IT was Jim Hawkins who stirred most peoples' interest in maps. When Billy Bones dies at the Admiral Benbow Inn in Treasure Island, it was finding the treasure map in his old sea chest that started that great adventure. Nowadays we don't handle maps as often, leaving it to sat-nav on our phones.

But if you are planning to fly to the United States, you should spend an imaginative hour or so studying the map of destinations that American Airlines flies to from its hub in Philadelphia – towns and cities we vaguely know from films and books, and worth seeing in real life. There is a daily flight from Glasgow to Philly, but that should just be the start of your travel as the airport there is a vast hub for American Airlines flights.

You can really stretch it out by continuing on all the way to the west coast to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Los Angeles has, of course, Disneyland and Hollywood. But remember your driving licence. LA is really a series of small cities connected by what seems like endless freeways. Strolling around is not an option everywhere, although Rodeo Drive is an easy place to go on foot if shopping is your thing. Or head to the beaches at Santa Monica where the beautiful people go to work on their fitness and tans.

San Francisco, further up the west coast, is cooler and more manageable. The old prison island of Alcatraz is stunningly atmospheric, although the ferry across books up early so plan that trip well in advance. Hire a bike and ride over the Golden Gate Bridge as there is a dedicated cycling lane. It gives you a great sense of achievement.

Las Vegas in the Nevada desert has featured in so many films for its gambling, but it is worth seeing even if you don't put a single dollar in a slot machine. The city has been trying to attract families rather than just gamblers so there are theme parks, roller coasters, shows and entertainment.

If music is of more interest fly south to New Orleans. The city is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, but the tourist haunts of the French Quarter were back in business immediately. Even the guitarists playing for tips in the bars are of a high quality. Buy the local newspaper or ask in a music store for recommendations of clubs away from the Bourbon Street bars where you only hear the old standards.

Or find out more about the South by going to Charleston or Savannah where houses date back to the Civil War and old-style charm still abounds. Read John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil to soak up some of the atmosphere of Savannah before you go.

Now not everyone confesses to being an Elvis Presley fan but it's worth going to Memphis to visit his home Graceland Mansion which is frozen in time, decorated in the style of the 1970s when he died. Many of his platinum discs are on display to remind you of what a true superstar he was, rather than seeing him simply as a fan of garish house decoration.

But the thing with maps is it fires your imagination. You start looking for the more obscure. I notice American Airlines flies from Philly to Ithaca – not the Greek island but the upstate New York town, dominated by universities and still with an old American feel for downtown shops and farmers' markets. Sounds like it's worth a trip – and there won't be any pirates getting in your way.