On our trip to France next month, we're going to be in Paris (2 nights), the Loire (2 nights) and staying in the Dordogne for a week, then back to Paris and home. We're doing all of our travelling by car.

Am I better off getting the newest Michelin guide for all of France (2005 ed.)or picking up some of the regional ones (which all seem to be two or three years out of date)?

I would get the regional ones. They will offer much greater detail on the sites than the general one can. The only thing that can really change with the out of date ones is perhaps restaurants or hotels as well as prices...

I would pick up the guide for France and the one for the Dordogne. The guide for France is sufficient for the limited amount of time you will be staying in the Loire, and will give you smmoe ideas of where to stop on your way to the Dordogne. Even the Dordogne guide might be superfluous, as the Michelin guide for France will cover enough Dordogne highlights to fill your week.

Most of the material in Michelin greens is not dated - only the last few pages giving opening times. Rest of text rarely changes nor do maps, etc. any recent one will do. Many libraries carry them - check it out for free, photo copy pages relevant to you - then you won't have bulky guides to carry. And can copy other guides for you specific city or region as well. Our library has used book sales with Michelin greens for $1 - lots of them.

It is true that most of the Michelin information is not dated, but their inclusion of hotels and restaurants in the regional Green Guides is a fairly recent phenomenon which might make an update useful. I might add that over time there can be significant changes in the Green Guide--that was true of the one for the Dordogne.

Hi
Michelin guides do have a publishers date. It's on the last page on the bottom. I have several and just bought the 2005 guide for Germany.