GPS in France

We just did it in Italy. Use a mid level Garmin. Got the map chip on eBay and sold it after we returned.

Get the map chip and learn how to use it here. You are short on time so I would spend the extra bucks and get the chip from Garmin and now it will work and it will be up to date. Buy one on eBay and it's a crap shoot on function and you can pretty well bet it will be out of date. Even if your rental car has a GPS in it, the manual will be in French so good luck figuring it out. We are leasing a car with a GPS included in the UK in Sept. and having read the manual, I'm taking my Garmin with. The problem with systems built into cars is that they usually are integrated systems with a lot of functions you don't want in the first place. Besides you can put your GPS in your packet and use it in Pedestrian mode to navigate cities etc.

We downloaded the European maps onto our GPS for a trip last fall and had no problems at all. We decided to purchase the downloaded maps for all of Europe because we figured that after just two trips it would pay for its self.

We used our GPS in northern France a couple of years ago. The only problem we encountered was the same kind of problem you will experience at home from time to time: There is a lag time between when road changes are made and when they are recorded on maps, even electronic ones. Even though our maps were newly updated, we experienced this with a new stretch of autostrasse at Reims and a rerouting of some streets in that city. (I am sure those maps are up to date now, so don't worry if you are going there.) This was annoying but not a serious problem. We just ignored those issues and drove around until the GPS could find a route that led us first to our hotel and later back to the autostrasse. Of course, you have to be more alert in these situations; don't go the wrong way on a rerouted one-way street or make an illegal turn just because the GPS tells you to do so, based on out-of-date information. But that's just common sense. If you don't already have a GPS, buy one with European maps soon and get used to using it and trying out the various options before your trip. That will make things easier.

Thanks everyone for the great information!!

We just used a TomTom in France in May and June with no problems. We drove from Paris-Normandy-Loire-Burgundy-Provence without a single problem. We used them in rental cars, too, without problems but we prefer to bring our own since you won't be guaranteed to get a car that has one.

Yes. After much indecision; I chose to purchase my first GPS with European Maps for a 3 week trip to Provence. I purchased the Tom Tom World Traveler on Amazon for about $235. It worked great the majority of the time in Provence. Only a couple of times did I want to throw it out the window and run it over with the car - but I think that's normal. Actually, I think it made our lives infinitely easier and I adore him (Tom Tom). I will now be using him to navigate the USA until our next trip!

We are also going to be in Provence next month. Can you not just get a chip in your iPhone and use googgle or iphone navigation? I have a Magellan but I don't know if I should spend the money on a European map?
Help, please.

...you never know, and of course it's better to use one you're familiar with, but when we rented our vehicle in France, it had a built in GPS...it was a VW Touran...once we figured out how to get it to speak English to us instead of German (and ending up driving into Paris instead of escaping...lol) it was great. And I'm sure it's a crap shoot whether you'll get a car with one or not (we were going to wing it with a map - which would have saved us driving back into Paris!).

"We are also going to be in Provence next month. Can you not just get a chip in your iPhone and use googgle or iphone navigation?
I have a Magellan but I don't know if I should spend the money on a European map? Help, please." David: the problem with using your iPhone as a GPS in Europe is that it will be downloading map data CONSTANTLY, and since this is charged by the kilobyte, you will come home to a phone bill for hundreds or thousands of dollars. However, you can buy a GPS app with European maps, and this will then work offline (no separate data required). So, compare the price of the Magellan European map with the GPS app.

We always rent cars in France. Last April and May, we rented two different cars. We turned in the first car for the week we were in Paris and then picked up another one when we were ready to leave. Each time, my husband was asked if he wanted a GPS. Each time, he told the clerk that he had a GPS and her name is "Bev". That would be me. We have road maps and use them. Of course, we can get a little bit lost but that is part of the fun. We try not to drive into the center of the cities but it can be done without a GPS. If we needed a map for a city, we used MapQuest before going into the city. We only had one small problem trying to get to the Novotel hotel at La Defence in Paris. We could see the building but couldn't get there. Eventually, we did. What did we do before GPS and other mapping systems in the car? What is the extra cost versus the cost of a map?

I looked into and could not find a Europe map "add on"for our Magellan GPS. Can someone tell where to get one? I tried Amazon and Best Buy. I am also wondering why you need one, we will be driving from Nice to St Remy, take several excursions out of St Remy and then back to Nice via Antibes. It seems like a good map will do.
Thank you,

The easiest way in this case is to buy an OFFLINE GPS NAVIGATION APP for your iPhone. Such Apps (Garmin, Navigon and TomTom have them) do not use data traffic, since all maps are preloaded on your iPhone. You can really leave all cellular traffic set up on "off" position and it will still work.

I would be careful using your IPhone as roaming charges can be really high. I checked with Verizon and even with a global plan it would be awful as the plan only allows a small amount per month. I was able to download France and Belgium for $69

Karla, that's why Andre specifies offline map programs in his response. with these programs the map data is stored in the phone's memory and no wireless data is used when the offline mapping program is used. Anyone taking a smartphone out of the country needs to know how to turn off wireless roaming data and verify that it's off.