davesl - good grief, together with Robes it seems we have more techno-expertise on this board than Microsoft. (Sometime I must ask you guys what to do about the spammers who are now impersonating people who regularly email me...and no, they didn't do it by filching names from my email address book - I'm on to that one.... They've also given phony email addresses that reference my source email account, not to mention ones that suggest they are from Fodors. )

...But back to the topic: I confess, the durability of paper is also part of its allure for me. And I hate batteries, nasty little traitors.

Robes, funny how you should have mentioned the nostalgia of those old Rand McNally maps. In my childhood home my mother posted a Mercator (projection) map of the world up on the dining room wall as an educational device. One of those ones that showed all the countries of the British Commonwealth (formerly the Empire) in pink. And of course, being a Mercator projection map, the countries at a distance from the equator were all distorted in size. It took me years to discover that no, Europe (to say nothing of Greenland) wasn't that big! Maps clearly leave a big footprint on the subconscious.

So, tomasso, you make (or made) maps. I never even thought about where news programs got their maps. I love the idea of the party maps! (between the church and the Hooters billboard....now THERE'S a conjunction....)

You also mention the hotel that was literally on top of the train station. I had completely overlooked the use of maps for verifying truth in advertising. Now there's an idea for a guidebook: two maps, side by side, of a city area: one showing where the hotels claim are their locales, and the other showing where the establishments actually are.

If <i>truth in location</i> is an issue, maybe we could request that hotels (and guidebooks) publish their latitude/longitude - so the GPS-equipped can find them in the dark.

For reading in an armchair, I prefer paper. To save weight when traveling, I find binary digits to be quite a bit more convenient.

In addition to the thoughtful posts above, I find I like the maps that have the locations of shops and restaurants - typically this is something a concierge may give you at a hotel - it's a good supplement to what you may already have especially if you have limited time in a city. I just got back from Chicago and carried around a map just like that, it was quite useful.

I like the TimeOut Venice book in that their maps in the back have the restaurants and hotels (which have obtained a mention in the book) highlighted by a color-key. That particular TimeOut book has done that for a while (my 2000 version also had it) but I haven't seen that in many other TimeOuts which is a pity as it's quite useful.

ps. another unique map feature that I like was one I found in the Colorado map sent to me by their tourist board. There was a choice between a state map that highlighted &quot;kid-friendly&quot; things to do, or, a map that highlighted the scenic drives. I chose the scenic drives map. Michelin also has that on their maps in that they color code the more scenic routes.

I find maps without street indexes frustrating
On a trip to Rome earlier this year we used the DK Eyewitness guide to Rome which has a combination of local area maps with details about sights and a set of accurate detailed maps in the back. If I had been using another guide w/o the maps in the DK guide I probably would have purchased a Streetwise map

I think I am in the minority based on reading other people's posts on guidebooks to carry but I don't think the DK Eyewitness guides are too big to carry around for touring.

Vttraveler, Icarry DK if it has what I need for the trip (and they do have plenty of good maps). I don't think the DK Eyewitness is too large at all. And it's a good &quot;evening in the hotel room&quot; reference.

My favorite little guidebooks are the City Secrets books: not many so far, but the Rome volume and the Venice/Florence are both good. They have quite basic locator maps at the beginning of each section to help you find the featured &quot;secret&quot; sites, restaurants etc. VERY basic maps, in fact, but they do the job. Along with those I carry a fold out or streetwise map and feel pretty well equipped.

If I had to find my way out of the major city for which so many good map options already exist, I'd vote for the GPS I think - for instance, to find a business or residence outside the historic areas.

<b>flygirl -</b>

That's exactly what I'm talking about. When I have my Pocket Streets map on the screen, I can have it plain vanilla, show only hotels, or only restaurants, or only my own pushpins from previous trips. Unclutteredness.

<b>Vttraveler -</b>

Maps without street indexes are awful, maps with them are okay, and being able to type in an address and have the display zoom to it is...priceless.

&lt;&lt;Paper doesn't need batteries.

Paper doesn't short out.

Paper doesn't break when you drop it on the ground.
&gt;&gt;

Daveesl, I'm all over that.

Although I have my digital camera with me most of the time while traveling and also when near home, I spend so much time working at my computer that I rather resist the intrusion of new equipment and apps. I use old versions of Photoshop and Illustrator because I don't want to invest the time in learning new ones! I was given an Ipod in August and haven't taken it out of the box: just don't find the time to spend extra hours here at my desk. (What the heck am I doing &quot;socializing&quot; at Fodors?!)

I t might turn out that I LOVED the gps option - which would mean more time looking at screens! If I didn't work in front of one so much, I'd probably enjoy the gadgetry much more.

Well, if needing batteries, shorting out, and breaking when dropped are criteria you use to eliminate technology from consideration - then it follows that you must use carrier pigeons instead of those newfangled cell phones.

<i>N'est-ce pas?</i>

Like everything when it comes to travel, small and troublefree applies to maps.

For examples, I like the Michelin #16 &quot;Paris, Atlas par Arrondisements&quot; booklet. Also, the Lonely Planet 5-fold &quot;City Map Amsterdam&quot; which is waterproof and folds up to the size of an envelope. That one was designed by a genius.

In guidebooks, Rick Steves books still feature the most wasted &quot;maps&quot; ever created. Lonely Planet guidebooks have excellent city maps. Michelin Green Guides have superb tourist maps.

I would like the world to embrace electronic map technology sooner rather than later, and I admit my motivation is purely selfish. The sooner everyone is on the same page with this, the more incentive for innovation there will be, and the lower prices will get. This is the only reason I proselytize continually for e-maps. Many people don't know the possibility of carrying all your travel documentation <i>and</i> a GPS <i>and</i> a WiFi terminal <i>and</i> a phone in an iPod-sized package even exists.

So while we're on the subject of Michelin guides, I would interject that their electronic versions are integrated - the Guides are <i>built into</i> the maps. Their story is here: preview.tinyurl.com/273fdz