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CLICK TO VIEW THESE TOPICS: UPDATES MAIN PAGE *** GENERAL UPDATES ABOUT WALKING IN FRANCE SPECIFIC NEWS FROM & ABOUT THE PATHS (GRs) QUESTIONS & QUERIES *** CLOTHING & EQUIPMENT RESTAURANTS & ACCOMMODATIONS SITE CONTENTS *** OVERVIEW *** LINKS *** ARCHIVE *** HOME |
| MAPS & GUIDEBOOKS: PLEASE NOTE: This page is divided into three parts: Guidebooks in French, Guidebooks in English and Other Map and Guidebook Information. GUIDEBOOKS TO THE FRENCH TRAIL SYSTEM IN ENGLISH:  DETAILED ONLINE GUIDE TO PROVENCE AND THE COTE d'AZUR -John B. has alerted me to a very fine link for information about the trails, towns and other details in Provence and on the Côte d'Azur. Click on http://www.beyond.fr/sports/hiking.html for a wealth of information.– John B., Nice and Seattle, 21 January '02 THREE TOPO-GUIDES IN ENGLISH - Omni Maps at www.omnimap.com (click on "maps") now carries all the FFRP topo-guides. 3 of those approximately 200 topo-guides are in English: The pays du Mont Blanc in English; The Path of the Lighthouses in English GR 34; and Walks in Provence, the Luberon Regional Natural Park in English. The rest of these accurate and useful guides are in French.– BLeF, 13 June '01 LONELY PLANET WALKING IN FRANCE GUIDEBOOK - Lonely Planet has recently published a very useful guide about walking in France called, appropriately enough, Walking in France. The book is, for the most part, about day walks or, in places, 2- or 3-day cross-country walks, though, in a departure, it also describes the 15-day GR 20 walk in Corsica's high country. The emphasis is on camping out, but the book, with its detailed descriptions of short routes in all the regions of France,will also help those planning use hotels or B&Bs to day walk or walk cross-country for a short time.– BLeF, 4 June '01 NEW BOOK IN ENGLISH COVERING DAY WALKS IN BRITTANY - Sigma Press in England has just published a new book, Holiday Walks in Brittany, by Judy Smith. Sigma Press can be contacted by e-mail at info@sigmapress.co.uk . – Anne Cross, Sigma Press, England, 11 May '01 – From BLeF, 4 June '01 - This book is a must-have for anyone planning to day walk in Brittany. Each of the 28 walks (5 to 16 Kilometers in length) are carefully described and mapped, with a wealth of detail—practical, historical and pre-historical. This is not just a dry, go-here, walk-there guide; the author, Judy Smith, obviously loves Brittany and her enthusiasm for all things Breton adds depth and color to what is still, at base, a useful (yet very readable) guidebook. The book is available through Amazon in Britain at www.amazon.co.uk. The author and publisher plan similar guides for Normandy and the Loire. If they are as well done as Holiday Walks in Brittany, they will also be great additions to the guidebooks for the French trails that are available in English. back to top GR 5 GUIDEBOOKS IN ENGLISH - Below is a listing of the books in English that cover the long GR 5 walk from Holland to the Mediterranean. Please note that all but the walklongtravel guide were published quite a number of years ago.– ROBERTSON-McCARTA AND THE NEWER McCARTA - Maybe we missed a reference for those planning to walk the French leg of the GR5, but there are topo guides in English. They are in the Footpaths of Europe series by Robertson-McCarta. The titles are Walking the GR5: Vosges to Jura; Lake Geneva to Mont Blanc; Modane to Larche; and Larche to Nice. Some information is out of date but it certainly was nice to be able to understand the narrative! We ordered them online through Barnes and Noble and Amazon. – Sue and Mark, 4 January '01 – From Judy S. at Traveler's Book Club, 27 March '01 - We have a new supplier for the Footpaths of Europe series from McCarta Publishing (England). We (www.travelbooksclub.com) can get the following titles in English: Normandy & the Seine Paris to Boulougne Walking the GR5: Vosges to Jura Walking the GR5: Modane to Larche Walking the GR5: Larche to Nice Walks in the Cevennes Walking Through Brittany Each title is abut 60-80 pages and they list for $19.95. We will probably offer a disocount off the list price. – Comment from BLeF - In the past I have consulted the Robertson-McCarta guidebooks for both Provence and the Loire. My experience was that these two guidebooks were too old (10 years plus) and too sloppily translated (from FFRP topo-guides) to be of much use, but perhaps the ones for the GR 5 are better? Today "Robertson-McCarta" has become simply "McCarta," and the guidebooks in English published under this newer name are contemporary and up-to-date. – More from Sue and Mark, 7 January '01 - Actually, we enjoyed using the English translations of the topo guides because we found the narrative helpful. There were a number (not too many) of errors, but we weren't bothered by them. We got lost so many times (not attributable to topo guides) that we became experts at negotiating finding ourselves where we shouldn't have been! Many problems worse than those that might have been due to out of date maps arose from the deviations from the GR 5 necessitated by the fallen trees of the double storms a year ago. Once we were walking "off" of our topoguide maps, we had no idea where we were or the length of time it would take to come to a place to rest for the night! Perhaps, this situation speaks to the benefits of carrying maps (in addition to topo guides), but we had opted to forego the maps in the interest of less weight. Anyway, the short answer is that we would use the old Robertson-McCarta books again! – FFRP - The FFRP publishes 3 of their approximately 200 topo-guides in English: The pays du Mont Blanc in English; The Path of the Lighthouses in English GR 34; and Walks in Provence, the Luberon Regional Natural Park in English. – BLeF, 13 Junbe '01 – CICERONE- Thought you would be interested to know that after a thorough internet search I came up with a walking guide in English: Walking the French Alps: GR5 - Written by Martin Collins and published by Cicerone Press of Milnthorpe, Cumbria, England. I ordered it through : www.amazon.co.uk Price 8.99 GBP Delivery Charge 4.95 GBP (we live in Canada) Ordered on Sept 19th Received by airmail, Sept 26th. Not a bad turn round. I was impressed! I found this guide mentioned on www.gorp.com – R.C., Canada, 27 September '00 – Comment From Ray, England, 16 October '00 - I see you already have Walking the Frech Alps, a good useful guide but just be aware this guide is 15 years old. As I found out there are one or two changes. Much better to purchase topo guides Bruce mentions (below)—info at www.ffrp.asso.fr. Having said that, the path is well marked and most of the time I was able to just follow the signs without much trouble. Refuges are very well spaced and are all marked on topo guides with phone numbers. I strongly recommend you book in advance as August is main vacation time in France and is very busy in the Alps. I went in July and had no problem. Average cost per night about 60 francs for bed only. Food is available and quite reasonable. Another useful site is www.gare-routiere.ch. This is bus depot in Geneva and gives time tables and prices to Contamines. Also I found that all large towns along GR 5 have tourist offices. If you tap in names on internet you can get e-mail addresses and will send info to you. Personally I would stick to your plan and just walk as far as you can because you never know: you might just finish. But if you leave some out and have time at the end it's not practical to go back. – From Russel Guy, Vice President, Omni Resources, 27 March '01 - Walking the French Alps by Cicerone is under revision and hopefully will be printed in the next few months. – IGN MAPS & TOPO-GUIDES IN FRENCH FOR THE ALPINE SECTION- Even though these guides are in French, they still contain a great a deal of information that would be accessible and useful to the non-French speaker.: Top100 maps #45, #53, #54 and #61 from the IGN. Great 1:100,000 planning maps to use at home. FFRP Topo Guides covering Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean: #504 du Leman au Mont Blanc #530 La Vanoise #531 La Grande Traversee des Alpes #507 Tinee-Vesubie: Vallee des Merveilles These guides are in French but will prove very useful even if you dont read the language. If you do read French you should also check out the guides published by Didier-Richard. – BLeF, 14 September '00, 12 January '01 back to top GUIDEBOOKS AND WEBSITES FOR THE ST-JACQUES TRAIL – Last year I walked the Camino de Santiago from St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago in Spain and met quite a few people who had started out in Le Puy. All I spoke to raved about the first week or so of the journey from Le Puy to Conques. I am planning on walking this stage in early April with my brother, the only thing being that I am having trouble finding any kind of information about it. Can anyone help?– Michelle, Australia, 1 March '01 – Answer from Anonymous, 3 March '01 - You require a copy of the Fédération Française de la Randonnée Pédestre topo-guide No. 651 which covers the Gr 65 from Le Puy to Figeac. Topo-Guides Nos 652 and 653 complete the GR 65 to St Jean. There is also a guide book in English published by Cicerone Press, Milnthorpe, Cumbria, UK, entitled The Way of St James, Le Puy to Santiago by Alison Raju, which I used during my walk last year commencing on Aug 22nd in Le Puy arriving in Santiago on Oct.17th. Also try the web site of The Confraternity of St James based in London www.csj.org.uk. They have some good publications about "The Way." It was very hot during my month in France, the accommodation was easily available in gîte d'étape, You can book ahead unlike the refugios in Spain. You may need to do this if you are walking in a busy period. Good Luck . – Comment from BLeF, 3 March, 11 June '01 - The Confraternity website above is a wonderful resource from England for anyone contemplating a walk on all or part of the St-Jacques-de-Compostelle trail. Along with a great deal of useful information, it supports an online bookstore (Mastercard and VISA accepted) with all sorts of practical as well as historical guides to not only the trail from Le Puy, but also the St-Jacques trails from Paris, Vézelay and Arles. It links as well to the Friends of Santiago in the US, www.geocities.com/friends_usa_santiago/, and to a site, www.ultreia.ch/links.html, whitch leads you in turn to a host of links for online listings of accommodation, guides and even the diaries of those who have walked the trails to Compostelle. A great resource! Another very useful site is www.compostella.org/content/liens/requete.asp?num=1 where, if you click on the first link, "compostelle2002", you'll find a great deal of information including a department by department listing of all the hotels, chambres d'hôtes and gîtes (with addresses and phone numbers) along the route from Le Puy to the Spanish border. Print out the information and you'll have a very useful guidebook. back to top CICERONE GUIDEBOOKS/IGN MAPS - A number of e-mails have recommended the English-language Cicerone walking guides (Cicerone Press of Milnthorpe, Cumbria, England), which cover specific itineraries in France and other areas of the world. At present they offer 19 guides to different areas in France—the tour of Mont Blanc, Brittany coastal walks, the Cevennes, and the Alpine portion of the GR 5 to mention just four. To see their complete list go to www.cicerone.co.uk or, in the United States, to www.omnimap.com/catalog/guides/fran-hgd.htm.Omni Resources in Burlington, NC, is the parent of www.omnimaps.com. They are also an importer of IGN maps (including the blue-map series) and all FFRP topo guides. Their telephone number is 336 227-8300 and their fax is 336 227-3748. For those in a hurry, if you order before noon EST they can ship your guidebooks and/or maps by next-day FedEx. – BLeF, 27 September '00 – From Ray, 16 October '00, England - ...Walking the Frech Alps (from Cicerone), a good useful guide but just be aware this guide is 15 years old. As I found out there are one or two changes. Much better to purchase topo guides... – From Russel Guy, Vice President, Omni Resources, 27 March '01 - Walking the French Alps by Cicerone is under revision and hopefully will be printed in the next few months. – From Mark Beffart, Walking Tours of France (www.francewalkingtours.com), 3 January '02 - Cicerone has informed us that the new edition of Walking the French Alps is available now. You can order it from us at a 15% discount off the retail price. DETAILED WALKING GUIDES TO OVER 100 FRENCH TOWNS AND CITIES - Over the holidays I received an e-mail from Mark Beffart at www.francewalkingtours.com. His site offers (for $3.00 each plus $1.00 postage) detailed walking guides to over 100 French towns and cities as well as to all the arrondissments of Paris. The sample guide on the site—for St-Jean-de-Luz—includes not only descriptions of walks, but also listings and locations for hotels and restaurants. For now the site accepts only checks in payment, but the guides are also sold through www.travelbooksclub.com, where you can use your credit card.– BLeF, 3 January '01 back to top GUIDEBOOKS TO THE FRENCH TRAIL SYSTEM IN FRENCH: GÎTES d'ÉTAPE GUIDEBOOK NOW AVAILABLE IN THE USA - We have received a shipment of Gîtes d'Éetape et de Séjour guides, edition 2002, published by Gîtes de France. We are selling it for $15.95.– Mark Beffart, Walking Tours of France (www.francewalkingtours.com), 6 May '02 NEW SERIES OF DEPARTMENTAL WALKING GUIDES FROM THE FFRP - The FFRP is creating more books that feature circular day hikes in a particular department such as the titles Dordogne a Pied, Aveyron a Pied.– Mark Beffart, Walking Tours of France (www.francewalkingtours.com), 8 January '02 USING THE FRENCH YELLOW PAGES TO FIND HOTELS - Worst case guide book: The yellow pages. Yellow pages are broken out by "department." Within the yellowpages for each department and within each section (eg hotels) cities/villages are listed alphabetically. I can attest to finding some fairly bad hotels by using this method . . . But when the alternative was sleeping on the bench. . .– John B., Seattle and Aix-en-Provence, 13 December '01 NEW WALKING GUIDES & MAPS NOW IMPORTED FROM FRANCE INTO USA - Mark Beffart, a frequent contributor of good, pertinent information to this page, now informs me that his company, Walking Tours of France (www.francewalkingtours.com), is importing into the US new, previously unavailable guidebooks and maps from France. The most important, the most useful of these is undoubtedly the Circuits Pedestre et VTT, which is a large collection of guide/maps for day walks and short- to medium-length (up to 6 days) cross country walks. These guide/maps cover all regions of France with emphasis, however, on the mountainous areas of Southern France. Second, he is bringing in quite a few detailed guides to the Pyrénées. Third, he now offers a detailed walking map with text to the Jura. And last, he now can get a detailed guide to walking the Bordeaux vineyards, a much needed resource since this an area with few GR or GRP trails. Mark warns that all but the most popular of these guides and maps are special order and must be ordered well in advance of your departure date. For more information e-mail info@francewalkingtours.com or visit the website.– BLeF, 10 December '01 back to top CIRCUITS PEDESTRE ET VTT - EXTENSIVE GUIDE/MAP SERIES COVERING ALL REGIONS - We (Walking Tours of France at www.francewalkingtours.com) have recently begun to sell a unique series of hiking (and trail bike—VTT in French) guides to France's trails called Circuits Pédestres et VTT by the French publisher Franck Mercier (headquartered in Annecy). The format of each guidebook in this series is a small, loose-leaf binder with about 40-60 circuit hikes and a selected number of longer hikes (2 to 6 days). Each loose-leaf page of these guidebooks has an IGN blues series map on one side, with the route boldly indicated, and the description (in French) on the reverse side.Included with each guide is a handy plastic carrying pouch with strap which allows you to protect any pages you remove for your selected route. The plastic pouch, which you can hang from your neck, was quite useful this past spring as we hiked in a couple of snow storms in the Auvergne region. We like these better than the FFRP guides due their ease of use and very high quality printing which makes the maps easy to decipher. Even if you cannot read French, the maps are very easy to follow. The retail price of these maps is $19.95 and we offer a 15% discount off of that price making the Walking Tours of France price $16.96. These are a special order items for us, so please allow at least three months order time before your departure date. We only keep the most popular in stock. The locations (in parentheses are our notations if you are unclear where it is) we are selling are as follows: ALPS: Alpes Maritimes (north of Nice) Aravis - Bornes (near Annecy) Balcon du Mont Blanc Beaufortain (Alps near Italy) Brianconnais (Alps near Briancon) Chamonix & Mont Blanc Hautes-Alpes (area south of Gap in very northern Provence) Vanois Vercors (mountains near Grenoble) ALSACE, LORRAINE, CHAMPAGNE & THE NORTH: Alsace Ardennes (northern France to Belgium) Champagne, Ardennes (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE to northern France) Pas de Calais (NE France) Pays de l'Aisne (Picardy) Vosges (mountain range in Alsace) BURGUNDY: Bourgogne, Franche-Comté (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE to eastern France) Maconnais-Charolais (near Macon in southern Burgundy) Nievre (western Burgundy) Pays de l'Ain (between Macon & Annecy) CORSICA Corse (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE) Corse du Sud (Corsica south) Haute Corse (Corsica north) DORDOGNE: Dordogne, Perigord JURA: Bourgogne, Franche-Comté (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE to eastern France) Massif du Jura Sud Maurienne, Haute-Maurienne (between Besancon & Belfort) Pays de l'Ain (between Macon & Annecy) LANGUEDOC & CEVENNES: Cevennes Haut-Languedoc (south of Cevennes near Millau) Languedoc (southern France around Montpellier) LOIRE: Centre, Berry, Bourbonnais (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE - Orleans to Bourges in central France) Orleanais, Sologne (wet area south of Orleans full of game) Pays de Loire (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE - Nantes to Angers in western France) Poitou-Charentes (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE - region SW of Loire Valley) MASSIF CENTRAL: Auvergne Limousin (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE for central France) Centre, Berry, Bourbonnais (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE - Orleans to Bourges in central France) Volcans d'Auvergne - Sancy (central France) NORMANDY & BRITTANY: Côte d'Emeraude (Brittany northern coast) Normandie (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE - western France to coast from Paris) Pas de Calais (NE France) PARIS: Essonne (area SE of Paris) Ile-de-France (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE - region encompassing Paris) Normandie (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE - western France to coast from Paris) Paris et Petit Couronne Pays Briards, Forêt de Fontainebleau (area east and south of Paris) Pays d'Oise (north of Paris) Yvelines (area SW of Paris) PROVENCE & COTE d'AZUR: Alpes Maritimes (north of Nice) Gard et Camargue (Nimes area to Med) Haute Provence (area SW of Gap) Hautes-Alpes (area south of Gap in northern Provence) Pays Varois (area north of Toulon) Provence PYRENEES & SOUTHWEST: Aude-Sentiers Cathares (southern Languedoc, south of Carcassonne) Bearn (area near Pau, Tarbes) Bordelais (northeast of Bordeaux) Landes (Near Dax) Lot, Quercy (upper part of SW France) Midi-Pyrénées (TRAIL BIKE GUIDE for the Mediterranean south and the Pyrénées) Pays Basque (western part of Pyrenees to Atlantic coast) Pyrénées Ariegeoises (Pyrénées central east) Pyrénées Luchonnaises (Pyrénées central west) Rouergue (Aveyron dept north of Albi in Midis-Pyrénées region) RHONE: Ardeche (canyon-like area southwest of Lyon) Haute Ardeche et Pilat (high Ardeche and Pilat southwest of Lyon) Monts du Lyonnais (west of Lyon) Again, these are special order items for us, so please allow at least three months order time before your departure date. We only keep the most popular in stock. – Mark Beffart, Walking Tours of France, 8 December '01 GUIDE TO THE BORDEAUX VINEYARDS - In addition to the Franck Mercier titles, we (Walking Tours of France - www.francewalkingtours.com) are also selling the following new guide... (We offer 15% discount off of retail price, subject to change based on suppliers price.):Les Grands Vignobles pas à pas (The Great Vineyards Step by Step). Vineyards can be an interesting place to hike. These guides have lots of information for the Bordeaux area in southwest France, including information on the wine producers in the area, notes on history and techniques, lots of maps, and much more. In French. $19.95. – Mark Beffart, Walking Tours of France, 8 December '01 back to top FRENCH WALKING GUIDES TO THE PYRENEES - In addition to the Franck Mercier titles, we (Walking Tours of France - www.francewalkingtours.com) are also selling the following new map and book titles from the following publishers, most which are for the Pyrénées Mountains area (We offer 15% discount off of retail price subject to change based on suppliers price.):1) le Grand Guide des Pyrénées (The Big Guide to the Pyrenees). Published by Rando Taride. The ultimate french-language guide to the Pyrenees. Includes 200 maps and 1500 photographs. In french. $39.95 2) le Guide Rando (The Rando Guides). These popular, easy-to-use, 112 page route guides have lots of maps, route elevation profiles, and much more for the Pyrenees Mountains. Better than FFRP for this area. In French.We are selling the following titles for areas of the Pyrénées, each at $19.95: - Aspe-Ossau - Canigou, Conflent, Vallespir - Cerdagne et Capcir - Couserans - Gavarnie - Luz - Haute Ariège - Luchon - Néouvielle - Pays Basque - Vignemale et Balaitous 3) Traversées Week-ends (Weekend Trips). Longer guides covering numerous weekend getaway trips in each region. In French. $19.95 each. - Haute Randonnée Pyrénéenne (High Country Walking in the Pyrenees), 11th ed. 192 pages - Hébergement en Montagne (Lodging in the Mountains) - Lacs et Refuges des Pyrénéees (Lakes and Refuges of the Pyrénées), 52 itineraries for weekend trips. 184 pages 4) Dans les Parcs Nationaux (In the National Parks). Each of these guides offer numerous traverses, circuit hikes, photos, and maps. In French: - Balades et Pêches dans le Parc National des Pyrénées (Walks and Fishing in the Pyrenees National Parks). 55 hikes (traverses) and 20 circuit hikes. 160 pages. $19.95 - le Tour du Mont Perdu (Around Mont Perdu). Spiral-bound, 112 pages. $19.95 - Picos de Europa. 14 itineraries with extensive tourist information, 64 pages. $15.95 - Le Parc National des Pyrénées. Twelve choices of hikes.64 pages. $15.95 - Les 50 Plus Belles Randonnées dans le Parc National des Pyrénées (The 50 Most Beautiful Hikes in the Pyrénées National Park). Includes classic hikes, several new remarkable hikes, richly illustrated with photos and maps. 176 pages. $24.95 - Guide de Découverte du Parc National des Pyrénées (The Discovery Guide for the Pyrenees National Park). Covers 6 valleys in the park, including descriptions of hikes, rocks, history, and more. 128 pages. $19.95 5) Collection of 100 Hikes (Collection 100 Rando). Each hike includes basic information, notes on which IGN maps are appropriate,sketch maps, etc. In French. - Randonnées dans les Pyrénées Ariégeoises. 224 pages. $19.95 - Randonnées dans les Hautes-Pyrénées. 224 pages. $19.95 - Randonnées dans les Pyrénées Orientales. Paperback, 224 pages. $19.95 – Mark Beffart, Walking Tours of France, 8 December '01 DETAILED WALKING MAP FOR THE JURA - In addition to the Franck Mercier titles, we (Walking Tours of France - www.francewalkingtours.com) are also selling the following new map... (We offer 15% discount off of retail price, subject to change based on suppliers price.):IGN's Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Jura map. 1:50,000. A detailed topographic map with extensive hiking trails, bicycling trails, equestrian trails and much more. Bilingual French/English. $12.95 – Mark Beffart, Walking Tours of France, 8 December '01 FFRP TOPO-GUIDES - There are over 200 French language topo-guides published by the French walking organization, the Féderation Française de la Randonnée Pédestre or FFRP. These guidebooks offer detailed descriptions and 1:50,000 scale maps to the long distance (GR), regional (GRP) and local (PR) trails that each book covers. They often also include information about accommodations and other useful information, which is easily accessible to the non-French speaker. For sources see "Where to Buy Maps & Guidebooks" further down on this page.– BLeF, 18 June '01 AMAZON BOOKS IN FRANCE - OVER 400 WALKING GUIDES IN FRENCH - Amazon books in France at www.amazon.fr is a superb source of walking guidebooks in French. By clicking on "loisirs" and then "randonnée" you can access over 400 guidebooks to the various trails that make up the French trail system. This includes all the topo-guides published by the FFRP. A great resource for those of you who read French. They also carry hotel/lodging guidebooks—Logis de France, Chambres et Tables d'Hôte, etc– A Reminder from John B., 12 June '01 back to top CHAMINA GUIDEBOOK, RANDO EDITIONS MAPS & GUIDEBOOKS and DIDIER RICHARD MAP & GUIDEBOOK WEBSITES - Chamina guidebooks—covering the walking trails in the Massif Centrale, the Cevennes and the Aisne in the north—are rarely found in travel bookstores here in the US. They're in French and obviously wouldn't be hot sellers. But those of you who read French can find their catalog on-line; they are not yet ready to accept orders over the web, but their phone and fax numbers, which would allow you to order after viewing and selecting the books you need, are listed on the site, www.chamina.com.Didier-Richard, publishers of maps and of French-language topo-guides for Corsica, southern France east of the Rhone as well as for the Jura mountain range, also have a web site, www.didierrichard.fr. Didier-Richard's 1:50,000 maps show all the GR, GRP and—this is the best part—many other longer, unofficial trails. These maps are invaluable for the experienced walker who wants to roam off the GR and GRP trails in Corsica, the Alps, Provence and Jura. The site does allow on-line ordering, but I was unable to get their form to accept my order with a US address even though they appear ready for orders from abroad. Maybe I was just doing something wrong? Their phone and fax numbers are there in case you can't get the form to work either. (See other entry on this page concerning Didier-Richard's financial difficulties.) A recent e-mail from P.L. in Lyon has reminded me that Rando Editions publish a series of twelve 1:50,000 maps covering the Pyrenees. These maps are similar to the Didier-Richard maps in that they highlight both the GR, GRP and other walking trails. They also publish walking guides (in French) to the Haute-Ariege, the Pyrenees National Park and the Aveyron. Their website, www.crlmidipyrenees.asso.fr/editeurs/rando_editions.htm is not particularly useful. But it may be possible to order their maps from the IGN; I know from personal experience that the IGN store in Paris does stock their maps. – BLeF, 18 July '00, 29 Aug '00 IGN MAPS & TOPO-GUIDES IN FRENCH FOR THE ALPINE SECTION OF THE GR 5 - Even though these guides are in French, they still contain a great a deal of information that would be accessible and useful to the non-French speaker.:Top100 maps #45, #53, #54 and #61 from the IGN. Great 1:100,000 planning maps to use at home. FFRP Topo Guides covering Lake Geneva to the Mediterranean: #504 du Leman au Mont Blanc #530 La Vanoise #531 La Grande Traversee des Alpes #507 Tinee-Vesubie: Vallee des Merveilles These guides are in French but will prove very useful even if you dont read the language. If you do read French you should also check out the guides published by Didier-Richard. – BLeF, 14 September '00, 12 January '01 back to top OTHER INFORMATION: SOURCES, MAPS, ETC.: IGN ORANGE MAP SERIES AGAIN AVAILABLE - IGN is now selling their Orange series maps again. These maps at a 1:50,000 scale are a good compromise between the blue (1:25,000) and green series (1:100,000). We can get these for customers. A sample of the orange series can be found on our web site at www.francewalkingtours.com/mapsample.html– Mark Beffart, Owner, Walking Tours of France, 22 March '02 ARLES TO TOULOUSE ON THE GR 653 - We are some friends who are planning to walk from Arles to Toulouse this autum.Can you help us with information on the route and maps or were we can get these information.– Hans B. Norway, 17 March '02 – BLeF - Your route would be on the GR 653. Depending on your preferences, you could alternately walk instead on the GRs 36 and 7 for part of the way. For planning maps I suggest you buy the French IGN 1:100,000 Top 100 maps #s 64, 65 and 66, which would cover your proposed route. On the trail I always use the IGN 1:25,000 blue maps, which are very detailed. The FFRP publishes a topo guide for the GR 653: "Le Chemin d'Arles: la voie du Sud," publication # 697. IMPORTANT - DIDIER & RICHARD MAP COMPANY FALLING ON HARD TIMES – I have received the following e-mail from map importers concerning the financial viability of the Didier-Richard map company - BLeF:– From Mark Beffart, Owner, Walking Tours of France, 8 December '01 - Our inventory for Didier-Richard maps is getting low, so if people want these, they need to buy soon. We have all of the ones they publish except for Mont Blanc (the most popular) and Corsica. They retail for $12.95 and we, Walking Tours of France (www.francewalkingtours.com) offer a 15% discount off of them. Pass this on to your readers.The reason we are making mention of the DR maps is that the company is still in bad financial shape and unless that improves soon, they will be gone and so will these great maps. So, people to get them while they are still available. – From Judy Strickland, Buyer, Traveler's Books Club, 3 March '01We have been informed by our maps distributor that the Didier-Richard map company is going out of business. Therefore, these maps will become very limited in supply in the future. We still have a few of the following in stock (at www.travelbooksclub.com) but they will not last long. 2, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12, 14, 19, 21, 22, 24, 33, 34, 38, Map #2 Bornes, Bauges Map #4 Chartreuse, Belledonne, Maruienne Map #5 Diois, Baronnies Map #7 Hautes Alpes - Embrunais Map #11 Vanoise Map #12 Vercors Map #14 Luberon, Sainte-Victoire Map #19 Haute Provence, Verdon Map #21 Ardeche Map #22 Vivarais, Monts du Pilat Map #24 Collins provencales Map #33 Couer du Jura Map #34 Jura South Map #38 Grenoble South. Vercors East. Please pass this information on to your readers. Thanks, – Judy Strickland, Buyer, Traveler's Books Club, 3 March '01 – More from Judy Strickland, 5 March '01 - Here's some additional information as quoted from our wholesaler when I questioned him about DR's web site, which appears like you can order from it. "Yes, I know about the web site, and that is how I place my orders. However, on my last order of about 150 units I got less than 25. I have not gotten Mont Blanc (#8) for over 9 months now. I have tried to order these through different French wholesalers as well and still cannot get #8 (among other popular ones)." DR has such a great looking web site, but I've heard other customers complain about not getting their order from them (when they) come to us in search of a solution. We like their maps, too, so it is a shame if they are going out of business or just screwed up business-wise. – From Russel Guy, Vice President, Omni Maps, 28 March '01 - On the Didier & Richard maps—the story we were told by one of their competitors is that Didier & Richard have to license the cartography from the French IGN, and that they owe the IGN a ton, so the IGN won't let them reprint until they pay their bill. It does not look hopeful unless one of the other companies such as Carte Randonée or the FFRP decide to take over production of those maps. – More again from Russel Guy, Vice President, Omni Maps, 14 June '01 - Didier-Richard has not solved their financial difficulties and the same maps are still not available (Mont Blanc being the most noteworthy). We did obtain from one of our wholesale accounts a few copies of some that we were out of, so our inventory is a little better. We now have stock of: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12, 19, 22, 24, 25, 27, 28, 33, 34, 38 We are out of: 8 (Mont Blanc), 14, 20, 21, 26. – More from BLeF - This is sad news for I have always found their maps of the Alps, the Jura, the Cevennes and Corsica to be both very useful and accurate. My advice is to search for and stock up on the Didier-Richard maps you may need in the future. back to top .. WHERE TO BUY MAPS IN AIX-EN-PROVENCE - These folks have all of the maps as well as the guide books that you recommend... They're nice folks. They carry ALL of the IGN blue maps and green maps (25000 and 100000.)Librarie Goulard 37, Cours Mirabeau 13100, Aix-en-Provence Telephone (from the states) 011 33 4 42 27 66 47 Fax (from the states) 011 33 4 42 27 27 27 Email: librairie-goulard@wanadoo.fr Hope this helps someone along in their quest. – John B., Seattle and Aix-en-Provence, 6 November '01 USING LARGE SCALE MAPS TO PLAN A WALK, TRAIL MEASURING DEVICE; THE MICHELIN GREEN GUIDE - The larger the scale of the map (ie the Michellin yellow map) the larger the margin of error. What looks like 20KM sitting at a desk in Seattle can suddenly turn out to be 40KM on the ground. I bought a trail measuring device (of the cheap variety that Decathalon sells for $8) and this significantly cut down on my distance screw ups.Things we couldn't do without: The Michellin Green guide (we take about 10 pages copied from other guide books and a copy of the english version of the Mich Green guide for the area we're visiting. This also has some restaurant and hotel information in case we get stuck (like the time that I reserved a hotel for us the first night 50 miles away from where we were starting because the names of the cities were similar . . . ) (John, who now lives in France, has taken two walks. Seee more from him on the "General" and "Equipment" pages.) – John B., Seattle & Aix-en-Provence, 7 October '01 back to top WHERE TO BUY MAPS & GUIDEBOOKS ONLINE - The best way to get the maps you need to plan a walk—IGN #903 and the regional Michelin maps or, better, the IGN Top 100 maps—is through your local map or travel bookstore. Support them if you can. To find a map store close to you just click on www.maptrade.org, an extraordinary listing of map stores all over the world.I've run across a very useful site: www.travelbooksclub.com. They carry a complete stock of IGN maps (blue and green) and FFRP trail guides as well as publications and maps from Cicerone, Chamina and Didier Richard. They do not as yet carry the Gîtes de France guides but they are in search for a source for these important books. I have yet to order from them but plan to do so soon. Pacific Traveller's (sic) Supply in Santa Barbara, California, has posted an attractive web site, www.pactrav.com, that contains a very convenient and useful map data base. Click on maps and you'll be able to search their huge stock of maps, including IGN blue maps, Didier-Richard, etc. One caveat: don't enter, for example, "Avignon, France." If you do you'll get no response. Instead enter only "Avignon." At present they do not support online ordering, but a phone call will get you the map you want. – From Carole, England, 30 August '01 - Have you come across Stanfords as a map supplier? www.stanfords.co.uk.. They are based in London, UK, and do mail order to anywhere. I've found them very efficient—slightly better than Elstead and a little cheaper too. – From BLeF, August '99 - In addition to the Elstead Map Company, www.elstead.co.uk/, already listed in France on Foot, the IGN itself has a beautiful new site that allows you to order any of their maps (including all the blue maps) online using a credit card. The charge for postage (airmail—allow approximately ten days for delivery) is shocking, but the convenience is a big plus. The site, www.ign.fr/, is in French but is, nevertheless, easy to navigate. – From Russel Guy, Vice President, Omni Resources in Burlington, NC, the parent of www.omnimap.com. He sent the following update on 27 March '01 about Omni's stock of maps and guidebooks:. 1) First of all, an 800 number for the USA - 800-742-2677. 2) We are now stocking all of the Carte de randonnées from Rando Editions, plus those Didier-Richard maps that we can get (not very many any more unfortunately). 3) We stock about 1/4 of the series Blue IGN maps, and will probably stock more. We used to stock them all, but found that large areas just never sold. Since we get them quickly (normally), we've reduced coverage to the Alps, Provence, Pyrenees, Brittany, and a few other areas that seem to sell well. The rest we order and receive in about 2-3 weeks. 4) We stock all of the 1:100,000; 1:250,000; Michelin 1:200,000; Blay city maps; Navicarte canal/river maps. 5) We stock all of the IGN special maps, such as the Pleine Air series, Decouverte Regionales, Culture et Environment, etc. 6) We are now stocking all—over 200—FFRP guides. 7) We are also beginning to stock the Rando guides by Rando Editions. 8) We stock one or two copies of the Footpaths of Europe guides by McCarta 9) We stock all of the Cicerone guides for areas outside of the UK and about 1/4 of the guides for the UK. 10) Walking the French Alps by Cicerone is under revision and hopefully will be printed in the next few months. (on 14 June '01 Russel Guy added, "The Cicerone guide has still not been printed, although we are being told any day".) 11) For specific questions or info, please ask for Russell or Rod. – M.R. wroteon 3 May '00 that he had mixed success ordering IGN blue maps from www.map-guides.com in England. He speculated that his one mix-up (an order that didn't arrive) was due to to a possible snafu with the mail. – Summary from BLeF, August '99, 3 May '00, 5 December '00, 12 December '00, 2 January '01, 15 February '01, 13 June '01 - If you can't find what you need locally and if stateside sources like www.omnimap.com - All FFRP topo-guides, IGN, Didier-Richard, Cicerone, Rando Editions www.travelbooksclub.com FFRP topo-guides, IGN, Didier-Richard, Chamina www.pactrav.com IGN, Didier-Richard www.adventuroustraveler.com Guidebooks and maps www.francewalkingtours.com Guidebooks and maps, many rare ones in French fail you, then you will have to go overseas to www.elstead.co.uk/ Guidebooks in English, IGN, Didier-Richard, some FFRP topo-guides www.map-guides.com Guidebooks in English, IGN www.ign.fr/ Producer of IGN maps www.gites-de-france.fr/ Giîtes, Chambres d'Hôtes guidebooks www.stanfords.co.uk. Guidebooks in English, IGN or even www.amazon.fr Giîtes, Chambres d'Hôtes guidebooks, over 400 trail guides in French (see below). www.amazon.co.uk Trail guides for France published in England. back to top ACTUAL GUIDEBOOKS WITH DOWNLOADABLE TEXT ONLINE - The following sites post relevant downloadable information about accommodations along the GR trail system:Gîtes d'étape Refuges guidebook - Thought you might like to know that the site www.gites-refuges.com has a section that lists refuges etc. by itinerary (i.e. GR 5) It certainly makes it easy to work out which refuges are on the route. However, it isn't quite in order of north to south. Go to website: click on "3600 Hebergements"; then click on "Recherche par Itineraires." – Rosemary C., 16 January '01 – Comment from BLeF - This is a extremely useful website, particularly for those walkers wishing to stay—anywhere in France—in gîtes and refuges rather than hotels and B&Bs. In addition to the very useful listings by route—and there are many of those in all areas of France—there are also listings by department. In every case the contact phone number for reservations and information is given and some entries are linked to more detailed information. In addition, the facilities in the border areas of neighboring countries are also included in the guidebook. Mountain huts listing online - Vacationers planning to walk the mountainous regions of France, that is in the Pyrénées, Vosges, Jura, Alps and Massif Centrale,will, by necessity, be staying at least occasionally in the refuges or huts maintained by the Club Alpin Français. If you become a member of the club, you will receive a 50% discount on overnight stays in these cabins. Membership is about $80, but that fee includes insurance. To join go to clubalpin.idf.free.fr/index.html. To see listings of all the facilities by region complete with phone numbers, addresses and contact information click on the "refuges" button. This is a must-visit site for anyone walking the French high country. – BLeF, 12 Mar '00 List of French youth hostels online - Because they're on or near the GR trails, gîtes d'étape usually prove more useful for youthful and/or budget walkers than auberges de jeunesse (youth hostels). But some hostels are in smaller cities or larger towns that are also near the paths and could prove useful for walkers. This site, www.fuaj.fr/a~frame.htm, has a good map showing the locations of the French hostels, and addresses and phone numbers appear when you click on the appropriate location. – BLeF, 28 June '00 Gîtes de France & Logis guidebooks online - When I wrote France on Foot the French were still very much married to and dependent upon their groundbreaking but now antiquated Minitel system for "on-line" information. The Minitel is a telephone-based, pay-as-you-go precursor to the internet established and run by the French phone company, France Telecom. This resource is accessible from the internet only by subscription and, so far as I know, the internet is not accessible from it, leaving the French (at least up until lately) to go their own way, isolated from the world. (A not-unknown occurrence.) But—thanks to reader "Eric" who pointed me to a number of new sites—I have found that many French organizations are now finally reaching out to the world and writing web pages, and, as might be expected, excellent ones at that. The most useful WAS the Gites de France site, www.gites-de-france.fr/ which, when it first appeared, listed online all the gîtes d’étape and chambres d’hôtes in the same format that is used in the respective books themselves, that is, with departmental maps that accompanied listings for that department. But, unfortunately, the site has been "improved" (read dumbed down): it no longer lists the gîtes d’étape at all and the listings for the chambres d’hôtes are now by region and are accessed by clicking on "the nearest big city." When you click on the appropriate city there are no detailed maps to accompany the listings that appear, just the names of the villages with chambres d’hôtes along with the details about each facility. This makes the entries almost useless for the foreigner who doesn’t own a stash of detailed maps or for anyone who didn’t major in French geography. My take on it was that the original site was SO useful and easy to use that no one was buying the guidebooks(?) However, as Ray from England points out, all the Gîtes de France guidebooks can now be purchased through their website using a credit card. They also carry topo guides from the FFRP, which are also for sale online. However, the complete listings for the Logis de France is on-line at www.logis-de-france.fr/. This means that you wont have to order the book from overseas and that it will be a simple matter to find and print out the Logis hotel and restaurant resources you need to know about when you plan your walk across France. These free listings will save you time, effort and money. Conveniently, the listings as well as the instructions on the Logis site are available in English. – BLeF, August '99 , updated 16 January '00 – Ray W., England, 17 January '01 back to top FRENCH REGIONAL TOURIST OFFICES ONLINE - The web address www.franceguide.com/gb/regions/index.cfm gives access—deep down after considerable digging—to many regional and town websites all over France. Some of of these sites present useful information about local accommodations and walking trails.– BLeF, 11 May '01 INDEX OF BLUE MAPS – The IGN 903 map, which shows all of the GR and European long distance hiking routes, includes on the back of the map, a blue series (1:25:000 scale) index overlaid on a France map along with a listing of FFRP guides for the GR trails. This IGN map, with all this info listed on it, is a great tool for planning any hike in France.– Mark, Walking Tours of France, 10 April '01 MAPS FOR & GITES ON WALK FROM NICE TO MONTPELLIER - I am leving tonight to Nice. I wish to travel from there to Montpellier. With paths crossing everywhere around France where can I get a map(s) when I'm in Nice.... you can mail me. Merci... oh, and also, les gîtes d'étapes, when I was in Paris I tried to find the headquarters but with fail.. I also would like to find out where along the paths I take can I find gîtes d'étapes or camping sites. If you could mail me this info as soon as possible it would be much appreciated. Merci.– Dario, Canada, 19 January '01 – From BLeF - In Nice any large bookstore should carry the maps you will need. For planning I would suggest buying IGN map #903 or instead—much better—three "Top 100" IGN maps, #s 68, 67 and 66, which would cover in some detail all the major trails between Nice and Montpellier. Later you will need the individual 1:25,0000 blue maps from the IGN, which you can buy in bookstores and newspaper shops along your chosen route as you need them. In that same Nice bookstore you will find guides to the gîtes like the book Gîtes d'étape/Refuges, France et Frontières or the guides from the Gites de France publishing house. There are also camping guides; hopefully you'll find a regional one that wont be too much of a burden on the trail. MAPS ON SALE - Others might be interested to know that Omnimaps (www.omnimap.com) has all their three dimensional maps on sale this month (December 2000), and there are numerous maps of France. The 3-D map of Mt. Blanc is exceptional. All of the 3-D maps of France are useful in visualising walking routes in advance. Omni Resources has a different special every month. Last July all their France maps were discounted in honor of Bastille Day. I stocked up on the Didier Richard series (which I had read about in your book) and saved close to $50.00!– Elaine G., 15 December '00 back to top MAKING YOUR OWN GUIDEBOOK - Making our guidebook was tedious (but fun). We tended to not put in as many alternative accommodations and restaurants as we should have. Many times we had to accept the expense (or stay at fleabags) as these were the only places to stay.– Bob & Liz, Oregon, 25 June ‘00 IGN GREEN & BLUE MAPS- We found the new IGN 100,000 topo (green) maps particularly useful for planning as the Grande Randonnee trails are clearly marked in red (but not other routes) and the scale accommodates many of the smaller villages. We were sorry not to have taken these intermediate maps with us, because they provide just the ideal platform for working out options. These maps in no way substituted for the 25,000 (blue) topo sheets. Incidentally on some of the older blue topo maps the GRs do not show up as clearly (they're orange) as they do on the newer where they are red. For aged folk, maybe also for younger, a magnifying glass was a key and light addition to our map packet!– Bob & Liz, Corvallis, Oregon, 25 June ‘00 FFRP WEBSITE - Believe it or not, the sometimes stodgy FFRP actually has a web site, www.ffrp.asso.fr/, that does a very good job of listing all their "topo guides." Even though the site is in French, it's relatively easy to navigate to the page where both a map and a clickable regional listing of the guides can be found. Along with the listings there's a decent map of each region showing exactly which portion of the GR is covered. It's well done.But unfortunately the FFRP continues to refuse to take a credit card for orders over the phone or, now, online. (UPDATE: Their website now states that a "carte bleu" will be accepted for phone orders, but not online. I have not tried my VISA yet. Has anyone successfully ordered from the FFRP using a credit card? - BLeF) They still insist on the incredibly cumbersome, perverse and time-consuming get-a-bank-draft process. So use their web site to find which guides are available and then, as I suggestion France on Foot, order over the phone from Elstead or Gîtes de France. – BLeF, August '99, updated 25 May '00 back to top FINDING BLUE MAPS ON THE TRAIL - As I recall, you recommend obtaining the IGN Bleu series maps locally. However, last year I must have spent over an hour searching unsuccessfully through Chamonix for the correct 1:25,000 maps. Accordingly, I spent some time on the Web looking for a source for IGN TOP 25 maps. I found several, but settled on www.map-guides.com. I have had mixed success with them. Their first shipment never arrived, the second with a backordered map did, but I am still waiting for the re-sent original shipment. I think its loss was a fluke, probably at our end. Alex, their customer service guy, has been most helpful, but I wonder what other people's experience has been.– M.R., 3 May '00 – Comment from BLeF - While walkers will find local-area blue maps generally available in tobacco and newspaper stores throughout France, they can be hard to find in very popular areas like Chamonix where the crush of visitors makes it difficult to keep the maps in stock. NEW PLANNING MAPS - The IGN is updating its 1:100,000 map series in a way that is really helpful for anyone planning a walk. Most major trails (not just the GRs and GRPs) are highlighted prominently, making this series very useful for anyone making their own guide before a walk. These maps, called Top100, are definitely easier to use than the Michelin 1:200,000 series that I recommend in the France on Foot. AND they are generally available in the States.– BLeF, 18 Feb '00 MAP LINK IN SANTA BARBARA - Those of you who have, as I recommended in the appendix of France on Foot, called Map Link in Santa Barbara to order maps have most likely been referred to their retail store, Pacific Travellers (sic) Supply. Map Link is an importer/wholesaler and does not sell to the general public. Pacific Travellers Supply's telephone number is 805 963-4438., and you'll find the staff very helpful. My mistake. Sorry about the confusion.Pacific Traveller's Supply has now posted online a wonderful map data base that is easily searched for the exact map you're looking for. See www.pactrav.com – BLeF, August '99. 12 Jan '01 e-mail your questions and comments to walk@franceonfoot.com back to top UPDATES MAIN PAGE * GENERAL UPDATES ABOUT WALKING IN FRANCE |
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Put a goal mark where you want to go. Go walking on an actual street according to your map. If there is no street where it should be according to the map, make one by putting obstacles aside. When you reach your goal, ask the name of the city and give flowers to the first person you meet."  – Yoko Ono, Map Piece, 1962Quotation found in a wonderful new book, Wanderlust, a History of Walking, by Rebecca Solnit, Viking, 2000 |