You can find historical maps of France at the Library of Congress, the American Geographical Society Library Digital Map Collection, the David Rumsey Map Collection, WHKMLA, cartesfrance.fr, and Gallica - Bibliothèque nationale de France. France: Historical MapsCollection

It is fascinating to note that at the beginning of the 19th century, the French General Staff decided to map the whole of France. The idea was to update the Cassini maps, which had become increasingly obsolete. Alsace and Lorraine were among the first regions to be mapped!

On the Geoportail website, you can also find another interesting map: “ la carte de l’état-major “. It is a survey map that was created by the military in the 19th century. Like the Cassini map, it is very precise and covers the whole territory of France.

The first topographic and geometric map of the Kingdom of France was established in the 18th century. It is called the Cassini map (“ carte de Cassini “) as it was compiled by different members of the Cassini family. This map is extremely precise, as it was made by precise measurements, and it shows every French town, even the small hamlets.