You spent time mapping out a beautiful route on ViaMichelin, with the right roads and stops that you enjoy. The moment arrives to transfer this route to your hiking GPS, bike computer, or an app like OsmAnd. And then, surprise: no “Export to GPX” button appears in the interface. The problem is not with you. ViaMichelin simply does not offer this function natively.
Why ViaMichelin does not offer native GPX export
ViaMichelin positions itself as a public tool for calculating road routes, not as a platform for managing GPS tracks. Its model is based on online consultation, fuel cost estimation, and the integration of content from the Michelin Guide (restaurants, hotels, points of interest).
Since the redesign in May 2024, the service has introduced a Discovery mode that favors scenic secondary roads. The generated routes are no longer just simple trips from point A to point B: they include detours, selected stops, and recommended addresses. This editorial logic partly explains the absence of direct export.
The concrete consequence: to retrieve your track in a format readable by a Garmin GPS, TomTom, or a sports app, you need to go through a third-party tool. A complete guide details how to export a GPX file from ViaMichelin by following this step-by-step process.
ViaMichelin to GPX online converter: operation and limitations
The most direct way remains to use a dedicated converter. The ViaMichelin2GPX tool, for example, allows you to paste the URL of your ViaMichelin route and retrieve a GPX file in a few seconds. The process consists of three steps:
- Create your route on ViaMichelin as usual, adjusting the stops and desired road type.
- Copy the complete URL of the route page from your browser’s address bar (it contains all the coordinates of the route).
- Paste this URL into the converter, then download the generated GPX file.
This file can then be imported into any compatible device or software: hiking GPS, bike computer, Garmin BaseCamp, or mobile apps like OsmAnd and Locus Map.
What the GPX file contains (and what it does not)
A GPX file exported from ViaMichelin via a converter retains the road trace, meaning the succession of geographical points that form the route. You will find the exact path of the road, turn by turn.
However, the editorial information from the Michelin Guide does not follow. Starred restaurants, recommended hotels, real-time traffic alerts: all of this remains within the ViaMichelin ecosystem. Your GPS will only receive the geometry of the route.
Another point to watch: since the introduction of Discovery mode, ViaMichelin routes generate more waypoints than before, as they take winding roads. A route of several hundred kilometers can produce a very dense GPX file in points. Some entry-level GPS devices struggle to manage this density. If your device slows down or truncates the track, you will need to simplify the file.
Simplifying and verifying a GPX file before sending it to the GPS
You have your GPX file in hand. Before loading it onto your device, two checks are worth doing.
The first concerns the density of points in the trace. Free tools like GPSBabel or the GPX Studio website allow you to reduce the number of points without distorting the route. The principle: remove intermediate points on straight sections, keep those at turns and intersections. Your GPS will display a smooth trace without saturating its memory.
The second check concerns the coherence of the route. Sometimes the conversion produces small aberrations: an isolated point that strays from the road, a passage through a road prohibited for motor vehicles. Always open the file in a viewer before departure. GPX Studio, Google Earth, or even importing into Garmin BaseCamp allows you to spot these anomalies in a few minutes.
Reducing points without losing the accuracy of the trace
Simplification works through an algorithm that evaluates the distance between each point and the straight line between its neighbors. If the gap is negligible, the point is removed. On a typical road trip, you can often remove half of the points without noticing a visible difference on the GPS screen.
On GPSBabel, the “simplify” filter with a tolerance of a few meters is sufficient for most cases. On GPX Studio, a slider allows you to visually adjust the level of simplification.
Alternatives to the converter for retrieving a GPX trace
The dedicated converter is not the only option. If you regularly plan complex routes, two approaches are worth knowing.
The first is to recreate the trace directly in a native GPX application like Komoot, RideWithGPS, or Brouter. You use ViaMichelin to identify interesting roads, then reproduce the route in a tool that natively exports to GPX. Longer, but you maintain total control over each point.
The second involves manually extracting the coordinates. The URL of a ViaMichelin route contains the coordinates of the start, end, and intermediate stops. By copying them into a GPX creation tool, you reconstruct a clean file. This method requires a bit of patience, but it works even when automatic converters encounter errors.
- Online converter (ViaMichelin2GPX): quick, suitable for simple routes with few stops.
- Recreation in a GPX app (Komoot, Brouter): more control, ideal for motorcycle or bike routes with specific constraints.
- Manual extraction of coordinates from the URL: backup solution when automatic conversion fails.
The GPX format remains a universal standard read by almost all GPS devices and navigation applications. Whatever path you take to obtain it, the final file will be usable everywhere. The only precaution to keep in mind: always check your trace on a screen before leaving, especially if the route crosses areas where mobile network coverage will not save you.