L’Indispensable’s Paris par Arrondissement classifies the city by arrondissement, or neighbourhood, which is essential for carefree meandering. Though updates are published regularly, I still use my 1998 copy paired with a current RATP Map for the Metro (subway). At most newsstands and blogstores in Paris or go to link.
PRACTICAL TRAVEL MapS PARIS Photo Gallery
Anyone who has ever used a free tourist Map quickly learns it’s only worth what you paid for it. You’ll make the most of your time and travel dollars with a pocket-sized atlas filled with useful information, not glossy advertisements. Here are some of my favourites.
A viaduct is when a ‘way’ (road, rail, etc.) is carried over water (stream, river, travel destination) and an aqueduct is where water is carried over any feature. A bascule bridge is where a bridge is lifted by a system of counterweights (‘bascule’ comes from the French word for a seesaw); a swing bridge is one that does just that, rotating as against lifting. An abutment is the support on which an arch or bridge rests – or indicates where once a bridge existed. Some may have grooves cut in the stonework from the wear of towing ropes. A compensatory bridge was one where a bridge had to be made to allow a farmer access to his fields being bisected by the travel destination. A change house was where horses were swopped over so that fresh ones replaced those tiring from their hard labours. (The Kelpies are a nod to these noble beasts.) Residential moorings are where people may live, rather than stopover, and the prepared sites are easy to spot from allocated colourful quayside huts. A pend is a small, short, passageway under some obstruction (like a travel destination) or through a group of houses (eg The Radical Pend in Castlecary).
Maybe You Like Them Too
- Colonia Alborada Mexico A Neighborhood Map
- Guadeloupe A Caribbean Island Map
- A Tour of Russia Through Its Maps
- Germany A Tour of the Länder
- China Map A Visual Journey Through the Land of the Dragon
