More than 415,000 visitors to the Cité du Vin in 2024!
Following a year marked by the renewal of its cultural offer and a one-month closure for works, the Cité du Vin saw a return to its historic visitor numbers in 2024. It welcomed more than 415,000 general public visitors, in addition to over 5,500 people who took part in a cultural activity as part of a corporate or group event. These very positive numbers are due to its ever-growing appeal to foreign visitors – from 180 different countries and accounting for more than half of all visitors – enabling the Bordeaux cultural venue to exceed forecasts and return to its pre-Covid visitor numbers. In 2024, the Cité du Vin thus passed the milestone of 3 million visitors since it opened. Added to this are the large numbers of locals who always turn up for cultural events and professionals attending corporate events. With sustained visitor numbers, the Olympic Games and inclusion in a government promotional campaign, 2024 will remain a landmark year for the Cité du Vin and for the Foundation for wine culture and civilisations, which celebrated its 10th anniversary and confirmed its commitment to increasingly sustainable cultural and leisure activities by renewing its existing certifications and obtaining new ones.
Between January and December 2024, the Cité du Vin welcomed 415,300 general public visitors from 180 different countries, bringing the total number of visitors since its opening to more than 3.1 million.
This result was 4% better than forecast, particularly due to high visitor numbers in May, September and October (public holidays, rainy weather, etc.) and an excellent summer season (94,000 visitors in July and August combined), despite the generally depressed mood in France and an overall decline in the number of tourists.
These good figures can be explained by the ever-increasing number of foreign visitors to the Cité du Vin, now representing 53% of the total number for the year. Spanish, American and British visitors remain the most numerous, followed by Germans and Italians. The rest of the visitors break down as follows: 29% French tourists, 8% day trippers and 10% Bordeaux Métropole residents.
In detail, the Permanent exhibition welcomed more than 387,000 visitors, while almost 25,000 tried out the Via Sensoria Sensory tasting journey (on offer from late March to early November). The daytime tasting workshops attracted more than 15,000 individual participants. As for the evening cultural programme, specifically targeting locals and Bordeaux Métropole residents, it was once again a sell-out, with 3,000 people taking part in the after-work & wine tasting workshops, and 4,400 in the various events and meetings held in 2024, in addition to more than 800 people who took part remotely.
On the BtoB side, the Cité du Vin hosted 536 corporate events (269 events, 126 guided tours and 141 privatised workshops), combining business and cultural experiences through the privatisation of activities. No fewer than 5,500 professionals were thus able to take part in a cultural activity during a corporate event.
While 2023 was a year of renewal for the Cité du Vin, 2024 was a year of landmarks and firsts.
Olympic Games fever swept through the Cité du Vin on 23 May as the Olympic flame was carried through its gardens. To mark the occasion, a photographic exhibition was present on the ground floor until the end of September, to explore the unexpected connections between the worlds of wine and sport.
On 15 October, the French Government Information Service announced that it had chosen the Cité du Vin as the new iconic monument for the international promotional campaign Make it Iconic.Choose France. The Cité du Vin thus joins the prestigious list of French monuments that embody the daring and spirit of French innovation (The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame de Paris, Mont Saint-Michel, etc.).
2024 also marked the 10th anniversary of the Foundation for wine culture and civilisations. Since its official creation on 11 December 2014, it has been responsible for the development of the Cité du Vin. The Foundation for wine culture and civilisations has been behind all the major developments at the Cité du Vin since it opened: certification by Tourisme & Handicap, NF environment - Visitor sites, and Sustainable Entertainment; a very high level of visitor satisfaction; a CSR policy; and membership of the Convention des Entreprises pour le Climat. And the story goes on: in 2025, it will be unveiling its committed road map to 2030 for a business resolutely focused on the ecological transition. Throughout the year, the Foundation will also be organising several fundraising events for the general public and its patrons, to support its cultural programme.
