New Collins Big Ben Map of London

Today sees the launch of the latest edition of the Collins Big Ben Map of London.

The Big Ben Map of London leads the way for the new Collins tourist range of maps and atlases for central London. We recognised the need for a more tourist-focused product, presented in a handy format and targeted mainly at those travelling on foot or by public transport. The Big Ben Map is the answer – a clear, colourful product that emphasises features of most interest to visitors to the city – key landmarks, museums, galleries, hotels, shops, theatres and cinemas. Full of useful information and at a scale of 5 inches to 1 mile, the map is clear and easy to read both for the pedestrian finding their way around the streets of the city or the visitor trying to navigate their way around using public transport.

Using the renowned Collins database of London the Big Ben Map is fully updated for new streets and other changes. Much of the information is collected as part of the on-going Collins revision process but creating this new map also involved compiling new information not found so far on other products in our range. So in addition to showing all the features you would come to expect from a Collins map of London, it also shows bus routes and colour coded Underground stations to identify tube lines for easy journey planning. It shows park cafés, shopping streets, squares and gardens that are accessible to the public and the entrances to major public buildings. It also dares to show more selective information such as popular eating areas, selected pubs and recommended viewpoints.

As well as packing in plenty of new information we also somehow managed to find space for a map key in five languages - English, French, German, Spanish and Japanese. So the map is an ideal purchase for both the day tripper to London or the holiday visitor from abroad. On the back of the map is a colourful index listing all the main features found on the main map as well as an enlarged inset for extra detail in the West End. This extra detail includes information on the main historic commemorative plaques, including the English Heritage Blue Plaque scheme – all information designed to bring a visit to this part of the city to life.

"This is a brilliant map, it shows everything that the tourist could want. Although I have visited London dozens of times, this map gets used every time. Thoroughly recommend." Amazon review of the previous edition by J Hitchcock, 20 Jun 08.

Jenny Slater, London Cartographic Editor