Product Description

Streetwise Paris Map - Laminated Center City Street Map of Paris, France - Folding pocket size travel map with integrated metro map including lines & stations

This map covers the following areas:
Main Paris Map 1:14,000
Paris Metro Map
Map of France

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1575 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Map

Review
"Don't leave home without STREETWISE." -- New York Times

"In a strange city, your sense of direction is only as good as the map in your hands. The best maps to carry are published by STREETWISE." -- Chicago Daily Herald

"STREETWISE is an absolute travel essential." -- Travel & Leisure

'Don't leave home without STREETWISE.' --The New York Times

'STREETWISE is an absolute travel essential.' --Travel + Leisure Magazine

About the Author
STREETWISE® is the first map to be designed with modern graphics and is the originator of the laminated, accordion-fold map format. We've set the standard that every map company has imitated but never duplicated. Our mission is to make you feel comfortable, to make you feel safe in a place where you've never been before and to enable you to experience a familiar place more fully.

The company was founded in 1984 by Michael Brown, who had been in international publishing for many years, setting up subsidiaries for textbook publishers. In the 1970's, Brown traveled extensively throughout Africa, India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Brown would take a large paper map, cut out the city center, folded it up and slip it into his pocket, thus preventing him from looking like a tourist in areas where discretion is the better part of travel. This was his tool for surviving.

After many years on the road, Brown settled back in New York and decided to start his own business, based on the adaptations he had made to maps in his travels. His goal was to give someone the ability to navigate easily in unfamiliar terrain.

He started with a new map format: the accordion fold. Such a simple idea, but at the time it was revolutionary. No more struggling to fold an awkward, oversized paper map. This new format would enable the user to blend in like a native, instead of stick out like a tourist. Brown then added lamination to ensure that the map would be a lasting tool.

More important than the format was the design of the map itself. It had to be a map that not only succeeded above and beyond any map he had used, but was esthetically appealing as well. The look of it had to be as striking as the functionality. Color was introduced in a way that was never seen before in a map - vivid purple for water, soothing gray for the background of street grids, gold to highlight elements of the map. Clarity, conciseness and convenience in a very stylish package.

Building the business was a 24 hour job. Brown sold the maps during the day, zipping around Manhattan making deliveries on his Harley Davidson. At night he packed the orders and did the design work. More titles were added, each title requiring months of research and design.

Today, STREETWISE® produces over 130 titles for major destinations, regions and countries throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom and Asia. We have grown from the back of a motorcycle to selling millions of maps around the world.

Yet each title is still painstakingly researched and updated. STREETWISE® is one of the only, if not THE only map company that conducts research by walking or driving an area to ensure accuracy. After all, what good is the map if what you hold in your hands doesn't match what you see on the street sign? This lengthy fact checking results in superior accuracy; in effect, we've done the work, now you have the adventure.

In the end, it's not about the map, it's about getting out and finding your own authentic experience wherever you go. It's about being in a city or a region and discovering things that you never thought you would find. You can do this if you have confidence and you have confidence if you have a great map. STREETWISE® is the great map that you need.

Customer Reviews

Best Map of Paris
We have several of the Street Wise maps for different cities. They have a terrific index of streets--makes it easy to find any place in Paris (or other big cities) quickly. The maps are laminated softly and can be folded and carried in a purse or pocket. It also includes a metro map and shows major attractions on the map. It's the absolute best map for travel in Paris.

A true 'Must Have'
The best small purchase you can make to prepare for a trip to Paris. We just returned from a week in the city and the Street Map was a constant companion.

Very Useful Map Of Central Paris
I generally like the "Streetwise" series of laminated maps, and their Paris map is no exception. It is compact, clear, easy to use, and exceptionally durable. It covers the city center of Paris, and the front side centers along the middle of the city with the Seine River running roughly along the midline. Northern and southern extremities, an index, and a Metro map are located on the back. All in all it is exceptionally useful for both planning a trip in conjunction with a guidebook as well as actually maneuvering on the ground in the city.

The most important landmarks are well defined on the map, and the information presented is accurate and current in my experience (it was revised in 2008). If you want to get out of central Paris you will need another map. Every map is designed for a specific purpose, and this one is designed for use by tourists of central Paris; for this purpose this map is exceedingly well suited, and I recommend it unequivocally.