map advice please for the alps and northern france

patagonia

Alright all,
im planning on a month to six week ride in the alps, going thru, germany france austria switzerland and poss. italy depending on time, got to be back for uni in mid sept!
Im having trouble finding any decent maps, ideally i want some that show me back roads (B rds ish) but these seem thin on the ground. Im going into France via Calais and would also know if there are any cycle routes avoiding the traffic into germany, ive seen stuff on the green ways but couldnt really get to grips with it, any help would be great. if anyone knows sources of free mapping thatd be great too.
Cheers
Rich

andymiller

Hi welcome to the forum. Sorry to be Mr Grumpy but why do univeristy students seem to have such crap research skills? :roll:

http://www.themapshop.co.uk/europe/MapGuideEurope.htm

or

http://www.stanfords.co.uk

or

http://www.cordee.co.uk/mountains-alps.php

(probably more detailed than you want)

Amazon also have a huge selection:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_b?u ... s&x=9&y=15

The choice of maps depends a lot on how much you want to carry. Probably a 1:200,000 Michelin map would be a good starting point and then buy more detailed maps over there if you find you need them (you can always send them home when you've finished with them).

Michelin's site www.viamichelin.com is a very good - it also has a bike routeplanning option which some people use.

As for the voies vertes:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=voies% ... 8&oe=utf-8

www.voiesvertes.com is probably the most useful but it's mainly in French. As is the AF3V site, but it has a detailled interactive map:

http://www.af3v.org/carte-detaille.html

http://www.eurovelo6.org/practical-info

mr_tim

hi - am also touring france / swiss / germany august / sept.

i've picked up the hallwag camping & motor home map which you can get from stanfords - it shows locations of camp sites, which seem to be remiss from most of the other fold out style maps. goes a decent way into the borders as well, so covers the areas of germany and switzerland that i was planning to cover.

drop me a PM if you have thoughts on potential meet ups / sharing part of the distance.

geoff_ss

We've toured extensively in France (including the odd rough stuffing) using Michelin 1:200,000 (approx 3 miles to the inch) quite successfully. If you need a bit more detail then there usually readily available IGN (the French equivalent of the Ordnance Survey) at different scales. They aren't as good as OS maps IMO because their insistence on using shaded contours obscures detail.

You don't need to buy maps here, either. They're easy to get in France especially in the good touring areas.

Geoff

dang100

You could do worse than google maps for route planning. I'm using it for a trip from Spain to France, backed up by real-world maps.

The satellite view is great for giving a bit extra detail and the distance calculator makes planning days of the right length a doddle.

alfablue

I agree, for route planning Via Michelin is good, having a "by bike" option. Seems to select appropriate roads for cycling.

Clum84

another one for michellin maps. used them last year through france and switzerland without any problems.

patagonia

thanks all gone with michellin, canee wait

nicktheluddite

I'd put a word of warning to "you can buy maps there" - not a single shop in Epinal (decent sized town) had the IGN 1:100,000 map of the nearby Vosges I wanted when I got there. I should have bought it in my local Stanfords. Having had that grump, the Michelin 1:200,000 had enough detail and was superb. If you are lucky enough to live in London or Bristol then pop into Stanfords (even if only to check the range of stuff available).

andymiller

nicktheluddite wrote:

If you are lucky enough to live in London or Bristol then pop into Stanfords (even if only to check the range of stuff available).

Stanfords have a website - so you don't have to live in London or Bristol. And on ehte subject of websites I've always found the IGN website a good source and cheaper (although that may have changed as the exchange rate has tanked).