How to Read a City Map

Reading a map can be frustrating for many tourists. It should be very easy and straightforward, but tourists are often plagued by getting lost and backtracking. These problems usually stem from a faulty understanding of one's position and direction.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Compass

1. Fix your position. Prominent landmarks, such as squares, parks, and subway or train stations are often noted on city maps. Tourist city maps will also note major attractions. These should make fixing your position easy, but if you are not near one, you will need to determine it by finding an intersection of two named streets. Fixing your position from an intersection is more reliable than using a local street number, since it takes guessing about which block you are on out of the equation.

2. A compass.

   Determine your orientation, or which way is north. The best way to do this is to simply use a compass, but there are other ways. The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, so if it is after noon, stand with your left shoulder pointed at the sun and you are facing roughly north. Stand with your right shoulder pointed at the sun before noon, and you are facing roughly north. You can also use your position relative to major landmarks to determine where north is.

3. Where are you relative to the sun?

   Use the map's key to decipher any specialized markings. These are commonly used to note things such as bus and metro stops, train tracks, information booths and so on.

4. Find where you want to go. This may already be noted on your map, or you may need to estimate the location using an address. With your location and orientation fixed, you can now read the map and plot a route.

5. Use the distance key to determine how far away the point you are interested in is.