| On 1 June 2016, the Cité du Vin in Bordeaux officially opened its doors. Since then, more than 3.5 million visitors from around the world have passed through them to discover wine cultures and civilisations. Whether through the Permanent exhibition, the Sensory tasting journey Via Sensoria, tasting workshops, temporary exhibitions or cultural events, visitors have been able to discover and/or deepen their knowledge of the world of wine for the past 10 years, making the Cité du Vin an unmissable cultural destination. To celebrate how far it has come since its opening and to thank everyone who has made this success possible, the Cité du Vin has prepared a programme of festivities, with events from January to December, aimed at its various audiences. Ask for the programme!
2016 – 2026: 10 years of success
Since its opening in June 2016, the Cité du Vin has stood out as a major cultural and tourist attraction. With an average of 400,000 visitors each year and more than 3.5 million since it opened, the Cité du Vin has become an essential part of any visit to Bordeaux, and its success demonstrates the unifying and universal nature of wine with visitors coming from all over the world. In particular, it is the quality and variety of its cultural programme that has ensured its enduring popularity over time.
“The strength of the Cité du Vin is its ability to create innovative cultural activities that are accessible to all. With the Permanent exhibition, renewed in 2023 to much acclaim, the varied tasting experiences that take visitors from Bordeaux to the ends of the earth thanks to our wine-sector partners, the original temporary exhibitions and the many events we schedule each year, we have always been committed to reaching a wide audience with diverse expectations and to increasing the number of initiatives designed to convey knowledge in a simple and fun way, as well as our commitment to the environment. The excellent word-of-mouth publicity that has resulted from this, combined with the Very High Satisfaction approach we have been pursuing for several years, has enabled the Cité du Vin to become known and recognised far and wide. We are very proud of how far we have come.”
Philippe Massol, Managing Director
A year of festivities
To celebrate this anniversary in fitting style, the whole of 2026 will be packed with events and surprises for all visitors to the Cité du Vin.
From 13 February until the end of 2026, visitors to the Cité du Vin can enjoy free access to a unique photo exhibition, Around the World in 50 Wine Regions, with 54 photos paying tribute to the wine-sector partners of the Cité du Vin throughout the world. From the Bordeaux region or one of the five continents, these partners offer a selection of “ambassador” wines throughout the year that visitors can taste during the various activities taking place at the Cité du Vin, thus supporting the Foundation for wine culture and civilisations in its mission to make the universal and living heritage of wine accessible to the widest possible audience. Each of the photographs presented was chosen by one of the partners: a unique image to reveal the soul and essence of each region (the power of a landscape, the presence of a gesture, the memory of a building, the life of a community, tradition, etc.).
The Sensory tasting journey Via Sensoria is back from 1 April to 1 November 2026, this year in a 100% Bordeaux edition! For the first time, the tasting offer focuses on a single wine region, with four different styles of Bordeaux. An opportunity to explore the full diversity of Bordeaux wines through original wine-season pairings. Each year, the sensory dimension of the Journey changes, with the addition of new tasting games and the creation of an oenological and cultural interpretation programme. In this 2026 edition, the sommelier-guides will focus more specifically on the four basic tastes. In each pavilion, they will offer visitors a complementary taste experience to accompany the drinks, making the tasting exercise even more enjoyable, accessible and sensory. Each season thus becomes an opportunity to understand the flavours (salty, sweet, sour and bitter) that make up taste, while illustrating them through the diversity of Bordeaux wines and the originality of local alcohol-free drinks.
From 23 April to 20 September 2026, the gardens of the Cité du Vin will host a unique exhibition: the City of Bordeaux, in collaboration with the Cité du Vin, will showcase the distinctive vision of British photographer Martin Parr. Presented outdoors as a walking exhibition, Martin Parr: the Art of living brings together a selection of photographs taken in Bristol (Bordeaux’s twin city in England) and in France. A journey into the world of a photographer who captures the rituals of everyday life with humour and insight. Through a selection of photographs taken between 1988 and 2023, Martin Parr captures the energy of public gatherings, parties, receptions and other cheerful moments where different worlds intersect. Wine, a symbol of sharing, runs through the exhibition as an underlying theme, echoing the identity of Bordeaux and the cultural mission of the Cité du Vin.
Any anniversary needs a party! Join us from 4 to 7 June for several days of unmissable events! On the programme: a free open evening to discover the Permanent Exhibition and Belvedere (booking required, limited availability), original family and festive activities (tasting workshops, a virtual reality vine pruning competition, colouring of a giant fresco, a Kapla construction workshop, customising of wooden cases, etc.) and a musical evening with the Orangeade collective in the gardens (live concert, DJ sets, live art, food trucks and refreshment bar).
The two cultural seasons, from January to June and September to December, will also have their own “10th anniversary” flavour, with events and themes linked to the creation of the Cité du Vin.
On the cultural programme running from January to June, a selection of events has been specially curated to mark this anniversary: a Keynote Interview with Alain Juppé, one of the founders of the Cité du Vin (30 January), and another with Sylvie Cazes, President of the Foundation for wine culture and civilisations (16 June); a Champagne! tasting (15 January) and 2016 vintage tasting (4 June), not to mention the Ciné Gourmand screening of the film Ce qui nous lie (29 April) and a major symposium on the question Does wine have a future without culture? (13 February). Further events are also planned between September and December 2026.
Also worth noting is a special programme to mark the “Mediterranean Season” (taking place from 30 September to 4 October), which will feature a range of tastings, talks and celebrations.
A selection of specially branded products to celebrate the 10th anniversary are also available in the Boutique. The concept store dedicated to wine and the art of living is offering new accessories and exclusive collaborations to mark the occasion (silk scarves from Maison Petrusse and an anniversary stamp from the French post office as part of its 2026 philatelic programme).
2026 is a year of celebration and sharing at the Cité du Vin!
The Cité du Vin is open every day from 10 a.m.
Support the cultural seasons at Cité du Vin with the Foundation for wine culture and civilisations:
https://www.laciteduvin.com/en/foundation |
