Suggestions for GPS in France

Not having data, we download google maps & use it in offline mode which works extremely well.. Also bring our gps from home as a backup.

I buy a SIM card for my iPhone, inexpensive-25-30€. Works perfectly as GPS and for calling within Europe. So easy!
My spouse gets an intl plan for his phone.
We have a GPS with a Europe map chip in it but it takes up room in baggage and Google Maps works better.

You could rely on paper maps.

If you choose to do so, it helps to understand how the folks who post directional signs in France operate.

They're provincial. They, above all, are focused on their local neighbors and their own needs for information.

Assuming you would be taking national or departmental roads rather than autoroutes (which are comparable to U.S. Interstate highways), the directional signs at roundabouts and intersections are posted by folks familiar with the area and who have a near-complete disregard for visitors. It's France, after all. It may seem counterintuitive, considering how much France's economy depends on tourism -- and it is, of course -- but it's also very, very French.

In response to that, you can rely on said directional signs as long as you know what the larger towns might be between your destination and your starting point. So, use your paper maps to develop a sequential list of large-ish towns along your desired path and then use those town names to key in to necessary exits or turns as you drive. Over time, they will lead you to where you want to go.

Or, you could download Google Maps to your smart phone and just rely on the smart phone GPS without needing to turn on your data roaming.

If you want a dedicated GPS, I’d recommend the Garmin DriveSmart 55 or the less expensive drive 52. But then you have to invest an additional $70-100 to buy either the France/Benelux maps or all of Europe. I have an old but still working Garmin with lifetime US and European maps. Do I use it? No. I use my smart phone with a car mount. If your concern is lacking cell signals in certain rural areas, you can still use your phone. When I was on Sardinia and Corsica, I had downloaded the maps for use with Google Maps. The app seamlessly switched between on and off line as needed. The only thing that was missing off line was current traffic conditions- not too crucial in rural areas. Happy motoring!

All of our rentals since 2014 have come with a built in GPS (at no additional fee). Although I always specify an automatic transmission which may provide a more upscale car than the cheapest manual. I always tote my dedicated GPS with updated Europe maps just in case. It is not a huge burden. You will have to decide if you are comfortable with the local SIM card idea, chewing your international plan data, toting a GPS, reading your regional Michelin map closely, or trusting your luck at the rental counter.

I bring my GPS from home when I'll be driving much in Europe, I bought a Europe map for it years ago. It's not too heavy and is very reliable. Another bonus is listening to the voice mispronouncing French place names. It can be hilarious. I set it to kilometers so its directions will synch with the road signs.

Renting a GPS along with the car, or a higher-end car with GPS installed, will probably cost more than downloading a Europe map (c. $65 with AAA as I recall).

Download google maps. Works offline without data. (but not walking directions). Also try Maps.Me. Offline maps available there. I just downloaded yesterday, so haven't used it yet, but wanting to use it for walking trails also.

Just be careful using Google maps. We had a bad experience when it sent us down what began as a dirt road that we thought was just a short connecting road. It became very narrow and rocky in places--too narrow to turn around and try another route. Another time it sent us down a narrow dirt road, and we used a paper map to figure out our alternative.

We have a Garmin Nuvi and I bought the France map. It turned out our Hertz rental (a Peugeot) had a state of the art navigation system built in. It was better than the Nuvi, because it not only shows you speed limits but chimes when you go 3 km/hr over. That's important in France because they have automated speed checks, especially on the multi-lane highways. I packed up the Garmin after the first day and never used it again.

Michelin paper maps are a good fall back. I'm tempted to suggest you chance it, since they'll be renting you a fairly new car (if you go with a good company).

Here's another vote for Michelin maps as a fallback. I like to have paper maps just in case things go awry with the GPS. You can order them online. Also must say, when we drove from Toulouse to Rocamadour years ago and got lost, we managed to get directions from a French gentleman walking along the road despite us speaking no French and him speaking no English. You won't want to make a habit of it, but getting lost in southern France is not awful. ;-) I hope you have a wonderful time; we are heading to the Dordogne and Carcassonne and are beyond excited! Not sure what your interests are but am happy to provide feedback after our trip :-)

Since much of our travel will be in the countryside, we don't want to
depend on our cell phones for navigation (just in case)

Could you elaborate on that?

I have used my phone in many places and plan to do it again in the future, so I am interested why you see countryside navigation as a possible problem.

Each year I drive a lot through the French countryside and only rely on maps. The yellow cover Michelin Départemental maps give me the level of detail I need and also suggestions for scenic itineraries. It’s not perfect but it works for me, combining with GPS or Google Maps can make driving around more easy but without is doable.

A Départemental map costs around €7,- and widely available at larger gas stations and supermarkets like Carrefour, E.Lecrec etc. Try maps this time and see how it wil work for you.

Your phone picks up GPS the same as a dedicated GPS does. I have the CoPilot for Western Europe app loaded. It was $30 for the maps but otherwise free. If you just download one country, I think it's free.

I was in rural Ireland in May and had plenty of data to use. Ironically the app worked better when data was turned off because it wanted to use data to help with position. As long as data is turned off, it navigates using GPS and pre-saved maps.

I've used Google Maps too. I like the search function but don't like that data must be on or it won't update your route if you miss a turn. There is Google Maps offline, where you download the maps so you can navigate offline; I don't like Google Maps enough to use it. Co Pilot seems more like a regular GPS (speed limits, speed trap warnings, over speed limit warnings, etc.).

Your phone picks up GPS the same as a dedicated GPS does

This!!

You don’t need a cell signal to get the satellite’s GPS signal.

we are making a trip to Provence in August.

I will buy AT&T international plan ($10 per day) and use google maps on iPhone. It worked great in our last trip to Italy few years ago.

I use maps.me (maps with me) on my phone. Works offline, costs nothing, maps are updated every month. The only drawback to using a phone for GPS is the fact they can take considerably longer to locate enough satellites. Having a phone signal can make it quicker (even if you don't have a sim in your phone) but my phone can at times take 10 minuites to locate me

The advantage over google is (naybe was - I stopped using google for gps a long time ago) is that the maps are downladable by department, rather than having to navigate to where youre going to be travelling and downloading the maps.

This forum is always so helpful, thank you! I had no idea that you could use GPS on the phone without cell service! Wow! Game changer! (To respond to the person who asked for clarification on why we didn't want to rely on using our cellphones for GPS, my mistaken understanding of how GPS on phones worked was the reason...problem solved now!)

BF has Sprint (so an excellent international plan) and I have the Orange SIM card so I'll have phone service and 20GB of data available. If we use CoPilot on our phones and download the France map, we should be good to go, yes? I still plan to have a paper map in the car because I'm a map junkie :)

We used to lug our GOS, downloaded with appropriate maps. Seemed every trip there was at least one address it did not recognize. Or it would send us a weird way to get to the destination. Last year, we just used the phone google maps. No problems. You CAN use the maps off line BUT be aware if an accident pops up after you plot your destination, the GPS can’t warn you. Good to get “online” periodically to look for delays etc.

If you bring a US GPS, there may not be maps of Europe. I have a $400 Garmin, and I had to pay $100 to get the European maps, and they still did not work at all - it told me to drive into rivers, and was a complete disaster. I think it kinda worked 2 days out of a 9 day trip, where as Google sometimes worked better WITHOUT A SIM card. And Garmin don't even allow you to transfer those expensive maps to another Garmin device. I am selling it if anyone is interested.

On the other hand, I have had the best luck getting a European SIM card via Amazon from Modal in the UK for $50-60, and use Google - you can buy that in advance in the US.

Slightly worse was a French Orange SIM card, about same expense, but ran out of data very quickly (this was in 2014) and reception not that good. In my case, I arrived in France and signed up for the card, which took 40 minutes as I recall. I remember walking around the Opera area of Paris and not getting any signal at all. So I wouldn't do it again.

Warning - all SIM cards are not the same. I bought some cheaper UK SIM cards on Amazon - like Lime Card I think - and they did not explain the fine print that it works in EU but at $2 a minute, and I tried to call their customer support in London, and got recordings that used up all of my limited time. I thus got ZERO value from the card, and I came back to the US, and Amazon would not allow a review of the device.

I also used a Huawei hotspot/GPS that came with a French car rental. I think it cost $10 a day, or $300 for a month - which is comparable to Verizon's charge for a foreign plan. The signal worked pretty well, and I was able to use my US phone and google. The map on the Huawei was a bit substandard though.

I was reading someone's message about country roads - yeah that can be a problem. Near Sarlat and Castelnaud, I did have Google send me on some unpaved farm roads with a single lane - perhaps 5 miles and it was kind of scary - but at least it was daylight. Getting back from Sarlat to Le Roque Gageac at night where I had to make some dangerous turn on a dirt road in total darkness and a steep drop off just next to the road.

The OP traveled in September.