A method is disclosed for operating a navigation system with a graphic display of a north-pointing map section of a digital road map. A map section to be displayed includes a current position and at least one section of a route to a specified destination. A selection sequence selects the displayed map section. The selection sequence uses a double frame, which is positioned on a start position on the digital road map. The double frame is repeatedly displaced in at least one direction with respect to the digital road map. The map section to be displayed is selected when a condition for a termination of the selection step sequence is met.