Departures: Guides to France

TWO NEW guides to French accommodation and restaurants are published this week. The Red Michelin Guide ( pounds 12.95) is an indispensable companion, not only for its invaluable listings but also for its excellent town and city plans. Purchasers of the new Red guide get a free copy of Michelin's Battle of Normandy map, a souvenir reprint of its original post-war map - which is very useful if you are planning to follow the D-Day trail.

Also worth carrying with you is the new Logis de France guide, which lists 4,100 hotels and restaurants throughout France. The hotels listed in the guide have an average rate of pounds 25 to pounds 35 per room per night. The restaurants offer set menus from pounds 10 to pounds 25. The Logis guide is available from the French Government Tourist Office, 178 Piccadilly, London W1V 0AL, for pounds 8.50 ( pounds 9.50 by post; cheques payable to 'Maison de la France').