maps...for driving in France

We used a GPS and it was a life saver. Also there are toll roads around the country side so take some cash and a credit card

Our GPS had a lot of trouble finding satellites in the morning (it worked fine later in the day), but we had run off directions for some of our drives from the Michelin website. They have directions that are very precise, so someone usually needs to read the directions and keep an eye on the odometer. The directions provide some back-up if your GPS is having issues.

The problem was in the morning when we were leaving a small town in northern France. We had trouble in Dinan and in Bayeux. When we got on the highway it would still take a few minutes (sometimes 20 minutes!) to locate a satellite. In the evening in the hotel when I would test it out and plug in the destination for the next day, it would work okay but not the next morning. Not from the hotel (the same place it worked the previous evening) nor from the vehicle. It is a 2008 model, so I can't chalk it up to having an older one.

It would always work eventually, just not reliably.

I think the Michelin maps are about the best for driving. Other maps might be better for special needs, such as IGN's topographical maps.

Do you have specific needs for which your Michelin maps fall short?

A GPS helps, but I have not found them infallible in France, particularly at roundabouts in the east of the country. In these cases, it helps to know the names of towns in your direction of travel, because more than a few times, the GPS pointed me in the wrong direction, whereas the road signs were accurate.

thank you all for your help...I think I will stick to Michelin for now as I will have a navigator with me( a human one!) and I have never done the GPS thing before and have little time now for learning and/or purchasing...perhaps on my next visit when the morning hours also will not be in the blackout zone !
Are the GPS'S always prohibitively expensive when an option with a rental car ?

Karen, Michelin maps are the best, I have a Michelin driving atlas of France that we have used every time. The maps allow you more freedom, I think, and have points of interest such as castles, ruins, prehistoric sites. (GPS might too, though this hasnt been my experience) WE often decide to change our route based on a point of interest marked on the map and have had great experiences each time.

I've used both Michelin maps and printed directions off their website...
http://www.viamichelin.com

With mixed results in France.

In my opinion, The GPS is the way to go...just punch in the address and your ready to go, especially if you dare to drive in Paris.

Lessons from two long driving trips in France:

The tinting in some rental cars absolutely blocks GPS signals. In 2004 I completely relied on my Garmin Etrex connected to a mini-laptop running MS Autoroute. But I couldn't even exit CDG properly! No satellites detected. Three days and much frustration later, I accidentally discovered that the GPS was fine, it was the window tinting!

Stop at a gas station early in your travels and buy a spiral-bound notebook of maps. I still have mine from 2004, it's Blay Foldex Atlas Routier for France, Belgique, & Luxembourg. Very detailed, invaluable even when using GPS. It's 245 pages, and easy to use in the "navigator's" seat, compared with a fold-up map.

We'd use a Michelin map and Autoroute on the morning of a drive to plan, then use the GPS/Autoroute plus the Blay/Foldex maps for navigating.