What is the best scale for touring by car?

Here, the choice is dictated by how large an area the map is required to cover. For exploring the nooks and crannies of the French countryside 1:100,000 is ideal, as is a 1:50,000 Ordnance Survey map in Britain, but larger distances require scales with larger scale ratios. To cover the whole of France or Spain on one side a scale of 1:1,000,000 is needed, but Switzerland or Netherlands can be shown at the same scale as Brittany or Andalucía.

One of the larger scales that road maps are available in, 1:250,000 maps – often referred to as Tour or Touring Maps - provide a good overview of a region or smaller country whilst showing a great level of detail. They’re also useful for cyclists in the absence of dedicated cycle mapping.