diff --git a/src/mlpack/base.hpp b/src/mlpack/base.hpp
index 4879167814..151a59b589 100644
--- a/src/mlpack/base.hpp
+++ b/src/mlpack/base.hpp
@@ -69,12 +69,14 @@
 // Backport std::any from C+17 to C++11 to replace boost::any.
 // Use mnmlstc backport implementation only if compiler does not
 // support C++17.
-#if __cplusplus < 201703L
+#if __cplusplus < 201703L && !defined(_MSC_VER)
   #include <mlpack/core/std_backport/any.hpp>
   #include <mlpack/core/std_backport/string_view.hpp>
   #define MLPACK_ANY core::v2::any
   #define MLPACK_ANY_CAST core::v2::any_cast
   #define MLPACK_STRING_VIEW core::v2::string_view
+#elif __cplusplus < 201703L && defined(_MSC_VER)
+  #error "When using Visual Studio, mlpack should be compiled with /Zc:__cplusplus and /std:c++17 or newer."
 #else
   #include <any>
   #include <string_view>
-- 
2.38.1