During a trip to many cities in Europe, we used a handheld GPS to keep track of distance covered & a general direction to go to attractions or return to the hotel during our walking/mass transit tours. We didn't feel the cost of the European maps justified more than what we used it for. The maps could've provided some street assistance, but having the entire continent of contour lines & probably never used while the detailed city data was still valid. (Granted the treets in those well-established European cities aren't going to change too drastically over the years.) It may have been helpful in navigating the narrow Paris streets near the Opera & Louvre while we were heading back to our hotel. The streets in that area were narrow & not easily navigated by dead reckoning. In fact, we asked a local & he used his cell phone to discover that the hotel's street wasn't even on the service's map.
