A map display apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus acquires present position information indicating a present position, and determines a route from the present position to a destination. The apparatus displays a map on a display screen based on map information acquired from a storage medium storing the map information, and displays the route in a form of a line on the map while switching a manner of displaying the route between multiple display modes including a first display mode and a second display mode. In the first display mode, the route is displayed to have a first transparency and a first width. In the second display mode, the route is displayed to have a second transparency more transparent than the first transparency and a second width larger than the first width.