Top Paris Tourist Maps
& Guide Books
Ready to savor the city?
A Paris tourist map is the right choice when you just want to see the sights and enjoy your time in Paris, but don't need to drill down to specific street numbers.
Here are our favorite pocket guide books and annotated Paris tourist maps.
They'll make it easy for you to have a relaxing and memorable visit to the City of Lights.
All of the books include good tourist maps to guide you to the activities they suggest. Each guide presents its own unique itineraries, but they all concentrate on the most popular parts of Paris for visitors – basically north and south of the Seine from the Eiffel Tower in the west to the Marais in the east. And there is a lot to see and do in those areas!
Paris Insiders Tip
In addition to things like quality of maps, layout and advice, another consideration is the weight of a guidebook or tourist map. You don't want it too heavy if you'll be toting it around all day! We usually choose guides that weigh in under 10 ounces (300 grams), and we love those 6-ouncers (170 gms)!
Frommer's Paris Day by Day 2012
22 smart Ways to see the city
Buy at Amazon.com
Maps scale varies.
184 pages.
Good Metro map.
Includes fold-out map.
8.6 ounces.
We're usually not big fans of the mainstream guide books, but this pocket guide by Frommer impressed us. It has good sections (with useful suggestions) on walks, the Paris gardens, full day tour ideas, and so on. The Paris tourist maps that accompany each of the suggested itineraries are very good.
(We'd suggest you supplement the book's dining and lodging recommendations with the Paris Insiders Guide recommendations for Paris hotels and our Paris Gourmet Food eGuide, which are more up to date.)
The front covers unfolds into a good Metro map, with a tourist map of Paris on the other side. The book also includes a small (that is, easy to handle) folded paper map as well. Updated every three years, so the information stays current.
Knopf CityMap Guide: Paris
Buy at Amazon
Easy to read map scale.
48 pages.
Good Metro map.
6.4 ounces.
This light guide (6.4 ounces) is very easy to carry around, you won't even notice it's in your bag.
Knopf Paris Doesn't try to cover the entire city. Each of its eight sections focuses on a specific area of Paris: for instance there's the Latin Quarter/The Islands/ Montparnasse section and there's the Les Halles/Le Marais section.
This may not be the way you would think about Paris, but each section has a nice fold-out Paris tourist map that illustrates the area very well. The maps are at a large scale, making them very easy to read.
Restaurant and bar suggestions aren't the best, but the maps and itineraries are worthwhile. There's also a good Metro map on a double-page spread.
Moon Metro Paris
Buy at Amazon
204 pages.
Good Metro map.
Street index.
10.3 ounces.
At just over 10 ounces, this one's the heavyweight of the bunch. It features a series of nine laminated maps of the most popular tourist areas.
For each map there's a brief discussion of the area along with a list of sites, restaurants, and the usual guide book topics. (And, like usual, we're not very keen on their restaurant, bar and nightlife suggestions!)
But, the maps are easy to read and the guide has a section with good descriptions of most of the major sites of Paris.
(The "Metro" in this book title doesn't refer to the Paris Metro, it's just the title of the series.)
Streewise Paris Map
Laminated City Center Map
Buy at Amazon
1/14,000.
2-sided accordion fold.
Good Metro map.
Weighs nothing!
Streewise Paris is different from most folded maps. It has an accordion fold, making it easy to use on the street or Metro. It's laminated, a real benefit, making it waterproof and tear-proof. And, there's a very good Metro map in the classic style.
The Streetwise map covers the areas of Paris where most of the tourist action is – wide strip of Paris from east to west, spanning from Jardin du Luxembourg in the south to Place de la Republique in the north. On the other side there's the north side of Paris (Parc Monceau, Montmartre and Stalingrad), and the southwest (the 16th Arrondissement).
The map is highly recommended by travelers, who consider it the ultimate tourist map of Paris.
Artwise Paris
Laminated Museum Map
Buy at Amazon
1/14,000.
2-sided accordion fold.
Good Metro map.
Weighs nothing!
Based on the Streetwise Paris map, Artwise Paris concentrates on things cultural like museums and art galleries, covering the city from Boulevard de Port Royal in the south to Boulevard Haussmann in the north.
The map index provide details on hours of operation, admission costs, addresses and phone numbers.
Metro stops are clearly indicated, and it has the same nice, separate Metro map.
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All About Moulin Rouge Paris |
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