After several years of anticipation, Dijon’s Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin finally opened on Friday 6 May 2022 in Dijon! An eagerly awaited event by scores of visitors all looking forward to seeing what this centre holds for them in store inside… So come with me to explore this site which celebrates the gastronomic meal of the French.
First up, it’s worth knowing that there are several entrances to the Cité. As this is my first time here, I decide to go in through the main entrance, on Place de l’UNESCO, which leads to the main lobby area. Rest assured that, on your right, reception staff are on hand straightaway to advise and guide you in your visit…
On their informed advice, for this first visit, I head to the 1204: the interpretation centre for architecture and heritage, where admission is free. It is named after the year the former hospital was built. That’s right! Perhaps you didn’t know, but before the Cité, the general hospital was located here.
You simply must start at the Tourist Office!
I say “must” as the Tourist Office welcome desk stands at the entrance to the 1204. So I take advantage of that to pick up an array of leaflets and get a few ideas for my next outings in Dijon…
Then I move on from the welcome desk, thanking the staff, and head towards the exhibitions’ entrance.
An experience for everyone…
One thing’s for sure: the 1204’s first room certainly sets the tone: a fairly dark, altogether impressive room where a gigantic photo is projected giving a 360° view of Philip the Good Tower.
As I move my hands nearer the walls, I notice that I can interact with it by activating animations, displaying photos, with sounds of a church bell ringing, a cheering crowd at the Zénith music venue, and even summon nightfall, suddenly plunging the room into darkness. Fantastic!
But there are still surprises galore to come after this room. Tablets give you an augmented reality experience packed with details of a few dwellings a few centuries apart, and Dijon’s developments over time are projected on a map…
The opportunities for interaction are endless and every room is simply brimming with detail, providing a wealth of insight into Dijon’s architectural heritage.
Upstairs, I find a photo exhibition as well as, once again, interactive walls with, for example, old telephones which, when you pick up, share the testimony of someone with a connection to the place, and its past.
Nearly 2 hours of discovery…
Other surprises await, but I’ll let you find them out for yourselves. I ended up spending nearly 2 hours looking, listening, reading, interacting, touching and experiencing Dijon’s local architectural heritage.
There are so many things to see and do, that I can already see myself coming back with friends, family and even kids. Admission is free, so why miss out?
Come back next week to explore another part of Dijon’s Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin 🙂