Published on May 11, 2026 at 16:27 – Updated on May 11, 2026 at 16:50
Reading Time: 2 minutes – Video: 3 minutes
Paper IGN maps remain a valuable ally and a small pleasure to read the terrain and orient oneself. Despite technology and smartphones, they continue to attract hikers and gain in accuracy and reliability. One million are still sold every year.
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In the 5th arrondissement of Paris, a basement remains for many the starting point of hikes. It is the only place where you can find the 1,700 references of the timeless IGN map. It withstands everything, even the arrival of GPS on phones. “I am going to Vercors this summer with my two sons. I have prepared a little course, and I will buy maps because it is essential,” said one customer. “Compared to smartphones, it’s large. That is to say, we see the space very widely,” said another.
In 2025, one million were still sold. “I go with my father. He will hold the map. And me, to check if we get lost, I will still have my phone, I think,” smiled a young girl.
For this walking club in Sologne, every hike starts with a meeting around the essential IGN map. Today, they are in Souesmes (Loir-et-Cher). Everyone has a GPS on their phone, but the map is always popular. At least it does not fail. “For me, it’s essential. Because the phone battery can be dead and we end up in trouble when we arrive at a crossroads, especially when there are 3-4 paths that converge,” explained Patrick Dépré, hiking organizer.
On paper, 1 cm is equivalent to 250 meters. To achieve this unique precision, the IGN flies over the whole of France. Underneath the plane, a camera and a laser measure the relief to within 10 cm. “We do it all over France, on tiles of 50 km by 50 km, each taking about 20 hours of flight. And with these ten points per square meter, we will have a very precise topography, a relief that will be delineated very precisely,” detailed Florance Willay, a photographer flying for the IGN.
The data is gathered east of Paris, in Saint-Mandé (Val-de-Marne). There, the images become map outlines. Here, a hiking trail appears on the Lot map. “A new path that connects two roads, so it is important,” noted Fabien Poilane, a map restorer. The last step: the maps are printed in the massive buildings of a former military base in Villefranche-sur-Cher (Loir-et-Cher). “These files come from Saint-Mandé. For example, we have the map of Rouen. So we will prepare it for printing on the reels,” showed Jonathan Perrin, IGN team leader.
Finally, the printing presses churn out on plastic-coated paper the million annual maps. As for the famous thermoformed relief maps, their success is undiminished: 4,000 are sold per year. Mont Blanc is at the top of the sales charts.
