Every so often, I see forum comments about use of the Michelin Green Guides. While I always start my trip planning looking at the Rick Steves' guides, I often want a more in-depth tour of a country. As such, I googled the Michelin Green Guides. It appears that the last published paper guides are circa 2007 or so (depending on country). Of course, Michelin appears to have free info on their green guides website, but that is harder to use during travel if one doesn't want to use a lot of data. Does anyone have more details? DId the company make the decision to stop selling/publishing green guides? If not, where have you been successful in purchasing these?
Posted by
Hickory, NC USA
487 posts
On Amazon, I see current versions for France and some other countries. Perhaps you are looking for a country that they don't publish now.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
33723 posts
My France and my Germany are both 2019.
Posted by
Davis CA
759 posts
Amazon has the guides for many countries. A quick check (Provence) show publication dates in 2019 for many guides.
Travel safe,
One Fast Bob
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Last time I was in a French supermarket (a few weeks ago), they had the usual display of Michelin maps and guides. The French versions are still readily available.
Some English versions are on sale on their website: https://travelguide.michelin.com/
Posted by
OP
Folsom, California, USA
322 posts
I was looking for Netherlands and Belgium and the last one's I found online were 2007. Perhaps, as Tigerfan suggested, these countries are no longer being published?
Posted by
755 posts
Hi, Kaye, Michelin is still publishing the Green Guides/ Guides Verts for those countries (most recently February 2019), but only in French unfortunately.
Posted by
613 posts
In recent years the Green Guides have been "updated" & expanded and made more expensive to include a few recommended hotels and restaurants each place. I don't like that. The Red Guides are the best source of lodging and food anywhere, se we use that Most of the time I now go on eBay or other used book web sites and get cheap older Green Guides. I also don't like the change from pen and ink to photos, so I don't mind getting really old ones. Yes, the old ones occasionally miss something. None of my 4 Austrian Green Guides has Vienna's newish Imperial Furniture Warehouse Museum, but that's easy enough to update other ways which can't compare to what Green Guides do.
You note Michelin's advantage in depth of info, but it also scores in breadth. It is the best organized system for trip planning I've ever found. 3 of the best sights in the Alps are the Oratory at Chazelet, Gosausee, and Kraunertal. We found them all in Michelin and don't recall ever seeing any them in any other guide book.
Posted by
Myrtle Beach, USA
12313 posts
The guides aren't updated yearly (most guides aren't). The truth is guides are mostly out of date the day they're published because the information collected was gathered over the previous year (or longer).
Rick releases a new edition on all of his guides every year. To be fair, all of us have found badly out of date information in his current edition guides. I usually add comments/corrections on each guide I've used after each trip.
I find Green Guides a good complement to Rick's guides. Places Rick covers are covered well. Unfortunately Rick's guides leave a lot of every country completely unmentioned. I find myself always needing more than what Rick offers. I just wish Green Guides were available in Kindle/ebook format so I don't have to carry the weight of the book.