Anaheim, California may have Disneyland, but the happiest place on Earth is actually located in France.
La Cité du Vin, or “The City of Wine,” is located in Bordeaux — one of France’s most storied wine regions. While it may not have whizzing go-around rides and 20-ft tower drops, the two-year-old theme park-museum-hybrid has plenty of thrills for oenophiles.
Visitors can start at La Cité du Vin’s on premise restaurant where more than 800 varieties of wine from 70 different countries are stored — all of which are available for tasting and ordering.
Guests can then also explore more than 20 wine themed exhibits and sections of the park, including an immersive simulated boat ride that shows what it’s like to be a globe-trotting wine merchant.
A 250-seat auditorium offers expert-led screenings and classes, while a “tasting experience” gives a multi-sensory space with moving sets, 3D images and olfactory whiffs.
Even the building is designed with the honorary beverage in mind. According to the architects, the twisted metal structure was created to evoke the image of wine sloshing around as glass.
And don’t forget the tribute to the ‘gueule du bois’ (a hangover) — a giant plush chair where you can sit and listen while artists, poets and movie stars retell their tales of drinking too much. If you’re high school French is a little rusty, headsets for this, and the rest of the tour, are available in eight different languages.
The whole experience is basically a wine-loving adult’s day at Disney World — minus the expensive ticket and screaming children. If you’re going to get a headache, it might as well be with wine. Amiright?
A ticket to La Cité du Vin runs about $25-30 and includes one glass of wine.
Also see, This is why you should store your wine bottles horizontally.
