Michelin Maps

Michelin maps have gained a very strong reputation among consumers over the years, primarily because they are regularly updated, easy to read, highly informative and extremely accurate. Never one to rest on its laurels, Michelin has continuously worked to enhance its lineup with innovative, ever more practical products.

In 2002, we decided to revamp our family of maps, starting with the "Local" collection. Three other strategically related ranges have been added since then: "National", "Regional" and "Zoom".

Michelin Green Guides: Culture on the Move

The collection of Michelin Green Guides allows travelers to see in a glance a destination’s most outstanding attractions thanks to a “star” system. The guides also provide readers with reliable, up-to-date information about a country, region or city, immediately reveal the secrets to a successful stay and make traveling easier and more enjoyable.

A companion to inquisitive, demanding tourists, the Michelin Green Guide brings together an unrivaled quantity of information to help them discover the natural and cultural wonders of a city, region or country. Thanks to their in-depth knowledge of the area, the authors of each Green Guide provide readers with a selection of the most outstanding sites, which are awarded one, two or three stars depending on clearly defined criteria that are applied independently by the Michelin Green Guide editorial team.

Museums, castles, cultural attractions, remarkable sites, and superior overnight accommodations and restaurants are easy to find thanks to the many detailed maps and town plans, to which Michelin has applied its full range of map-making expertise. Moreover, with the suggested itineraries and visits, each trip becomes the occasion for an enriching, eye-opening experience. The ideas and helpful hints contained in the Michelin Green Guide are based on a thorough understanding of the local area and its arts, crafts and heritage industries, as well as activities for families. Each volume in the collection is entirely revised every two or three years to reflect ongoing changes in the regions covered.

A commitment to reliable, up-to-date, structured information informs the Michelin Green Guide’s editorial policy. To make the guides easier to read and use, Michelin introduced a clearer, more contemporary, more structured page layout in 2006. Each of the 307 guides in this highly international collection allows travelers to organize their stay, understand the true nature of their destination and discover its most beautiful sites.

I. Michelin’s skills deployed for the benefit of travelers

Each Michelin Green Guide contains detailed, up-to-date information on all important, “must-see” sites. To help travelers organize their trip in line with their intended length of stay and the tourist attractions that mustn’t be missed, the guide has, for more than 80 years, awarded stars to sites of special interest.

>> Michelin reveals the nine criteria for awarding stars

Each tourist site is evaluated on nine criteria developed independently by the authors of the Michelin Green Guide. The authors were chosen for their ability to identify the intrinsic value of a city, site or other attraction, regardless of when it is visited, and they apply the same methods for all guides and destinations. The criteria cover:
1.First impression on the visitor
2.Renown or popularity
3.Number of monuments and/or museums to visit (for a cultural destination), or number of activities (for leisure destinations)
4.Awards and other official forms of recognition
5.Intrinsic artistic value or historic significance of a site or work of art.
6.Beauty and esthetic qualities
7.Authenticity, charm and unity
8.Convenience and visitor-friendliness (infrastructure, accessibility, upkeep, etc.)
9.Quality of reception and visit

A site may be selected and described in the guide even if it is not awarded a star. Sites or monuments lacking in interest are not mentioned.

>> The Michelin Green Guide’s five promises (1:53,000 to 1:160,000) helps travelers get around densely populated areas.

1.Anonymous visits
The authors of each guide regularly—and anonymously—visit all sites to note any changes. They pay their admission to sites and monuments and may then introduce themselves and ask for more information about the museum, zoo, amusement park or other attraction. The more than 1,000 letters received from readers every year also provide valuable information used in planning visits.

2.Independence
The choice of tourist sites is a completely independent one, made for the benefit of readers alone. Decisions are discussed around the table by the inspectors and the editor.

3.The selection
The guides offer a selection of the best sites in all tourist categories, from cultural attractions, natural wonders and unusual sites to family and educational activities. This is possible because all the authors rigorously apply the same methods.

4.Regular updates
Practical information for travelers is systematically updated as new hotels and restaurants open and new rates and opening hours are applied. A site’s arts, crafts and heritage industries are also constantly evolving. As a result, all practical information, classifications and awards are revised every two or three years so that the information provided to readers is as reliable and up-to-date as possible.

5.Consistency:
The criteria for the classifications are the same in all 23 countries covered by the Michelin Green Guides.

>> Michelin’s expertise: in-depth knowledge of the area covered

The Michelin Green Guide is a useful, reliable, comprehensive cultural resource. For each destination, experts choose and regularly visit and evaluate tourist sites. All areas are covered.

The Green Guide has prepared its own maps of the most outstanding attractions. These maps provide the reader with an overall view of things to see and do. The many country and regional maps and detailed plans of neighborhoods and cities enable visitors to get their bearings and move about without lost time or energy.

The authors are inveterate travelers who also have specialized skills in tourism and the destinations covered. To prepare a new or updated guide, two to five authors spend several weeks visiting the area. During their travels, the authors visit all sites and look for superior accommodations and restaurants. Building on their experience and knowledge of the area, they select and evaluate the different sites while providing helpful hints intended to make traveling easier.

The editorial team then contributes its expertise, with the support of illustrators, layout artists and cartographers, to ensure that each guide is true to the spirit of the collection.

>> Reliable, regularly updated information

To guarantee the accuracy of its contents, the information contained in each Green Guide is verified through visits to the sites every two or three years and is constantly and systematically updated. From the first line to the last, everything is checked and double-checked—museum hours, hotel addresses and rates, recommended itineraries and street maps. As further assurance of reliability, new editions of existing guides are published every three years.

II.The cultural guide for today’s travelers

Attentive to providing readers with relevant information that meets their expectations, the members of the Michelin Green Guide editorial team closely monitor emerging tourist trends and practices. In line with the needs of today’s travelers and the increase in short-stay vacations, regional guides are being introduced in 2008 for Italy and Spain, each of which has long been covered with a single guide. Today, however, trips are often more targeted, shorter and limited to one city or region. Breaking down the country guides into regional guides makes it possible to give readers more in-depth information and more addresses of sites to see and places to stay.

III.A collection for each type of destination

With guides now published in 9 languages (French, English, German, Spanish, Italian, Polish, Chinese, Hebrew and Dutch), the Green Guide collection is becoming even more international in 2008 with, for example, the release of three Green Guides in Chinese, six in Polish and eight in Italian. More than just translations, the guides are carefully adapted to the habits and customs of their target readers. They also leverage the Michelin Group’s global scope, deploying local editorial teams in several countries, such as Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and China.

Some key figures of the Green Guide:

In 2007: 1.1 million Green Guides sold in France, out of a total market of 2.2 million cultural guides; More than 1.5 million Green Guides sold worldwide

The five best-selling Country Green Guides worldwide: Italy, Spain, Croatia, Morocco, Portugal

In 2008, the Green Guide collection of 307 guides in 9 languages:
89 guides in French
51 guides in English
22 guides in German
46 guides in Italian
42 guides in Dutch
19 guides in Spanish
14 guides in Hebrew
7 guides in Chinese
17 guides in Polish

The Michelin Guide: A Primer

The Michelin Guide is a selection of the best hotels and restaurants in each comfort and price category. All of them are classified by comfort level and some have been awarded special distinctions for the quality of their cuisine.

- Comfort categories are illustrated by pictograms—pavilions for hotels and fork-and-spoons for restaurants—with the level of comfort and services rated from 1 to 5. One fork-and-spoon or pavilion signifies that the establishment is "quite comfortable," while five signify "luxury in the traditional style." In the 2006 edition, a guesthouse category was introduced to reflect a major trend in tourist accommodations that has emerged in recent years.

The Michelin Guide in a Few Key Words

The Michelin Guide can be summed up in a few key dates. 1900: The first Michelin Guide France is published. 1920: The Michelin Guide is no longer offered free of charge. 1926: The first stars are awarded. 1997: The Bib Gourmand label is introduced. 2000: Descriptions of the selected establishments are added. 2003: The Bib Hotel label is introduced. 2005: The first US Guide is published, with the Michelin Guide New York City. 2007: The first Michelin Guide Tokyo is released. 2008: The first HK Macau Guide is released.

The Michelin Guide can also be summed up in a few key words that designate, describe and define what the Guide is all about.

Annual updates: Every year, all of the practical information, ratings and distinctions are revised and updated to give Michelin Guide readers the most reliable information possible. With each new edition, hundreds of thousands of entries are checked, changed or updated.

Anonymous visits: Michelin Guide inspectors visit establishments anonymously. Like any other customer, they book a table, order, eat and settle their bill. This is what makes the Michelin Guide so successful. Inspectors don’t get special treatment, bigger platefuls or more ingredients. They eat exactly same dish as other customers—no more, no less. The inspectors make regular and anonymous visits to hotels and restaurants to gauge the quality of products and services offered to the ordinary customer. They may introduce themselves and ask for more information, if necessary, but only after paying the bill.

Commitments: Every year, the Michelin Guide makes five commitments to its one million readers worldwide. Published in French, English, German, Spanish and Italian, they have been clearly stated in the introductory pages in each Guide since 2005. The five commitments, which have been applied since the beginning, are: anonymous visits, independence, selection and choice, annual updates and consistency.

Consistency: The Michelin Guide is backed by more than 100 years of expertise, professionalism, knowledge and recognition. The Michelin Guide selection is known and highly regarded around the world, not only by its hundreds of thousands of readers but also by the restaurants and hotels themselves. The same ratings criteria are used in all 22 countries covered by the Guide, so that a one-star restaurant in Paris delivers the same quality as a one-star restaurant in London, New York, Rome or Tokyo. In the same way, hotels awarded three pavilions always offer the same service quality regardless of the city or country where they are located.

Expertise:
Practical information for travelers is systematically updated as new hotels and restaurants open and new rates and opening hours are applied. A site’s arts, crafts and heritage industries are also constantly evolving. As a result, all practical information, classifications and awards are revised every two or three years so that the information provided to readers is as reliable and up-to-date as possible.

Independence: Establishments are selected independently and solely in the best interests of the reader. Decisions are made collectively by the inspectors and the Guide’s editor. Inclusion in the Guide is completely free of charge. Michelin alone decides which establishments are selected and included in the Guide.

Pictograms: Present since the first edition, the Guide’s pictograms constitute its universal language, which is easily understood around the world. The original versions, which were used to indicate whether a hotel had electricity and hot water, have long since been replaced and others added—including "wifi" and "spa" pictograms in the latest editions.

Reader letters: Every year, readers send the Michelin Guide more than 45,000 letters and e-mails, most of which support the selection of a given establishment. Occasionally, they point out a decline in an establishment’s quality, a closure or a change of chef, which could have an impact on the dining experience. In this case, they can provide valuable information that may lead to new visits.

Regional maps: First introduced in the 2006 guide, the regional maps show the position of towns, in particular those with an establishment that has received one or more stars, a Bib Gourmand, a Bib Hotel or other distinction. They are designed to help readers easily get their bearings and quickly find the most convenient locality for their itinerary or trip.

Rising Stars: Introduced in 2005, the Rising Stars are restaurants in line for a first, second or third star. Listed in red in the selection, these restaurants are the best in their category and could move up to the next category once they have demonstrated greater consistency over time and across the entire menu. With this distinction, the Michelin Guide wants to draw readers’ attention to restaurants that represent the gourmet dining "stars" of tomorrow.

Selection: Of all the key Michelin Guide words, "selection" is the most important. After all, the Michelin Guide is a selection of the best restaurants and hotels in each comfort and price category. The selection is made by professional inspectors who make anonymous visits and rigorously apply the same method in every country.

Stars: The first star was awarded in 1926, followed a few years later, by the one to three-star rating system. Ever since, the stars have been the Guide’s claim to fame, recognized the world over as synonymous with truly high quality cuisine.
The definitions first assigned to each star rating in 1933 haven’t changed since. Stars reflect "what’s on the plate and only what’s on the plate." That means they judge only the quality of the cuisine. They are awarded according to five criteria: the quality of ingredients, the skill in their preparation, the combination of flavors, the levels of the creativity, the value for money and the consistency of culinary standards. Since 2005, these criteria have been published in the introductory pages of the Michelin Guide. While décor, table settings, the number of waiters and the quality of facilities are not taken into consideration when awarding stars, such details can earn restaurants one to five fork-and-spoon symbols.

Digital Service

The Michelin travel website, www.viamichelin.com, complimentary to printed means, designs, develops and markets digital travel assistance products and services. It combines Michelin's unique and renowned know-how in the publication of maps and guides with constantly changing technological expertise.

ViaMichelin makes itself available everywhere and at any time by offering its services on a range of media : the Internet, mobile phones, in-car navigation systems and software for personal digital assistants (PDAs)... ViaMichelin provides exclusive mapping coverage - over 42 European countries, from national road maps to detailed town plans. The regularly updated European database contains some 7 million kilometers (4.4 million miles) of mapped roads and streets (including towns and cities down to street-level detail). In addition, ViaMichelin highlights and describes some 18,000 tourist locations and 62,000 hotels and restaurants, as tested and recommended by The MICHELIN® Guide inspectors throughout Europe. Finally, ViaMichelin also provides information on weather forecasts, traffic reports, service station locations...

Several languages available, this well of information is accessible to user from every corner of the world.