Just wanted to see which "World" Atlas do fellow fodorites find most comprehensive - something that gives as little or as much information about topography, culture, vegetation, physical maps - or simply something that is very handy for making a quick travel plan?

The NY Times World Atlas is my favorite.

Britannica.

National Geographic Atlas.

I have a National Geographic atlas, but I find no atlas is suitable for all parts of the world. It depends on which area you want. For Europe, I find no substitute for an atlas AND individual country road maps. The atlas for the big picture; the road maps for the details of how to get there.

++"I find no atlas is suitable for all parts of the world."++


I've signed up to Fodor's Forums as a consequence of finding this old thread and realising that readers here are probably as likely to be knowledgeable about the strengths of various Atlases for a general reader as anyone.

So what do you think now?

Maybe there is a better thread for this as I am interested in buying a modern comprehensive print 'World' Atlas and am not sure what is likely to be best for me in comparison with the many others available.


The costs are not inconsequential, so maybe a recommendation or two to some comparative reviews will also be useful, or maybe this is not after all a topic that attracts great interest here - time will tell, but the discussion years ago folded sooner than I would have hoped.