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I use Google Maps to plan my bike routes inside Paris. However, it is missing height graphs of the routes (which is essential for biking). I would like such a site that would be capable of this. I may be Paris-only and in may be in French.

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some would say Paris is flat so you don't need it ;) – Vince Oct 1 '12 at 7:57
Paris is definitely not flat. Come to the Netherlands and see what flat means. – Annoyed Jun 13 at 17:36
Well, I am probably beginning to become known for nitpicking but the way I see things, there is flat and then there is everything else. Sure, there are degrees of non-flatness and you can have bigger or smaller differences of elevation (I used to live in the Alps, in a municipality spanning about 800 m of altitude, so I would know) but as soon as you have even a small hill, that's just not flat (there are in fact several hills in Paris, Belleville in the 20th arr. but also Montmartre, the Butte-aux-Cailles in the 13th arr. and even a tiny one made of waste, the butte Bonne-Nouvelle) – Annoyed Jun 13 at 23:01
By the way, I am totally serious when I say that you should come to the Netherlands (if you haven't already). There are vast tracts of lands that are not just plains or gentle slopes but really, absolutely flat. Until I saw it, I didn't realize what it means, it's impressive. – Annoyed Jun 13 at 23:01

2 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

I think what you probably want is the OpenStreetMap powered OpenRouteService.

When using OpenRouteService, once it has calculated your route, then in the Extras/Download area there's a link for Route Profile. Click that, wait while it processes, and you'll get the profile you're after. You get profiles that look a little like this: Height profile from OpenStreetMap/OpenRouteService

If you want to try it out, and see a steep climb profile, try this link and then click the Route Profile when it has loaded. It's a long long climb up from the centre of Heidelberg to the lookout above it, but much more fun done the other way round ;-)

OpenRouteService will work anywhere there's good OSM coverage for, so you'll be fine in Paris, but you might hit the odd area in the countryside without all the off-road routes. It's available in a few language, including in French, so that part of your question is covered too!

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The French would be a must-have in case there was a good French site for it. Anyways: you helped me to find a good way for me, so thanks a lot! – tohecz Sep 30 '12 at 22:43
up vote 6 down vote

You could use GPSVisualizer. You can easily plan your tour with Google Maps or whatever tool you like and then use GPSVisualizer to genera a height chart.

For example I used Google Maps to navigate from Sacre Coeur to the Eiffel Tower:

enter image description here

And here is the corresponding height profile:

enter image description here

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I like the height graph here more, but OSM Router is more "interactive" and allows me to find a good way easier, so I'll go for that one! Thanks anyways! – tohecz Sep 30 '12 at 22:42

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