GPS and driving in Franch towns.

Ross, we just returned from France and had the same very good experience. We too purchased a Garman Nuvi with European maps before we left. It was invaluable as we drove 2,007 kM in France and were mostly in the smaller towns and villages. The GPS was able to find these small places and guide us there. We did have a couple of glitches where we would make the wrong turn and the GPS would re-calculate. We learned quickly to U-turn and get back on the path that the GPS wanted us on. The re-calculated routes were often longer and took more time. The GPS was also good about knowing the speed limit areas and areas where there were speed cameras. Our rental car trip was much more comfortable and easy with our GPS.

TomTom has the best features for European navigation IMO. Its database of speed limits is more up-to-date than Garmin's. It also has an EXCELLENT iPhone app which has all the major features of a stand-alone device. It costs € 59 with updated maps of all Western Europe, less for local (national) versions only.

I just returned from France and like Larry, I used a Garmin Nuvi with a map chip for Europe. It made driving through the small towns so much easier. Also, it gave me confidence to explore, knowing that it would always lead me back "home" when I was ready.

We also used our TomTom for driving around the Normandy and Brittany areas of France. Even though my husband is a great navigator and map reader/interpreter, the GPS was invaluable for us.

I think you would have managed your trip just fine without a GPS. Everybody did so before it existed. We've driven all over Europe using maps and guidebooks. However, I agree that GPS makes getting into and out of villages and cities easier. Our Garmin did very well last year.

We used a Tom Tom on our trip to France last year. When we got the rental car and turned the GPS on (we took our own GPS), it wouldn't start. We were finding that the map of France we had was not detailed enough, and it didn't seem to me that the French roadsigns were very good (?) All of a sudden our GPS came on, and we were totally relieved. It helped immensely! Yes, we used to take trips just with maps, but this does make it so much easier.

We recently returned from three weeks in Paris that involved driving in the countryside. We borrowed our daughter's Garmin and loaded the Europe maps on it. Since we hadn't used it previously, we didn't know exactly what we were doing the first day and ended up using the "Bicycling" directions to go to Chartres. Although it kept us off the highways, it was so much fun we decided to use the bike routes several times on later days. You're so right, though. Having a GPS system was a great luxury.

The Garmin Nuvi is great, once I figured out to do an extra loop in traffic circles whereas as it would usually be an exit late in the verbal instructions. Used it in France & Italy. Tom Tom is more popular in Europe than the Garmin by far. Locals said I was often not going the easiest route.

I recently used my Nuvi 2370 in Italy and France, and while it was indispensable, it also was aggravating as it would route us down less traveled roads and take us out of the way to get to our destination. Sometimes I had to ignore it's suggestions as I knew the way better than it did. It was sometimes not as up-to-date as it should have been also, and it got very "insistent" when I didn't make a U-turn as it had suggested.

Don't forget that sat navs have customizable settings. I am more familiar with Garmin ones having bought our 4th generation one a few months ago. We started with one which ran on a Palm Pilot up to the now super great widescreen one with able traffic cameras and real time weather radar. The newer ones allow you to switch off the recalculating message, you can turn off u-turns, you can tell it what types of road you want and what type of route. It is a good idea to dock it from time to time to keep the maps d but none will have that bypass that opened last month. Mine even allows me to group correct speed limits and speed camera locations. The secret is to drill down to all the finer settings.

Although I can appreciate its usefulness in getting you from a to b, I do not like the feeling of not knowing where I am when using one. In order to feel comfortable I am always referring to a map. I like knowing the name of the town the other side of the valley, what river I'm following, and spotting alternet routes. I don't like digging into electronic devices to find hidden information, if the information is so usefull why is it buried ? And I really hate the way ours gives voice instructions, it just blurts them out without warning or repeats making u-turns a regular occurrence. I've not given up on them, I hold out hope I'll find one that does what I want.

Turning off U-turn suggestions gets you wild and out of the way detours to get you back on track. And, even with the device "tuned-in" to the finest settings, it can still make some odd choices in routing.