Best Travel Guide Publisher
Michelin Guides
Tell me about Michelin Guides ...
They're best known for their restaurant guides, tyres and plump white mascot - but French publishers Michelin also produce a successful series of travel guides. The Green Guides review and rate attractions using a similar three-star system to the restaurant guides, classifying sites as worth a visit (three stars), worth a detour (two stars), and interesting (one star).
Tell me more about Michelin Guides …
The guides contain information about attractions, restaurants, bars, shops and entertainment, photographs and maps, and suggestions for driving tours, walking tours and family-friendly activities. There's also information about the area, its people and its culture, as well as practical information on things like tourist offices, the weather and the currency.
There are Green Guides to France as a whole, 14 French regions and 41 other countries, regions and cities around the world, mainly in Europe and north America. There is also a guide entitled The Wine Regions of France. Many of the guides are published in several languages.
Who are Michelin Guides?
The Michelin Red Guide (or Guide Rouge) is probably the oldest and best-known European hotel and restaurant guide, and awards the famous Michelin stars. Andre Michelin produced the first edition in 1900 - it was designed for drivers touring France, and aimed to help them maintain their cars, find decent lodgings and eat well. It works on the principle that only anonymous, professionally-trained experts can assess establishments impartially, and for the first 20 years of its life was distributed free. The series now contains 17 guides to destinations around the world.
Michelin also publishes maps of cities, regions and countries around the world, road maps of Europe and north America, wall maps - including a couple of maps of French battles - the Must Sees guides, the Jonglez guides and the Eating Out In Pubs guide to Britain and Ireland.
Who are Michelin Guides aimed at?
Michelin Guides are suitable for everyone - but they'll always have a special place in the hearts of the French.