Maps and guides

The need for detailed road information on the South East of England and London in particular has been apparent for some time: the expansion of industry around London, coupled with the capital’s pulling power as both a tourist and work centre, has been accompanied by the development of the road network of the region—development enforced by the ever-increasing volume of traffic.

More than 120 maps to a scale of 1 in.= 1.6 miles span an area of some 900 square miles, showing motorways, primary routes, and A and B roads clearly and attractively. The motorway detail includes interchanges and their numbers, service areas and access and exit points. All the maps, of course, show other useful road information, such as ring roads, dual carriageways and bypasses. An additional feature of the atlas is an 18-page section of large-scale London street maps, scale 4-1/2 in. = 1-mile together with a companion index. The inclusion of such a section makes this publication the first atlas to provide a combination of route maps and street map detail.

Produced in a convenient format, and complete with a 36-page index to place names, the “RAC Road Atlas London & the South East” meets this need. It is available in two bindings, laminated soft covers and plastic jacket, priced at £1 and £1.25 respectively. The publishers are Map Productions Ltd., Paulton House, 8 Shepherdess Walk, London N1.

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Four new restaurants, two of which are in Paris, have been awarded the three stars signifying “one of the best tables in France, well worth the journey” in the “1973 Michelin Red Guide”. At the other end of the scale, for the traveller of more modest means, a new classification has been introduced to indicate restaurants offering meals for below 15 francs. This is a diamond symbol and, initially, 3,000 “diamonds” have been awarded this year. This is in addition to the well-known letter “R” in red, denoting restaurants offering a good meal for about 15-20 francs, there being 359 listed in this year’s Guide.

More than 80,000 amendments have been made for the new Guide and, in all, 584 new establishments have been added and 539 withdrawn. There are now a total of 10,775 hotels and restaurants listed, in 4,410 towns and villages throughout France. In addition to the information on hotels and restaurants, the “Michelin Red Guide” also contains the usual comprehensive details on towns, villages, population figures, altitudes, the whereabouts of casinos and golf courses, and the main tourist attractions. This guide should now be available in the shops in Britain.