Why did Michelin create the Michelin guide?
“
The idea was to encourage the development of the automobile, a vehicle which, with bicycles, was the natural commercial outlet for Michelin tires,
”
recalls Gwendal Poullenec, the international director of the Michelin guides, in an article retracing the history of “Red” launched in 1900 on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition in France.
But in the small world of the art of living, the list of Michelin stars is not only of interest to fine gourmets who wait, with feverishness, for the new names of the great consecrated chefs to fall and, now one or two weeks before, of those who are degraded.
However, since 1926, in the shadow of the famous “Red”, the “Green” has also distributed its label of excellence to tourism sites.
“
We guide travelers from city to city, from castles to churches, from museums to extraordinary natural sites by awarding stars intended to better guide their choices
,” explains Philippe Orain, director of the “Michelin travel and cultures guide”, his new identity.
“
It is not renamed, the color does not change.
But the name will reaffirm our vocation.
We spent many years saying that we had to be practical, and we forgot to emphasize that we were a travel guide and cultures, in the plural, scholarly and popular, for all those who want to learn and understand, beyond the obvious.
» In fact, “Red” and “Green” have each already changed their name.
Until 1999, the “Green” was “The Michelin tourist guide”.
A collection name
In any case, “
The Green Guide remains a collectible name
”, affirms Philippe Orain, who unveils the 2024 list of three-star sites, ne plus ultra meaning “
worth the trip
”, “an unforgettable experience”, according to 9 classification criteria.
Obtaining no stars does not mean being poor, but “
insufficient in relation to expectations
”.
Checking all the required boxes, from the first impression to the experience of the visit, including notoriety, the milestone (the comparison with what can be), what there is to do, to see, visible harmony or even intimate charm, three sites have entered the shortlist of three-star places, bringing their number to 260 in France, out of more than 30,000 references in the guide around the world.
However, for the first time, emblematic places of worship from the 19th century are consecrated.
The first is in Lyon, it is the Notre-Dame de Fourvière basilica.
The building, eclectic in style, dominates the hill which gave it its name.
A splendor.
A “
Marian fortress
” on the outside, decorated with mosaics, marble and stained glass in its interior, “
it has, for five years, benefited from a remarkable restoration and development plan
”, notes Philippe Orain, attentive to the adaptation of flows “
so that these places of contemplation retain their tranquility, but are also, moreover, festive
”.
Because Fourvière, with 2.5 million visitors per year, is the most popular monument in Lyon.
“
A moment of grace
: early in the morning, you are there alone
,” breathes the director of the Michelin guide.
Above the personality of the city while being part of it
The third site is an unusual, disused place of worship: the underground church of Saint-Jean, in Aubeterre-sur-Dronne.
Gregory CassiauAgence Les Conteurs
The second 19th century monument lauded with three Michelin stars is in Marseille, Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde.
“
The basilica had two stars, its hill also had two stars, and its panorama, three stars.
But how many buildings are so symbolic in France
?
We used the criterion of the milestone and we concluded that Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde was above the personality of the city while being part of it
.”
Other criteria worked in favor of the “Good Mother” which rises like a beacon over the city on the Hill of La Garde at 154 meters.
Its domes, the polychromy of its stones, typical of the Roman-Byzantine style, its gold, its mosaics, and then, inside, its ex-votos which bear witness to the popular faith, which extends well beyond the city Phocaean… “
It’s unique
!
», exclaims Orain.
Finally, the third site is an unusual, disused place of worship: the Saint-Jean underground church, in Aubeterre-sur-Dronne, a small town of character in Charente.
Invisible from the outside, located under the medieval castle of Aubeterre, it is a troglodyte church 20 meters high, carved into the cliff.
A place of pilgrimage, but not only that.
“
In the center of the apse, the six-meter-high hexagonal reliquary is the most beautiful element.
Inspired by the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem discovered during the First Crusade, it is cut from a single block, which allows the church to be described as a monolith
,” we read on the dedicated site.
“
When you walk into this church, it’s magical.
I don't know anyone who hasn't been struck by this wow effect
.
» The criterion of “first impression” came into play.
Philippe Orain concludes: “
It’s all teamwork that we measure through the stars, not just the heritage dimension.
»
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