 1 year ago # -
Inaccurate where? Only things I've found have been paths missing from the map or the ground in certain places. Which is understandable to a point since paths move and change.
Posted 1 year ago # -
It sounds like maybe those Dutch cartographers hadn't got their head round the British National Grid. Whilst the OS has a lot of faults, notoriously inaccurate is not one of them.
Of course you can't draw roads to scale when you're making 50k maps if you want them to be visible, but that doesn't mean they're inaccurate.
Posted 1 year ago # -
From Wiki:
Ordnance Survey's flagship digital product, launched in November 2001, is OS MasterMap. This is a database that records every fixed feature of Great Britain larger than a few metres in one continuous digital map
Holy cow, that's some map!
Posted 1 year ago #
Topic Closed
This topic has been closed to new replies.
