An excellent tip from Bumpkin 
French Michelin maps and toll roads explained.
- Thread starter Wapping
- Start date
Bugbear
Registered user
ghiribizzo
Registered user
They seem to be inconsistent. Yesterday, planning sinuous trips around France without motorways or main roads I realised that using the Michelin map routing on an iMac I didn't see Discovery. But on the App for the iPhone, it's there ok. On a few routes, I didn't see a great deal of difference in what it suggested but that could be because of the part of the country I was looking at.
Deleted account 211025001
Registered user
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2005
- Messages
- 8
- Reaction score
- 10
I've recently downloaded the ViaMichelin iPhone app and very useful it is too.
There is also a Michelin map of France app. Before I bung £7.50 at it does anybody have any experience of it? Does it do anything that ViaMichelin doesn't? More detail? Do they integrate with each other in some way? Or is it solely the fact that you can view off line?
Cheers
Andres
There is also a Michelin map of France app. Before I bung £7.50 at it does anybody have any experience of it? Does it do anything that ViaMichelin doesn't? More detail? Do they integrate with each other in some way? Or is it solely the fact that you can view off line?
Cheers
Andres
.
I've used the Découverte option on the viamichelin site, and it does make a difference round here. For example, if you enter start = Nice, end = Sisteron, and do the recommended road, it's pretty direct. If, however you do the 'discovery' option, then it takes you way over the Col de la Bonette, which is probably the fun road I would choose.
Rob
I've used the Découverte option on the viamichelin site, and it does make a difference round here. For example, if you enter start = Nice, end = Sisteron, and do the recommended road, it's pretty direct. If, however you do the 'discovery' option, then it takes you way over the Col de la Bonette, which is probably the fun road I would choose.
Rob
I downloaded the map app when it first came out. It doesn't integrate with anything that I know of, T least not on an iPad. As I go to France a lot it was worth the cost at the time.
The best of the lot is the Via Michelin Mobile app, as they have better displayed the points of interest, restaurants, hotels, weather and traffic all into one. It's the one I would go for, especially if you have an iPad. Very good detailed mapping across Europe and not bad mapping far beyond. Buy with confidence.
I have used both several times to help bods on UKGSer find a route or a hotel suggestion.
Like most route planners, the Michelin one works to a pretty low common denominator when suggesting any route.
Mod bods that use the facility will be driving cars, nor risking life and limb on a motorcycle. The programme will therefore most often suggest the most direct routes, with just very simple 'avoid motorways' or 'avoid tolls' options. The motorcycle button's only function is to calculate the lower costs levied, not take you down every green bordered D road.
To create ultimate (great roads, mate) routes then you most often have to insert a town or village to force the route to go a certain way. By which time you might as well have used a paper map and had done with it.
BUT, that too is too great a generalisation.
Where it is very good is for suggesting the broad outline of the direction and time taken to make a journey from A to B to D via C, which WILL answer the most often heard plaintive cries, like: "What's the best way from me house to the Alps?" or "I have got three days and I wanna go everywhere mate, what's best an' I want to avoid motorways and camp". Two seconds on Via Michelin can (and will) answer both questions. It requires little or no effort, after all.
Mod bods that use the facility will be driving cars, nor risking life and limb on a motorcycle. The programme will therefore most often suggest the most direct routes, with just very simple 'avoid motorways' or 'avoid tolls' options. The motorcycle button's only function is to calculate the lower costs levied, not take you down every green bordered D road.
To create ultimate (great roads, mate) routes then you most often have to insert a town or village to force the route to go a certain way. By which time you might as well have used a paper map and had done with it.
BUT, that too is too great a generalisation.
Where it is very good is for suggesting the broad outline of the direction and time taken to make a journey from A to B to D via C, which WILL answer the most often heard plaintive cries, like: "What's the best way from me house to the Alps?" or "I have got three days and I wanna go everywhere mate, what's best an' I want to avoid motorways and camp". Two seconds on Via Michelin can (and will) answer both questions. It requires little or no effort, after all.
Its doable on a motorway route but pushing it if you want to go "scenic routes". Wifey and i have done 450 mile day through germany on mainly auto bahns but i wouldnt want to do it to often-boring and tedious.
I have used this place for supplying michelin maps, i think he can laminate as well. http://www.mapsman.com/
I have also used his best rides motorcycle atlas of France. its a very good atlas which is small enough to fit in a tank bag.
I have also used his best rides motorcycle atlas of France. its a very good atlas which is small enough to fit in a tank bag.
ghiribizzo
Registered user
It's a bit odd that they use Découverte on the .fr version of the site but that becomes a Sightseeing button on the .co.uk site. When you use the iPhone App the english version of the site still has Discovery.
Presumably that's why Bugbear couldn't find it.
Swissdoc
Registered user
I also downloaded the Michelin France app this year. I think it's excellent - 4 maps in 1 (although to be fair, the first one is too much of an overview to be of much use). In addition to the standard 726 map (which is the one-mil map I seem to remember) it has two others in smaller scales down to the small yellow-map level (sorry, not with me now so can't give you the exact scale). Really good on an ipad for route planning in the evenings and good on an iphone to zoom in during stops on the way. Highly recommended even if it does cost £7.50. (I still keep a 726 in the map pocket of the tank bag though...).
The £7:50 cost for the app is reasonable in that, you get several map scales and detail in one.
The smallest and most detailed scale is 1:200000 which, if you were to buy the equivalent single maps for the whole of France (I think it's 10 in the full set) would cost you over £50. You could buy the whole of France 1:200000 scale map atlas (in several sizes) but that is about £13 or more.
Either way, £7:50 for the convenience of having everything on an iPad or iPhone seems like reasonable value.
The smallest and most detailed scale is 1:200000 which, if you were to buy the equivalent single maps for the whole of France (I think it's 10 in the full set) would cost you over £50. You could buy the whole of France 1:200000 scale map atlas (in several sizes) but that is about £13 or more.
Either way, £7:50 for the convenience of having everything on an iPad or iPhone seems like reasonable value.
It is good and worth the money, but be aware that every year they bring an updated version out and if you want that then you pay again and load it as a separate app, not just upgrade the old one.
It's true.
I would think about updating mine about as often as I might update by big paper Atlas of France, say once every five to six years.
I would think about updating mine about as often as I might update by big paper Atlas of France, say once every five to six years.
Wow, you must like throwing money away. I'm still using a 1999 UK road atlas. Mind you, it has been said I'm tighter than a ducks arse
Unashamedly lifted (and adapted) from Franco's excellent original post:
Michelin's French maps are excellent, with a host of useful detail for plotting touring routes.
If you're travelling across France, motorways can save a lot of time and some of them (especially round these parts) are very scenic. They are marked on the maps as two red lines with a yellow band in the centre for toll roads, and two red lines with a white central band for non-toll. However, there are sections of the toll roads (marked 'peage' on French signposts) which are free. See the pic below.
The A57 autoroute from Toulon towards us, is free initially, then just after Cuers (directly above the aeroplane icon), you'll see the motorway turn to yellow from white and there is a black line across it. That's the toll barrier. Some of them can be expensive too, but you can figure out the charges and other costs, including fuel, on the ViaMichelin site:
http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichelin/int/tpl/hme/MaHomePage.htm
Also, on the same map you can see:
The classic D 'Country' roads, in yellow. These are, near enough, like the UK's B roads.
To the right hand side, the shaded green 'scenic' route across the Col de Babaou, with its suggested view point, probably with a suitable lay-by or pull off area.
To the left, you can see the unclassified (white) road, going west from Sollies Pont, again becoming scenic. As the white line is unbroken, it will be metalled but maybe bumpy or a broken surface, possibly narrow, but certainly OK for a motorbike or family saloon car.
In the lower portion of the map, you can see the D98. This has the distance calculators, between the 'pins'. From the D98's junction with the D12, west to its junction with the D559, is 11 km (nearly 7 miles).
The D98 road here is red, not yellow. This indicates it is more of a main road than the classic yellow D roads, so expect more traffic, particularly as it appears to be the only road along the coast. The French have, just recently, been reclassifying some of their main N roads (the equivalent of the the UK's A roads) as D roads. The colour and location of the road may well give you the best clues.
Bon route...
I was Googling Michelin maps and this post came up !!
Worth bringing back to the top.
Interesting that the MRA Michelin map overlay isn’t quite as detailed as in Wapping’s original post
I was Googling Michelin maps and this post came up !!
Worth bringing back to the top.
Interesting that the MRA Michelin map overlay isn’t quite as detailed as in Wapping’s original post
And it seems to be showing all toll rds,
Perhaps they are all tolls now compared to 2008 ?
Could well be; all my old Michelin maps go back to the 2000's .
Distanc pins probably considered poitnless on a digital map that will give precise distance between any two points you choose.
I use MRA Michelin overlay a lot, but switch between others (Google, Here and Tom Tom) as they all have some good points;
Google is great for finding Hotels, bars restaurants and other places, particularly good for towns and cities or places you are thinking of stopping.
I find flicking between Here and Tom Tom helps pick out the roads better sometimes, with Here map showing the Red D-Road for example, and the two other D-Roads out of castallane shaded differently, but not many road numbers. Tom Tom is particularly good at seeing the little squigly roads and how twisty they are as they really stand out in the white, but you cannot beat Michelin for planning in the mountains, with the scenic routes and passes clearly marked.
Have a play if you have MRA and at different zoom levels and different locations they all tend to work a little differently for me, and I often just switch back and forth between them.
I use MRA Michelin overlay a lot, but switch between others (Google, Here and Tom Tom) as they all have some good points;
Google is great for finding Hotels, bars restaurants and other places, particularly good for towns and cities or places you are thinking of stopping.
I find flicking between Here and Tom Tom helps pick out the roads better sometimes, with Here map showing the Red D-Road for example, and the two other D-Roads out of castallane shaded differently, but not many road numbers. Tom Tom is particularly good at seeing the little squigly roads and how twisty they are as they really stand out in the white, but you cannot beat Michelin for planning in the mountains, with the scenic routes and passes clearly marked.
Have a play if you have MRA and at different zoom levels and different locations they all tend to work a little differently for me, and I often just switch back and forth between them.
Attachments
