Where to purchase street maps/metro (bus/train) maps from?

I always like to have my maps in advance so I can study them and locate lodging, etc. Personally, I like the little fold-up "pop-up" maps and have used them for Venice, Paris and London. They can fit right in your purse or pocket. Lots of people prefer the "streetwise" maps which are about 3" x 8" and laminated so they are sturdy. Both should have maps of the metro system where there is one (Paris) but maybe not bus routes. I don't remember how we figured out bus routes in Paris!. Anyway, you can buy both types of maps here in Seattle at many places, including Barnes and Noble. I love the map store on First Avenue near the Market.

I didn't take the bus in Paris, but I found a very good map of the Metro online. If you Google "Paris Metro map, for example, you should be able to find a good one that you can print. I would compare anything I find online with a metro map in a guidebook, just to be sure that the online map is accurate. You could also scan the metro map in a guidebook and print it in color. I like the Knopf Mapguides, which I found at a Barnes and Noble. They're not really pocket-size (about 4" x 7") but they have fold-out sections of each area of the city center. With them, I was able to navigate perfectly well in Paris and Amsterdam, cities I had never been to.

The TI is a good source for maps especially for transit systems. Second, we always use the free maps that the hotels have. We never buy maps in advance. If you need a map for getting to something like the hotel will print from Mapquest or google maps.

I'd say the maps in the RS books are good enough - you can get free copies of the Paris metro system at the stations (and sometimes your hotel will have brochures; the Galleries Lafayette brochure comes to mind). Many cities (Paris, for example) are constantly adding stops so always use the most current one you can find. I've also purchased a "Plan de Paris par Arrondissement" (map BOOK available at most tabacs, newspaper stands, Monoprix, etc.) because I want addresses beyond the main touristy areas. There are many different versions of this city map; just pick the one that looks good to you. I also like the "Streewise" and "Pop-Up" maps...Look at some at your local bookstore...you'll like one style, but hate another LOL! To each his own...And expect to get lost some even with a map; not every little alleyway will show up on a map, and street names can be a little 'inconsistent' and just not match what's on the map...And good luck finding those street signs...;-)

We get a RS Planning Map every year when we sign up for one of his tours and use it for some advanced planning. Then we hit the TI (travelers information) places to get a local map and have the TI staff mark it up for things we are looking for and any recommendations they might have. This has always worked for us. The maps in RS guide books tend to be great for finding places locally but as he points out, they are not to scale. Good luck and happy travels

And now I'll confess that one of my nicknames is "Map Nerd". Our daughter has a whole series of photos of me in various places around the world, peering intently at a map. . .

I have found that some maps work great and some just don't. The best maps I've ever used are the London and Paris Mapguides by Michael Middleditch. (You can get them online at amazon.com.) They are very detailed but in small booklet form. You can consult them without looking too much like a tourist. I only wish they had guides for other cities. Otherwise, I like a big map so I can see the whole area but I also want a separate, smaller, folded map that I can view without having to open the whole thing (such as those two mapguides listed above). Buy before you go so you can study it in advance with the map in one hand and your guidebook in the other. You can look for a different, possibly better map when you get there.

Paris has an excellent one at the metro stations. You can get one online in PDF form. I use that one to get from Gare du Nord to my hotel, then picked up one at the station. It has all the lines on it.

[sing-song: "Lola is a Map Nerd! Lola is a Map Nerd!"].......................I'm with Paul, too - I was going to suggest the Middleditch Mapguides; unfortunately, the last (and maybe only) edition was 2002. It's incomplete, but I take mine every time I go...Hence, I broke down and bought the "Plan de Paris" on my last visit (and besides, the books also have TONS of info in them, besides bus routes, tabac shops, etc.).

You betcha, and proud of it! I neglected to mention our Venice map; it was a multi-page mape that came in one of our guidebooks. I tore out the pages and assembled them (all eight) on the bed to see the whole route before we would head out. It showed every little calle and canal. But after studying the map and picking a route, we'd head out with just a smaller, one-page map, and of course we'd get lost. But that's half the fun of Venice, since you can't REALLY get lost.