We are renting a car in Paris and driving down to the Loire valley. We wanted the freedom of having our own transportaion for our 4 days. Do you have any recommendations on maps to pick up before we go. We did not reserve a GPS with the rental, not sure how helpful it would be with the small village roads...I'd appreciate any suggestions. Thanks!!
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1863 posts
Get the orange Michelin map of the region and the AA road atlas for France. You will have all the map you need. At least that was all we needed on our trip in June. We really enjoyed La Roserie Hotel in Chenonceaux, if you are still looking for accommodations. It is close enough to the Chateau that you could walk if you wished. Excellent food and very friendly. A small village we really enjoyed was Lavardin, which is on the Loir (not Loire) river. It oozed ambience.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
GPS works well on the small roads. But if you don't have one, Michelin is the big name in maps in France, get one that has a scale of 1:200,000 which will show the detail you need for the small roads. You can buy them online but I just wait until I get there, you get a better selection, better price, and can see the choice of maps before you buy.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Most hotels should offer some kind of free promotional map that shows the locations of the chateaux. And actually, navigating through the Loire is pretty easy. There's no lack of roadsigns pointing you in the exact direction you need to travel. All you really have to know is the name of the town near that chateau of interest. After that, just get on one of the roads that run parallel to the river and follow the signs.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
For sure you'll want Michelin local map #317: Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire. See here. Also check the coverage for #318 and #323.
Posted by
dallas, tx, usa
1358 posts
If you decide to buy a map, read this page:
http://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&sourceid=navclient&gfns=1&q=LOIRE+VALLEY+MAP
Posted by
Salt Lake City
1528 posts
It has been a lot of years but I found useful the "Michelin the Green Guide Chateaux of the Loire". It had maps at the time that I bought it, though I am not certain about now. It can be had used on Amazon.com for about $12.
Regards, Gary
Posted by
New York City, NY, USA
5678 posts
I'll second the comments that it's not that hard to get around the Loire Valley. But, I will say that I got thoroughly lost in Tour while trying to Chinon. So, ask for good directions if you head toward / into Tour. I wish I'd figured out how to go around Tours. ; ) Pam
Posted by
vancouver
18 posts
We had a GPS (purchased first in Canada for practice) and took it to Loire and found it extremely helpful, especially when going through little towns that sometimes had very little signage. I agree with the recommendations for 1:200,000 maps. We didn't use our maps very much because we had the GPS but was a comfort to have and good for planning how to go.
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
With the most detailed map you can provide yourselves with you will be fine. Just realize that the highways in France are not as frequently marked with the route numbers as the highways in N. America. But the signs will always indicate the next town on the route, so with that in mind and a good navigator and a good map you will have a "bonne route".
Posted by
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
8293 posts
You do not need to be fluent in French to read the road signs on the French roads, country or otherwise. A detailed map and the ability to read it is more than enough. We drove all over Turkey without a GPS. France is a piece of cake.
Posted by
Grapevine, TX, USA
875 posts
Actually the GPS will be very helpful when you are out in the French countryside and there are no or practically no road signs. If you can still arrange for one, I would recommend it unless you are very fluent in French. If you get lost out in the middle of nowhere, you'll need to be able to speak the language.