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Navigating through Paris on a bicycle

  • 02-08-2013 1:01pm
    #1
    cantalach
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭


    I'm trying to plot a route to get me and my club-mates from CDG Airport into the centre of Paris and out the other side to a town named Melun which is about 45-50km SE of the city. The bicycle navigation option in Google Maps is in beta and pretty crap. It gives lots of bum steers, e.g. sending you down a dirt road in a park, etc.

    Anyone done something like this before or otherwise have any tips?


Comments

  • #2
    petethedrummer
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,604 ✭✭✭petethedrummer


    cantalach wrote: »
    Anyone done something like this before or otherwise have any tips?

    Your baguette goes in the basket at the front.


  • #3
    couerdelion
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,910 ✭✭✭couerdelion


    cantalach wrote: »
    The bicycle navigation option in Google Maps is in beta and pretty crap. It gives lots of bum steers, e.g. sending you down a dirt road in a park, etc.

    Use the car option but tick the "avoid highways" (or whatever it is ) option.


  • #4
    cantalach
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭cantalach


    couerdelion wrote: »
    Use the car option but tick the "avoid highways" (or whatever it is ) option.

    Thanks, but that option is a bit crap too...just avoids the autoroutes but you still end up on some pretty major roads. I guess we'll just have to wing it.


  • #5
    rollingscone
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,479 ✭✭✭rollingscone


    The Centre of Paris is reasonably compact, much bigger than Dublin obviously but it's still possible to navigate it with a map. If in doubt look up, the Eiffel tower and some other monuments are visible from surprisingly far away so they're a handy means to orientate yourself.


  • #6
    Surveyor11
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,036 ✭✭✭Surveyor11


    Did it as a student in 1991 en route to working in Germany - Gare du Nord to Gare de l'Ouest. Rush hour, no map and a oversized back pack with tent and all sorts of other crap in it. Good times.


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  • #7
    Rob A. Bank
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,842 ✭✭✭Rob A. Bank


    A Cycle route from GDG towards the centre of Paris along Canal de l'Ourcq with photos... here

    Cycle routes around central Paris... here Continue along Canal St Martin (some of which has been filled in) until you reach the Seine beside Gare De Lyon.

    Mappy.fr may be better than Google for bike routes in France. ('Itineraire'/ Select 'Velo'/ fill in the boxes for Paris and Melun and 'Recherchez') 'Voir la feuille de route' will give you a turn by turn list... with the roadsigns you will encounter.


  • #8
    cantalach
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,990 ✭✭✭cantalach


    Many thanks, all. Some great info there. If you read about 14 Irish lads 'n' lassies getting arrested for cycling on the Périphérique, you'll know it went badly...


  • #9
    GreyEagle
    Closed Accounts Posts: 318 ✭✭GreyEagle


    cantalach wrote: »
    Many thanks, all. Some great info there. If you read about 14 Irish lads 'n' lassies getting arrested for cycling on the Périphérique, you'll know it went badly...

    I took the RER from CDG with bike and panniers all the way to the terminus on Sth side of Paris. That should leave you close enough to Melun.


  • #10
    Seanie_H
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 392 ✭✭Seanie_H


    We cycled Paris to Rotterdam there back in April.

    We arrived in CDG and arranged for a taxi van to take us straight to our hotel in Paris - e100 / 5 people.

    We were in Paris a few days before cycling north. We went up via St. Denis and passed CDG, . The route was fine with decent on road but segregated paths for most of the way. My tip would be to aim to get on a long straight street when you can.... It gets intricate in the smaller streets which are one way etc.

    For navigating, Michelin does a website similar to the AA, we used that a lot. Print that off for 2-3 people in the group so it's a shared decision .... That'll save on a blame game too. Also, save the route on Google maps on your mobile into your offline cache. This will mean that you can turn on your phone's gps and access the maps without using your mobile data plan.

    It wasn't overly arduous. Watch out for the paths by the Seine.... Seriously bumpy cobbles.


  • #11
    JMcL
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 2,357 ✭✭✭JMcL


    cantalach wrote: »
    Many thanks, all. Some great info there. If you read about 14 Irish lads 'n' lassies getting arrested for cycling on the Périphérique, you'll know it went badly...

    Go cycling on the Periph and you'll be thankful if you survive long enough to get arrested :-)


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  • #12
    GlennaMaddy
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 851 ✭✭✭GlennaMaddy


    Seanie_H wrote: »
    Also, save the route on Google maps on your mobile into your offline cache. This will mean that you can turn on your phone's gps and access the maps without using your mobile data plan.

    Tried this in Italy on my android phone, the map data is in the offline cache, but the turn by turn navigation needs an internet connection, albeit only about 1MB worth, once the route has been calculated you can go offline again.


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