The Michelin red guide Main Cities of Europe 2010 reviews top restaurants and hotels in 44 major cities in 20 European countries. The Michelin guide not only lists the best three-star restaurants but also cheaper “Bib Gourmand” restaurants where gourmets can enjoy excellent food at more reasonable prices. For the first time, the red guide will also be available as an iPhone application developed by ViaMichelin.
The 2010 Michelin Red Guide for Main Cities of Europe
The 2010 edition of Michelin’s red guide Main Cities of Europe reviews 3,257 establishments in 44 major European cities. The guide lists just over 1,500 hotels and 1,700 restaurants in the main business and trade centers of 20 different European countries.
The Michelin Main Cities of Europe 2010 guide is clearly aimed at the business traveler as few tourists will visit so many European cities in such diverse countries to really make valuable use of this a guide. Clear maps show the location of reviewed hotels and restaurants, which should especially be useful to visitors to major trade shows and events where close proximity to the venue will vastly contribute to the ease of commuting in a foreign city.
Top Gourmet Restaurants in the Michelin Red Guide Main Cities of Europe
The Michelin red guide Main Cities of Europe 2010 lists 341 restaurants with Michelin stars but only 15 of the listed restaurants sport the coveted Michelin three-star accolade. This should come as no real surprise as Michelin often favors country restaurants for its highest award.
Of the 15 Michelin three-star restaurants in the Main Cities of Europe 2010 guide, ten are in Paris, two in London, and one each in Lyon, Rome, and Florence. Of the 271 Michelin one-star restaurants listed, 55 are in the four French cities included in the guide (Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, and Toulouse) with German cities (Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg, and Munich) following with 45 one-star restaurants.
The number of Bib Gourmand restaurants listed increased vastly to 231 establishments. Michelin awards the Bib Gourmand title to restaurants that serve excellent food at more reasonably prices. The definition of reasonably varies from city to city – for Paris, Berlin, and Brussels it means a three-course meal for below €35 while the limit is lower for cheaper destinations.
The Michelin Main Cities of Europe 2010 is the 29th edition of Michelin’s main European cities red guide so there is certainly a demand for a hotel and restaurant guide covering such a wide spectrum of counties in a single volume. The only new city added to the 2010 cities guide is Salzburg. (Due to previous weak sales, Michelin did not publish an individual red guide for Austria in 2010.)
The Main Cities of Europe 2010 guide is written in English, which is an advantage over the single country guides that are often written only in the local language. The guide is also useful for visitors to major cities in countries for which single-country red guides are not published, for example Copenhagen in Denmark, Warsaw and Cracow in Poland, Helsinki in Finland, and Budapest in Hungary.
Buying the Michelin Red Guide Main Cities of Europe 2010
The Michelin red guide Main Cities of Europe 2010 is priced at €23 in France but should be available for around $18 in the USA and £12 in Great Britain. ViaMichelin has developed an iPhone application for the Main Cities of Europe 2010, which is available for €15.
As the Main Cities of Europe 2010 covers only major urban areas, travelers will for example need the full France red guide when visiting places other than Paris, Lyon, Strasbourg, and Toulouse. The full Germany red guide is required reading for anyone wanting to visit one of Germany’s nine Michelin three-star restaurants, as all the top gourmet restaurants are in smaller towns. Similarly, Switzerland’s two three-star restaurants are not in Geneva, Zurich or Bern covered in the cities-only guide.
Henk Bekker - Henk Bekker is a freelance travel writer currently living on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland.
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