In France itself
you'll find a
tourist
office - usually
an Office du Tourisme
(OT) but sometimes a
Syndicat d'Initiative
(SI) - in practically
every town and many
villages. For the
practical purposes of
visitors, there is
little difference
between them: SIs have
wider responsibilities
for encouraging
business, while
Offices du Tourisme
deal exclusively with
tourism; sometimes
they share premises
and call themselves an
OTSI. In small
villages where there
is no OT or SI, the
Mairie, or town hall,
will offer a similar
service. Before you
go, it's worth
checking out the
official French
Tourist Board Web
site,
www.tourisme.fr
.
From all these
offices you can get
specific local
information, including
listings of hotels and
restaurants, leisure
activities, car and
bike rental, bus
timetables, laundries
and countless other
things; many can also
book accommodation for
you. Most offices will
provide a free town
plan (though some
places charge a
nominal
5-10F/?0.76-1.53), if
asked, and will have
maps and local walking
guides on sale. In
mountain regions they
display daily
meteorological
information and often
share premises with
the local hiking and
climbing
organizations. In the
big cities you can
usually also pick up
free What's On
guides. The regional
or departmental
tourist offices also
offer useful practical
information (their Web
sites can be accessed
on the Net via www.tourist-office.org
).
In addition to the
various free leaflets,
the one extra map
you'll probably want
is a reasonable
road
map of France. The
Michelin map no. 989
(1:1,000,000) is the
best for the whole
country. A useful free
map for car drivers,
obtainable from
filling stations and
traffic information
kiosks in France, is
the Bison Futé map,
showing alternative
back routes to the
congested main roads,
clearly signposted on
the ground by special
green Bison Futé road
signs. For more
regional detail, the
Michelin yellow series
(1:200,000) is best
for the motorist. You
can get the whole
series in one large
spiral-bound
Atlas
Routier .
If you're planning
to walk or cycle
, check the IGN (Institut
Géographique
National) maps -
either green
(1:100,000 and
1:50,000), or the more
detailed blue
(1:25,000) series. The
IGN 1:100,000 series
is the smallest scale
available that has the
contours marked -
essential for
cyclists, who tend to
cycle off 1:25,000
maps in a couple of
hours. Didier Richard
maps (1:50,000) show
walking paths in
Corsica, the Alps,
Provence and the
Southern Rhône, while
routes in the French
Pyrenees are well
covered by the twelve
maps in the Randonnées
Pyrénées series
(1:50,000).
For those wanting
to plan a visit to the
battlefields of
northern France ,
the two maps of Major
and Mrs Holt's Battle
Map Series are
available direct from
its English authors
(T. & V. Holt, Oak
Housem, Woodnesborough,
Sandwich CT13 0NJ,
England; tel & fax
01304/614123).
