Sometimes I would go into a garage or small services near to the town I was going to, pick up a map and show the delivery notes to someone with the map of the place I had just picked up in the other hand, not perfect but usually got you a lot nearer to your destination.
and sometimes they would mark the route on the map I had ‘borrowed’ so I had to go pay for it sometimes !! 
citycat:
Sorry chaps. Maybe the title of this thread is a bit misleading? I fully get you used maps to navigate across Europe, and still do. But what happened when you got to Naples or Frankfurt or any big city and had to find that small factory in the suburbs down small streets.The only euro work I’ve done is with coaches, and sometimes it used to be a right ‘mare’ trying to read a map and find that small hotel in the suburbs of Bordeaux or somewhere, especially with fifty two pairs of eyes on you. One time, I went to Antwerp, and got totally lost trying to find the bleedin’ hotel. Ended up in narrow streets bordering canals with cars parked on the other side. Then, ended up on some tram tracks while trying to find an exit route. I was a gibbering wreck by the end.
I just wondered how you coped trying to find some factory or warehouse in a foreign country with just delivery notes and not speaking the lingo? Nobody has a map of every suburb.
Anyway, it was a genuine question and not a phish take. Merry Xmas
Germany use to be fun with several the with the same name always checked the town code, then call in a garage close to it and either buy a street map or as other say just look at it and memorize the route in.
A map and your delivery /collection notes and the use of your tongue used to work wonders, only trouble is these days to do that you have to climb down out of your cab as your so high off the ground
Like most have said maps ask other drivers at bars etc better to ask than ride round for ages Spain was fairly easy addresses used to have road markers on them and place you was going was bang on in Italy a lot of company’s had signs when you came of the motorway
All of the above really . Ask - Stop - check maps, - ask - use a phone box and ring them if number supplied. Ask a taxi driver./Policia/ .
Common sense and verbal interaction - reading maps / signs / pen and paper - point.
.
Think about what /who /which person you stop to ask and what task they are doing at the time of stopping -
A shop keeper /garage attendant / local farmer / dog walker (other options available) are more likely to direct you if they can correctly than some scruffy scrotes kicking a can down the street… And your more likely to come across them again if you cockup on your left and right turns 
.
> Learn the rudiments of the Country language your visiting -ie:- Please / Thank you / yes / no / left /right / = it helps and goes a long way if you have the basic understanding.
Try speaking the language , Even if your accent is crap/strange and you pronounce it wrong, it shows a willingness on your behalf to interact,
the locals will be more forgiving for your efforts and prepared to offer assistance. . They might take the ■■■■ of your accent but they`ll help.
I is like a foranner , innit 
Managed to find the Customs area in Baghdad in early '75 by using all the bits of language that I knew and drawing pictures in the sand!. (Sorry, that’s not Euroland!)
I only recently threw out my huge collection of european town and city maps, they were gathering dust in the shed. While rummaging through them, I realised that one important one was missing, and that was a thick book on Italy that had all the postcodes and maps included, I think it was called ‘Geographica strada Italia’ but it was an absolute must for Italian work.
Twoninety88:
I only recently threw out my huge collection of european town and city maps, they were gathering dust in the shed. While rummaging through them, I realised that one important one was missing, and that was a thick book on Italy that had all the postcodes and maps included, I think it was called ‘Geographica strada Italia’ but it was an absolute must for Italian work.
I’ve still got one somewhere!
I have never travelled overseas so it hasn’t been an issue but I guess that the boot is on the other foot when the continentals come to Britain? We had a garage based in a mill complex at Tansley near Matlock, they were dyers and had a lot of foreign wagon and drags arrive on a regular basis. I remember a lad from Greece with a three axle rigid pulling a three axle drag and his address was ‘Drabbles, Derby, England’ so he got to Derby and asked a copper! A quick call to Police control and the lad was sorted, he then asked me directions to his remaining drops and they were Goostrey, Stratford (East London) and Haywards Heath, he produced an old battered fold out map like petrol companies issued 40+ years ago and I marked the towns and best routes for him but he was on his own when he needed to find the actual addresses.
Pete.
i live next door to an industrial estate , tucked away behind a residential area /council estate . the way in is all traffic calming and badly parked cars . there is one sign from the main road and then you are on your own except for the turn into the estate which has a faded sign about a foot square . i often come across drivers , british and foreign struggling to find their delivery and it is no trouble to lead them in . we’ve all been there at some stage and remember helpful locals .
Maps stop ask if in doubt ( alway have pen paper to hand ) to draw map if needed also some sort sign language & of course the old follow me
bestbooties:
I’ve still got one somewhere!
Try and find it and post a photo please, brilliant maps!
Just found an old ‘‘Atlante Automobilistico’’ book [the Italian road atlas]we all used to have.This one is the nr 1 [there were 3] down to Firenze,from 1972. I can see where i have joined up bits of autostrada as they were built over the years.
God bless google stereetveiw…
had plenty of pointee talkee wavee moments all over europe always best to try and do a bit of reserch asking other drivers etc in the ninties
i never got mega lost but reversing for half a mile back up a farm track in italy was sobering note to self dont do that again
road diversions were always pot luck as you never knew were you would come out
usually using michelin and genocarte maps got me around ok
Before sat nav I was looking for an address in Naples with a load of Diesel engines ,I went through a very rough area ,I eventually came a cross a cyclist who was American I followed him right to the gate ,turns out I’d driven past once but didn’t think it was the right job as it was gaurded by shall we say ‘private security guards with dog’ once in side I was greeted by freight handlers working for nato .another time in Greece I borrowed a sat nav which was basically useless as all it showed was a dot on the screen on a large out line of Greece !
Well, thanks for all the interesting answers. Does anybody have some stories about getting well and truly lost or stuck somewhere in the back of beyond?
I turned up at our coach yard in Watford around 2am one morning to find a Spanish truck driver sat outside with his hazards on, puzzling over a map. He didn’t speak a word of English, but I managed to find out he was trying to find Biggleswade. As I was heading up to Leeds empty, I decided to go up the A1 instead of the M1, so told him via sign language to wait for me to pull out of the gate, and then I would lead him to the Biggleswade turn off. He was very grateful, so I’m pleased to say I’ve managed to help out a foreign trucker myself.
raymundo:
By an old art that is sadly missing from most lorry drivers today … Skill and the power of speech and common sense
+1 and a map
look at a map find your village/town/city and head there once there ask,
as for morocco that was easy enough once you got used to the roads and people 
, any new factories you would draw a map and share it with other drivers, once you had a few trips in it wasnt so bad,
greece is one on its own
but we used to stick together unlike nowadays 
citycat:
Well, thanks for all the interesting answers. Does anybody have some stories about getting well and truly lost or stuck somewhere in the back of beyond?I turned up at our coach yard in Watford around 2am one morning to find a Spanish truck driver sat outside with his hazards on, puzzling over a map. He didn’t speak a word of English, but I managed to find out he was trying to find Biggleswade. As I was heading up to Leeds empty, I decided to go up the A1 instead of the M1, so told him via sign language to wait for me to pull out of the gate, and then I would lead him to the Biggleswade turn off. He was very grateful, so I’m pleased to say I’ve managed to help out a foreign trucker myself.
Plenty stories in here