Best Online Printable Big Maps of Central London
May 8, 2013 9:04 PM Subscribe
Where can i find the best free printable maps of Central London? Something big I can print out multi-page. (I can find plenty of tiny print maps which aren't for me). I'm thinking it would fit on 25 sheets of 8 x 11. I'd fold it and carry it with me. A good map that shows the relative widths of streets. Labels the main sights, shows tube stations. Google Maps doesn't fill the bill.
Honestly, this seems like more trouble than it's worth. A folded paper map at a reasonable scale is well under 10 bucks, and will be printed on a large, continuous piece of paper without the hassle of taping paper bits together, and with greater durability. If you have a map store nearby (if in Ottawa, these guys seem good), they will have a number of different maps for a place as popular as London. A large bookstore will probably have a few options, actually.
But equally honestly, a large folding map is not a helpful travelling companion; you wind up spending two minutes unfolding and refolding it every time you want to check directions (which can be frequently in London, due to the random angles everywhere), and if you're someplace busy like all of Central London, the act of folding out a giant sheet of paper takes up sidewalk room in a crowded area. Not to mention marking you as the biggest tourist ever, in case a pickpocket or con artist is wandering by. If you need something in larger print, I'd get an atlas or "A-Z" guide, which is roughly an 8.5"x11" book with the maps in it; much more convenient for travel.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 11:12 PM on May 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
But equally honestly, a large folding map is not a helpful travelling companion; you wind up spending two minutes unfolding and refolding it every time you want to check directions (which can be frequently in London, due to the random angles everywhere), and if you're someplace busy like all of Central London, the act of folding out a giant sheet of paper takes up sidewalk room in a crowded area. Not to mention marking you as the biggest tourist ever, in case a pickpocket or con artist is wandering by. If you need something in larger print, I'd get an atlas or "A-Z" guide, which is roughly an 8.5"x11" book with the maps in it; much more convenient for travel.
posted by Homeboy Trouble at 11:12 PM on May 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: There are single sheet maps, Ordnance Survey even, but this is more what I had in mind: London A-Z Central Area Notebook. Closer to a bunch of printed sheets, but it comes in color and it already bound!
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 11:18 PM on May 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 11:18 PM on May 8, 2013 [2 favorites]
Yeah, get an A-Z. They're inexpensive and available everywhere, from bookstores to corner shops in touristy areas. They come in every size from pocket to telephone directory. Bonus: you won't look like a twat, as every Londoner without a smartphone has one.
My one reservation is that tube stations sometimes aren't labelled as clearly as I would like. My solution on my copy was to go over them with a highlighter.
posted by tavegyl at 12:49 AM on May 9, 2013 [2 favorites]
My one reservation is that tube stations sometimes aren't labelled as clearly as I would like. My solution on my copy was to go over them with a highlighter.
posted by tavegyl at 12:49 AM on May 9, 2013 [2 favorites]
Any reason why you'd need to know "the relative widths of streets" for a tourist map?
And yeah, just get an A-Z and have done with it, though I've found that starring locations in Google Maps is a not-bad substitute.
posted by evoque at 9:35 AM on May 9, 2013
And yeah, just get an A-Z and have done with it, though I've found that starring locations in Google Maps is a not-bad substitute.
posted by evoque at 9:35 AM on May 9, 2013
Best answer: You can make your own atlas with Field Papers. Use the Open Street Map version to get tube stations and some landmarks. Relative width of streets is not a thing, because the maps are computer-rendered by street classification. You will get some obvious classifications, like dual-carriageways, but maybe not to the granularity you want.
posted by oneirodynia at 9:47 AM on May 9, 2013
posted by oneirodynia at 9:47 AM on May 9, 2013
Nthing that an A-Z is the best way to do this... to get a feel for the nice colourful style of map, the closest thing online is to go to www.bing.com/maps - navigate to London and zoom in a bit and select "London Street Map" (the second option on the first dropdown menu). Bing also offers Ordnance Survey style maps. Some areas may have more detail the the OSM version, but YMMV.
posted by dirm at 10:12 AM on May 9, 2013
posted by dirm at 10:12 AM on May 9, 2013
Best answer: I wouldn't count on these, because they're getting hard to find, but Transport for London printed up some maps called "Why not walk it?" for the Olympics last year, and many of the train stations still have copies. If you're in London and near any of the central area train stations, go in and ask the Information desks if they have any. There are several, all slightly different, but they overlap. They're easier to read than any other maps I've found, and show all the Underground stations, bus stops and big landmarks. I don't know why TFL stopped making them, or why they give them out at train stations, but I really like them.
(That having been said, I'm not actually using them, because the blue maps that have popped up all over the streets are better than anything. They always face the right way, and you don't have to carry them.)
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 12:49 PM on May 9, 2013
(That having been said, I'm not actually using them, because the blue maps that have popped up all over the streets are better than anything. They always face the right way, and you don't have to carry them.)
posted by still_wears_a_hat at 12:49 PM on May 9, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks for the answers, everyone! The Central Area A-Z looks promising. The fieldpapers atlas is very neat, thanks oneirodynia.
The reason why i like relative width of streets in maps is that it gives you an instant feel for the main roads. The reason why i want to print my own map is because i don't want to carry around extra stuff and its just more fun having my own scribbled sheets as a souvenir. I'm going to be walking a lot, so I imagine i won't need to fold and unfold, I'll only need to see a page at a time.
After some surfing i found this one:
http://www.hotelmap.com/hotelmap/?day=10&monyear=5-2013&nights=1&adults=2&children=0&rooms=1
posted by storybored at 1:58 PM on May 10, 2013
The reason why i like relative width of streets in maps is that it gives you an instant feel for the main roads. The reason why i want to print my own map is because i don't want to carry around extra stuff and its just more fun having my own scribbled sheets as a souvenir. I'm going to be walking a lot, so I imagine i won't need to fold and unfold, I'll only need to see a page at a time.
After some surfing i found this one:
http://www.hotelmap.com/hotelmap/?day=10&monyear=5-2013&nights=1&adults=2&children=0&rooms=1
posted by storybored at 1:58 PM on May 10, 2013
Response by poster: (I should add that for the hotelmap.com link above, set hotel price to $500 minimum and you'll get a relatively clean map)
posted by storybored at 1:59 PM on May 10, 2013
posted by storybored at 1:59 PM on May 10, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Quinbus Flestrin at 11:04 PM on May 8, 2013 [3 favorites]