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New (2012) Google map of the routes through France

Annros

New Member
I've created a Google map of the pilgrimage routes through France taken from a lovely old map from 1648. I also added all the cultural sites that are protected by Unesco along the Camino in France.

http://g.co/maps/x4chv

I posted this before but it was deleted, I hope it was because of the recent technical problems on the site, not because the post was inappropriate. I hope the map can be useful for anyone planning to travel through France on their way to Santiago.
 
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A kind and observant forum member pointed out that my source for the routes through France is questionable. Some years ago in the gift shop of the Orval monastery in Belgium, I bought what I believed to be a reproduction of a genuinte map from 1648. But apparently it is a clever modern pastiche. According to this web site http://www.xacobeo.fr/ZF2.01.it.Derveaux.htm it was created by Daniel Derveaux in the 1970's.

Maps have always fascinated me, and I would very much like to learn what sources Mr Derveaux has used. One could hope it is a well researched rendition of actual old routes, but it could very well be all artistic imagination.
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
I've created a Google map of the pilgrimage routes through France taken from a lovely old map from 1648. I also added all the cultural sites that are protected by Unesco along the Camino in France.

http://g.co/maps/x4chv

I posted this before but it was deleted, I hope it was because of the recent technical problems on the site, not because the post was inappropriate. I hope the map can be useful for anyone planning to travel through France on their way to Santiago.
Thank you for your wonderful efforts.

I have tried and failed to see The Camino Frances on Google Maps. Is it possible?
 
Tom,
Have you seen this this thread from 2019 re caminos and Google maps ?

Prior to mid 2016 on the Forum were many links to an encyclopedic map website by Peter Robbins entitled "The Walking Pilgrim". If you are interested in maps check out these terms on this Forum.
Here is the the latest web for his site

Happy plotting/planning.
 
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I think the tracks can only be seen on laptop or desktop systems (I don't have either one right now to check). They are not shown on my Android phone and likely not on iPhones either.
Rick,
At times the path can be seen on an Android phone using Google street view but it is not walkable as seen. What about using Google Earth?
 
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Rick,
At times the path can be seen on an Android phone using Google street view but it is not walkable as seen. What about using Google Earth?
I believe what is meant is that people can upload data to their Google account and create a link so that Google Maps shows the track in a highlighted form similar to what Maps creates when you ask for driving directions (the data is possibly a gps file in the kml format). That link can be made public to selected people, groups or to anyone.

When I've used my Android phone to click on a public link I have never seen a track highlighted in an area that it is supposed to. Searching for documentation as to why this isn't happening I've seen that it doesn't work on Android. I can't remember positively what happens on iPhones but I think that doesn't work either.

It's a shame because I travel and navigate with my phone when either walking or driving, not with a laptop.

Possibly things do work with Google Earth on phones but I don't have enough room to try it.
 
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I think the tracks can only be seen on laptop or desktop systems (I don't have either one right now to check). They are not shown on my Android phone and likely not on iPhones either.
Not so, I see the Frances on my Google Maps on my Android smartphone. See screenshot below.
Screenshot_20220114-105248.png
This is the Frances, in and around Pamplona.

However, before going into how to show this on your own phone I would ask why you want this?

If a new pilgrim thinks that they need a map to navigate the Frances then that is incorrect and I would strongly advise that they will have a much better experience of the Frances without a map, even in the unlikely situation where they become temporarily lost as this will encourage them to interact with others around them.

Google Maps won't provide turn by turn navigation based on the Frances route. If this is desired then there are better apps for this purpose.

Google Maps is my go to tool for almost anything requiring a map or geographic navigation but I do not use it when on the Frances EXCEPT to find recommended bars, restaurants, accommodation and sights along the way.

Edit: By the way, the black line and pink pins on my map come from the Dutch Camino Confraternity and they have a very useful website with a variety of Camino maps and resources. Their data is reasonably up to date but does have known inconsistencies. I have tried providing them with updates in the past through their official channel but have never had feedback and so I don't know if my suggested changes were implemented.
 
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Tom,
Have you seen this this thread from 2019 re caminos and Google maps ?

Prior to mid 2016 on the Forum were many links to an encyclopedic map website by Peter Robbins entitled "The Walking Pilgrim". If you are interested in maps check out these terms on this Forum.
Here is the the latest web for his site

Happy plotting/planning.
I'm headed there now. Thanks!
 
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Tom,
Have you seen this this thread from 2019 re caminos and Google maps ?

Prior to mid 2016 on the Forum were many links to an encyclopedic map website by Peter Robbins entitled "The Walking Pilgrim". If you are interested in maps check out these terms on this Forum.
Here is the the latest web for his site

Happy plotting/planning.
Thanks for posting @mspath. I had lost track of Peter Robbins’ maps a few years ago. I love using the IGN maps as a base. They stimulate my imagination.
one curious thing. I can’t find the VdlP on his long list.
 
Not so, I see the Frances on my Google Maps on my Android smartphone. See screenshot below.
[...]
This is the Frances, in and around Pamplona.

However, before going into how to show this on your own phone I would ask why you want this?
Either something weird is happening or I'm suffering brain damage. I'm betting on weird. I previously clicked on the first link of the thread and it bought up Maps with Spain and France but no tracks. I sought out other links using Google Maps and got the same thing, maps but no tracks. So I searched for what I needed to do to see the tracks. I got what I believe was a Google support page that said that it wouldn't work on phones. Maybe it was an old page. I tried using Google's search history and the browser's history for a reasonable amount of time but I couldn't find that page again. Okay, maybe this part was attributable to brain damage.

Then you show me it does work so this morning I tried to find more links to Google Maps links. I found some by searching with "google my maps" in quotes instead of the unquoted google maps. Links I picked from the results worked fine. I went back to use link 1 in this thread and it worked fine. I hadn't changed any settings. That's the weird part.

As for using this facility: using the track of the CF and Google Maps this morning it was a snap to find the location of a photo I was interested in. Also, the feature can be used for other things besides Caminos.
 
Then you show me it does work so this morning I tried to find more links to Google Maps links. I found some by searching with "google my maps" in quotes instead of the unquoted google maps. Links I picked from the results worked fine. I went back to use link 1 in this thread and it worked fine. I hadn't changed any settings. That's the weird part.
This feature has been very finicky (hit and miss) for me in the past. Recently it seems much more stable.

Things happen behind the Google curtain.

In Google Maps on an Android phone click the Saved button in the centre at the bottom of the screen.
Screenshot_20220115-085016~2.png
On the next screen that shows I have a long list of things that I have saved and so I need to scroll down to the bottom of the screen. Most other people don't have enough saved information and so their next screen is already showing the bottom. In any case, go to the very bottom of the screen and click the Maps button on the far right.

Screenshot_20220115-085045~3.png

This will bring up a list of Maps that you have saved. In many cases you may not have been aware that you saved them as this has happened automatically, behind the Google curtain.

Only the map at the very top of the list will show up when you view the normal Google Maps view.

If you click on any of the other saved maps (or follow an html link to a saved map) then behind the curtain that map will move to the top of the list and it will show up in the normal G Maps view and if you return to this screen you will notice that it is now at the top.

Screenshot_20220115-085254.png
For illustrative purposes I clicked on my top map and this is what came up.

Screenshot_20220115-085415.png
Okay, now the finicky and quirky bit.

Links to maps that other people created seem to be treated differently to maps that I created.

In this case, I downloaded a klm file from the Dutch Confraternity website, removed a bunch of Caminos from it, made some adjustments and saved it as this file. As far as G Maps is concerned, this is now my map (even though it is a derivative of the Dutch map) and (importantly) it is now stored on my phone.

Other peoples maps that were viewed via an URL are not (normally) stored on my phone even though they show up when I first view them

If I do other things on G Maps then other peoples maps that are not permanently stored on my phone get deleted behind the curtain and I am no longer able to see those maps unless I re-follow the URL.

This means that other peoples maps disappear seemingly without warning. This is a bit awkward if I am relying on them for route navigation!

I have a trick that I sometimes am able to use to make those other people maps hang around. It only works when there is more than one feature shown in a map.

I will use the Dutch derivative map to illustrate as it contains many features.

Click on the map and then click on View map legend (blue text at the bottom of the previous screenshot). This screen then shows.

.Screenshot_20220115-085458.png
On this screen, unclick one of the blue "ticks". This will force G Maps to save a local copy of the file and so it will become more persistent.

The long term solution to this persistence problem is to edit the map itself and save it on the phone.

This is one reason why I always edit the (very nice) Dutch Confraternity maps and why some months back I edited a map originally created by @David Tallan (also based on the Dutch maps) and make them my own.
 
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Thank you @Doughnut NZ. I'll explore this. I suppose I should know this by now but I've spent more of my effort on other GPS apps that are better suited for trails than GMaps (e.g., OSMand). It was nice this morning though being able to quickly find a spot on the CF using a recorded track, GMaps, satellite view and street view.
 
I suppose I should know this by now but I've spent more of my effort on other GPS apps that are better suited for trails than GMaps (e.g., OSMand). It was nice this morning though being able to quickly find a spot on the CF using a recorded track, GMaps, satellite view and street view.
I agree that OSMand and other apps are better than G Maps for situations where you want to follow a predefined track.
 
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I agree that OSMand and other apps are better than G Maps for situations where you want to follow a predefined track.
Wikiloc is great for loading a track and then just walking forgetting about it since it will notify you if you wander off track. Then you can look at your phone and correct yourself.

As for maps.me and OSMand I like them more than Google for walking trails because, like Wikiloc, they get the data for the basemaps from the crowd sourced Open Street Maps and there are many trails there not in Google. I can go exploring a bit taking short cuts or long cuts and not get lostmiss dinner.
 

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