Lyon’s Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie has announced it will permanently close following the chaos and uncertainty created by the pandemic’s impact on tourism.
The much-hyped gastronomy museum just opened in October 2019 in Lyon, a seemingly perfect tribute to the city’s culinary history. But in a Facebook post, the management said the museum faced too many challenges in operating under new health requirements, particularly given that the number of visitors would likely be severely reduced.
“Faced with these difficulties, faced with the uncertainty of economic and tourist developments, and despite all our efforts to safeguard it, we have decided not to reopen the Cité and to stop operating it definitively,” the management said in the Facebook post.
The shocking announcement is a reminder of how precarious France’s tourism industry remains following the two-month coronavirus lockdown and ongoing international travel bans. While the country has launched a national rescue plan to reinvent its tourism industry, there are likely going to be additional closings such as this one as the economic impact of the pandemic continue to ripple out.
The Cité was based in Lyon’s 12-century Hotel-Dieu, a former hospital that had been undergoing a massive renovation. Inside, there were 43,000 square feet of exhibit space spread over four floors. On the top floor, visitors could visit a demonstration kitchen to see some haute cuisine being prepared, and then experience a tasting in the dining room next door.
“Our thinking is naturally and above all directed to our entire team, who worked daily with all the passion that characterizes each of our employees, to give it life and give it the influence it deserves,” the post reads. “Aware of the richness of the place and the work accomplished by our teams and all the stakeholders in the project, we are convinced that a bright future will emerge for the spaces we are leaving and that new beautiful uses will emerge to make this Cited an essential place of gastronomic heritage in Lyon, in France, and throughout the world.”
I am an American journalist based in Toulouse, France, writing about technology, travel, culture, politics, and entertainment. Before moving to France in 2014, I spent 15
I am an American journalist based in Toulouse, France, writing about technology, travel, culture, politics, and entertainment. Before moving to France in 2014, I spent 15 years covering Silicon Valley for the Los Angeles Times and The San Jose Mercury News. I also run the French Crossroads travel website.