Are Michelin maps needed in Provence?

Doesn't matter where you are going. Always, ALWAYS have a good map along.

Maps don't fail because its battery is dead, you can't get a signal, you lost the charging cable, you dropped it, or it was stolen. IMHO it's extremely foolish to depend 100% on a single, electronic source of info for a critical task like navigation. Phones, iPads, GPS devices and other gizmos are great. When they work and have connectivity. But even when they do work, they sometimes send you off across an open field or into a lake. If you care about getting anywhere, always have a good map (brought from home) open and available to crosscheck. Without a real map, you're just a passenger along for the ride wherever your gizmo decides to send you.

I'm the opposite. I try not to lug a lot of weight around and paper weighs a lot.

I've had good luck using co pilot GPS on my phone. Its $30 to download the maps at home but otherwise free to use. It will use data if its turned on but works with data off too.

I like searching on Google maps more but it's both a battery and data hog so I only use it when I need to, rarely to navigate.

We like to pack light but wanted to have a paper map with us. I cut out just the sections of the map that we intended to
be driving in. Why take the whole darn thing and the extra weight?

I second David, always have a paper map.

I really have to chuckle when folks express worries over the weight of a paper map. Pretty sure they probably have a hundred other things along that weigh many times as much that could be eliminated easily. I have a good Michelin map right here (one that saved my butt not long ago when my GPS tried to send me off on a crazy route that would have taken hours longer than my preferred route, which would have resulted in a missed ferry and a cascading crash of several days of our planned trip). That map weighs about as much as a pack of chewing gum yet was one of the most critical things I brought along.

Personally, I just think it's insane to go without a good map (been there, done that, regretted it for a whole trip). To each their own. Good luck.

I third David. I think paper maps are far better for route planning. GPS is ok for turn-by-turn directions once you have an idea of where you are going and how to get there. One problem with using GPS in rural areas of France is that addresses in small towns and villages are often very vague or nonexistent. So, if you are trying to find a specific location, like a B&B, it may not have an address recognized by GPS.

My first experience with GPS was in my home town when it was directing me to turn left off of an elevated highway. It thought I was on a surface street. So, I always have some idea of where I am and where I am going when using GPS. There is supporting evidence for the phrase "death by GPS."

You are driving in a foreign country to places you have probably never been.

Yes, bring a map. They cost a pittance and fold up nice and small.

For driving, Michelin is tops.

agreed. I like to see places in relation to each other when I'm planning. But most critically, as mentioned above, paper maps don't die for lack of electricity or other technological impediments.

Are they needed? It’s difficult to know what another person needs. So the bottom line is that nothing is needed except a car with gas. However, would I use them even though Maps does most of my navigation? Yes. We always have paper maps.

I was always crazy with maps and also carried a compass. My last two trips to Europe I rented a car and never needed a map. A phone with data worked everywhere but the last few cars I rented came with a GPS which will work without a cell signal. I pre-save all my destinations to Google maps. This board skews to a higher age group which is decidedly pro-map. Paper maps will become obsolete.

Thanks so much, all. You've convinced me and map is ordered :)

Paper map fan age 44 (just!)

I have a definite preference for paper. There is probably a step program for me somewhere. We don’t pay for data plans when traveling abroad and use GPS and maps. GPS works most of the time to get us from point A to point B, but there have been countless times when I looked at the maps, realized we were driving by many historic or interesting places I’d heard of and rerouted to accommodate the pleasant surprise. We would never travel...driving or not...without a good map. Safe travels!
We did use a Michelin guide for our drives in Provence and it was excellent for planing day trips and routing...I just can’t remember the name, sorry. Our B&B lent it to us.

Has anyone used the viamichelin maps. I'm spending a month traveling around and think I will plot my way from place to place using this along with a Garmin from home. These maps give travel times and approximate costs for gas and tolls.

We drove last summer 2017 in Provence without a paper map, just our downloaded Google maps and had no problem at all. We saw so much and loved ever aspect of Provence.
This spring we did a 4 week road trip thru Portugal, Spain and Southern France. On the motorway into France I purchased a Michelin road map of all of France (it had many of the smaller roads and was adequate for us) We had a road map (free) in Portugal and enjoyed using it with our Google maps app. I think when driving you can make last minute changes based on looking at a map, if you wish. If you are a person that wants to go from point A to point B without any changes then forget the paper map and stay on the motorways.

Traveling on the highways the map will not be of much use as a GPS app will be much better for that.
As I recently discovered while driving in Provence last week as well as Portugal both with no paper maps.

Is in the small towns, GPS would route me on a quicker as the crow flies type route ; really not factoring in the speed of travel on such roads ; think it is because many of the secondary roads in both of these areas have speed limits rated much higher than one would actually travel.
There did not seem to be different speed limits for the type of road, all secondary roads were the same limit whether they were wide, straight and flat or curvy, hilly and narrow.
As a result my otherwise dependable and amazing in the US and other parts of Europe ; Waze app kept asking me to turn onto roads that were quite dicey. Hilly, thin, curvy, etc... where if I had a paper map I am certain in a few cases I could have avoided those turns and made it to my destination faster just by sticking to more main roads.

That said to rely on paper maps only for the 2000 miles I drove would have been insane, on said curvy, thin and hilly roads it is really nice to look at a screen quickly and know what curves lie ahead. That type of precision is not achievable with a paper map.
Paper maps are a good back up plan.

The first time or two I used a GPS in Europe, I wasn't very confident in it's ability to navigate well. Now I don't even pack a GPS, just my phone with a couple apps already loaded. My phone has a compass app too.

How do you pack heavy? Add lots of light things you probably won't need, just in case. I keep packing lighter, weeding out one thing after another than I can live without. I've missed turns or gone the wrong way, more than once, but it was never the end of the world.