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Compare reference websites by purpose and evidence

Compare up to three directory records: purpose, publisher, documented facts, sources and review dates. Choose a starting point without an invented score.

Prepare your comparison

First decide what you need: a primary document, an explanation, a dataset or a service. Two resources on the same subject can serve different purposes. Start with a subject to narrow the choice, then select two or three records.

Compare the documented information

Missing information remains unspecified. Review dates belong to the original records; displaying this table does not recheck the resources.

Selected resources: purpose, evidence and destinations
CriterionCartes.gouv.fr (ancien Géoportail)SNCF ConnectOpenStreetMap
Purpose The public mapping service succeeding Géoportail, with maps, aerial imagery and geographic data for the French territory. Search journeys, buy and manage train tickets and some shared mobility trips. Open collaborative world map used by navigation and geographic projects.
Publisher Institut national de l’information géographique et forestière SNCF Connect & Tech OpenStreetMap Foundation and contributor community
Origin France France International
Subject Travel & mobility Travel & mobility Travel & mobility
Documented facts and added evidence
  • Purpose : Maps, aerial imagery and geographic data for the French territory.
  • Metadata to read : Producer, acquisition or survey date, scale and displayed layer.
  • Limit : Zoom and screenshots establish neither measurement precision nor property rights.
  • Sharing and personal objects : Layers and producers can be found in the catalogue. Sharing annotations or imported data requires signing in and saving the objects.
  • Journey : Check date, stations and passengers.
  • Fare : Read the selected ticket conditions.
  • Change : Review conditions before confirming.
  • Retained conditions : Conditions are available in confirmation, ticket and Tickets section; compare each journey segment.
  • Conditions before purchase : The results page displays conditions when the selected fare is opened.
    Source: SNCF Connect — Fare conditions · consulted on
  • Multi-journey trip : Conditions apply to each journey composing the trip.
    Source: SNCF Connect — Fare conditions · consulted on
  • Licence : ODbL for the data; read reuse obligations.
  • Credits : Attribute OpenStreetMap and its contributors.
  • Services : Read tile, API or Nominatim policies separately.
  • Public geocoding : The nominatim.openstreetmap.org policy includes an application-wide maximum of one request per second and prohibits client-side autocomplete. It concerns that instance, not every Nominatim service.
  • Plan usage : Read the policy, plan result caching and allow switching providers; displaying a map does not authorise bulk geocoding.
  • Data versus routing engine : Several routing engines use OpenStreetMap data. Different suggested routes can reflect different profiles or algorithms rather than a map change.
    Source: OpenStreetMap Wiki — Routing · consulted on
  • Compare a suggestion : Keep engine, travel mode and endpoints with the result. Inspect the actual route and local information; the OpenStreetMap name alone does not explain a third-party planner’s choices.
    Source: OpenStreetMap Wiki — Routing · consulted on
  • Data and documentation : Map data is under the ODbL; website documentation is stated to be under CC BY-SA 2.0. Do not automatically transfer conditions from one resource type to another.
    Source: OpenStreetMap — Copyright and licence · consulted on
  • Attribution format : Credit requirements differ for a browsable map, a printed map and a static image. Consult the rules for the format actually published.
    Source: OpenStreetMap — Copyright and licence · consulted on
Initial profile sources
Documentation consulted 2026-10-09 2026-10-08
Added details: 2026-10-10 		2026-10-25
Added details: 2026-10-29
Official destination cartes.gouv.fr ↗ sncf-connect.com ↗ openstreetmap.org ↗
Reading exercise and documented fields No additional reading exercise for this record. No additional reading exercise for this record. Read the objects behind the map
  • Node : A point element in the data structure.
  • Way : A sequence of nodes representing lines or outlines.
  • Tag : A key-value pair, such as highway=footway.
  • surface : Describes material such as asphalt or gravel; it does not establish access rights by itself.
  • smoothness : Describes physical surface regularity relevant to wheeled travel. Read it alongside material and travel mode.
Read the source and worked example

Turn the comparison into a useful choice

  1. Read the purpose: choose the resource that supplies the missing document or action.
  2. Check the publisher and source: an explanatory page does not replace an original dataset or formal procedure.
  3. Open the record, then consult the destination for current conditions and applicable dates.
  4. Record the evidence supporting your choice and the uncertainty that remains.

Different review dates do not prove that one website is better. The table does not measure service availability, accessibility, privacy, prices or reliability and does not rank the resources.

· Read the data provenance