Customer Reviews

Michelin Tourist and Motoring Atlas: France (Michelin Tourist and Motoring Atlas : France (Spiral, Large Format), 4th ed)

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We took this along with us on our first trip to France and used it to drive from Paris to Provence. I cannot say how detailed this map is, even better than any map of the US I have ever seen. In one collection it shows everything from major highways to single lane dirt tracks last used by goat farmers.

So far, I have spent only 2 weeks 'motoring' through France and the only negative thing I can say about this atlas is that some of the pages are torn from heavy use. It looks like the 2000 version is hardcover, which may help eliminate this problem. I wish Michelin would come up with a binding method that would allow me to remove and replace pages. Then it would be perfect. As for examples of how one uses this atlas .. Last September I was in France and for the first time I had torn up my tour books and brought only the relevant sections. After arriving in Chamonix, I realized this was not worth a 2 night stay (thanks, Rick Steves!), so I decided on a last minute detour to Burgundy. Forunately, I had this atlas and my Michelin Red Guide (with it's indespensible town and city maps and suggested sites). Sitting in my car, I planned my route for the next 2 days, which included stopovers in Tournus (a little difficult to find a room) and Beaune (no problem finding a room). Since I had no textual guidebooks for Burgundy with me, I bought a Green Guide in Tournus. With this guide and my trusty atlas, I easily planned a drive through the Burgundy countryside and visits to a chateau, abbey, wineries, and panoramic viewpoints. I drove into and out of Beaune and Dijon without any problem. Besides using the atlas for navigation, I also have used it to find spectacular and often unexpected viewpoints and scenery in locations as varied as the Corniche roads between Nice and Monaco, the Gorges of Verdun/Lac de Ste Croix, perched villages in the Luberon, very green farmland in the Indus River Valley, ruined/untouristed castles overlooking Colmar, a moving WWI battlesite and cemetary (Le Linge) in the Vosges. This atlas is for travellers who want their trips between destinations to be as unforgettable as the destinations themselves.

Spent 1 week last summer touring around in central France with a car, my girlfriend as the navigator sitting right next to me reading this atlas. She could told me, by following the details on the atlas, when there should be a road junction on left or right hand side, or there going to be a round-about a head. Even on the smallest D road or a tiny village. Just one sentence in summary, this Michelin atlas is INCREDIBLE!

Paperback atlas without a spiral binding fits nicely in my saddlebags. 1:200,000 scale is just right for a bicycle trip with every paved road shown, not just the major motorways. The price for this used atlas was very reasonable. Roads don't change that much in a couple of years so it's still up to date. The condition was very good as promised. I plan to mostly destroy it in the course of a 4 week bicycle trip.