In 2010, UNESCO listed the French gastronomic meal as Intangible Cultural Heritage.
In 2013, the city of Dijon was selected by the government to represent the network of gastronomic cities alongside Lyon, Paris-Rungis and Tours.
In 2014, Dijon council contracted Eiffage to design, build and finance the Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie et du Vin (International City of Gastronomy and Wine).
Eiffage Aménagement, Eiffage Immobilier and their partners launched the project in 2016 and will complete delivery between 2020 and 2023 .
The Cité Internationale lies at the starting point on the established route to tour Burgundy's finest vineyards and will cover a surface area of 3.5 hectares (26,000 m2 of premises, 17,000 m2 of which will be renovated historical buildings). It will sit alongside a new eco-neighbourhood spanning 3.5 hectares.
The project will comprise a 5,000 m2 cultural and training centre, 4,500 m2 of shops, cafés and restaurants, an 83-room, four-star hotel, a 13-screen cinema complex, 50 refurbished housing units, an eco-neighbourhood offering 540 housing units and 3 serviced residences as well as 400 parking spaces.
Following the example of French gastronomy, the project has been designed to combine cultural heritage with a more modern outlook.
Exhibitions and conferences will be hosted in a 1,700 m2 space dedicated to French gastronomy and the terroirs of Burgundy. The contracts for the design of cultural activities and management of the various spaces in the gastronomy pavilion and chapel have been awarded to S-Pass and Abaque.
750 m2 will be dedicated to the art of French cuisine and patisserie in a space designed to accommodate 110 students from the Ferrandi school of culinary arts. A 70 m2 area will be used to host wine initiation courses for locals and tourists.
The new building housing part of the premises was designed by architect Anthony Béchu in association with Alain-Charles Perrot and Florent Richard.