Michelin Guide help
 

I'll be driving around France in the Spring. It has been suggested that I buy Michelin's "Green Guide". My local Borders has a "Yellow Guide" (ie the color of the atlas) for France, but no "Green Guide". There is a Green colored atlas for Italy and when I looked at both, the Yellow France looked more road specific than the Green Italy. Any thoughts?

Hi A,

The Green Guides are not maps or atlases.

They are guide books to the various regions of France with info on what to see, where to eat, etc.

((I))

Ira. Thanks for clearing that up. Perhaps I'll buy that Yellow road atlas and a Green Guide for the hotel/dining info.

Do you know if there is a better road atlas than the Michelin Yellow?

Hi al,

I buy the individual Michelin maps and the Green Guides for the areas that I will visit.

See www.languagequest.com

((I))

The Green guides have mostly information on sights to see, with a few recommendations for hotels and restaurants. The main hotel and restaurant guide is the Red guide.

altajoe, if you plan to drive all over France, the big spiral bound Michelin road atlas might be your best bet. The scale is 1:200,000, which is suitable for navigating back roads. Beware, though, it feels heavier the longer you lug it around.

If you are planning to be in only one area, such as Provence or Dordogne, consider getting the Michelin 300-series maps. (These are yellow and orange and say "Local" at the top.) These are usually 1:150,000 scale and include an index and city plans.

Michelin also make something they call a regional atlas in the 600-series. There are 22 of them covering all of France. They're the same scale as the big road atlas, but each one is, of course, smaller and lighter. Again, these would be an option if you are only driving in one or two regions of the country.

Anselm

What you plan to do has a bearing on which map you should buy. I like to cycle, consequently I'm always looking for the quiet, little traveled road. The IGN map is better scale (1-100,000) and more detail (of back roads and the like)than the Michelin 1-150,000 maps.

Use the online services of Michelin at www.viamichelin.com. It's free. Click on the link that says Tourism and then the Michelin guide link. Put in the name of amy city or town and get the same info that is in the Guide on hotels/restaurants. Also get great maps - more detailed than what is on the printed regional maps. Driving directions from point to point are available. The Travel Guide link will let you search for sights and attractions.

JeffreyJ, I have seen the IGN maps for sale in various places in France. Do they show the network of walking trails? I might get one the next time we are in the coutryside.

Anselm

The 1/100,000 scale maps don't show the walking paths, although they work well for cycling. IGN also prints 1/25,000 scale topo maps, which I understand are the best walking maps of France available.

www.mapsworldwide.com/maps_of_france_90a0.htm

Thanks, JeffreyJ. Good link, too.

AA

The Michelin Green Guide is known as a 'touring guide'. One of its best features is that it has an overview map with rankings of the destinations that they consider most worthwhile. Supplement that with the regional maps. As noted, the Michelin Red is for lodging and eating.

We rely on the Green Guide, the maps, and also the Rick Steves guide to help us evaluate points that we want, or want not, to explore.

A good place to locate all of these is on the web at globecorner.com. They sell them at reduced prices. They also show the date of the edition which is important as most of these are updated every year or so and you want to get the most recent edition.