The town of Honfleur in Calvados launched a new interactive visit display on Thursday. Curious people are welcome to bring a smartphone to discover the city as it was in the Middle Ages.
Shielded under a canopy, their raincoats pulled over their heads, the Leroux family’s eyes were fixed on the same thing: a laptop. After a few moments, Gabriel, one of the nephews, grabs the thing, turns to the beamed houses and places it in front of his eyes to spy on his surroundings. A fun tour that the family repeats in turn and takes them back hundreds of years. When Honfleur lived to the rhythm of the Middle Ages.
A lady from the tourist office showed us. It is very good and suitable for children who enjoyed it and then allowed Honfleur to be discovered in another way. We are well aware of what the city was like in the Middle Ages.
Scenes of the kind that have multiplied since the launch of this new type of visit on Thursday, July 8, at ten comparison points spread across the city. The culmination of more than a year of work. “It’s a lot of collaborative work with the city, the tourism office and the Rendr company that created the app. Legend who permits this visitClemence Fremont, Director of Communications at Honfleur Tourism, explains.
Screenshot of Honfleur Port via the Legendr app.
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© FTV
“Have fun while walking”
Even the residents of Honfleur took part in its development. It was tested in the spring, and the numerous responses have allowed for an improvement on the version launched on Thursday. The goal, to make an application as interesting as possible to complement the offer that already exists. “What we’re trying to do is provide something for everyone. You can actually take a traditional guided tour and you can also rent tablets or audio guides or follow one of our storytelling drama tours on a lot of different topics.”
This new Legendr app is a new way to provide families with the opportunity to discover the city in a fun way, have fun walking around and play a lot of mini games and especially by discovering these reconstructions of Honfleur with its absolutely wonderful fortifications, it is very immersive.
A global project on the qualification of the lieutenant
The city of Calvados thus joins the nearly fifty destinations across France and Europe that have been tempted by this virtual reality tour guide. At Honfleur, this novelty revolves around the Lieutenant’s Rehabilitation Project.
This large stone building at the entrance to Vieux Bassin was the home of the king’s lieutenant from the 17th century. “It will soon host a center for architecture and heritage interpretation. It will allow visitors to discover Honfleur’s maritime history. One of the projects is to take culture a little outside the walls and reinterpret Honfleur and its history, heritage and architecture in a fun way”Clemence Fremont adds.
This in-app visit fully achieves that goal. Those coming from Pas-de-Calais are seduced with their two sons Hélène and Ronan, who are wholly part of the family’s target target by the city. “It allows her to be a little more interactive. It’s especially important for a younger guy, it allows him to care at this age where guided tours are difficult. There, he has things to watch and suddenly not boring”Helen continues, before turning to her youngest son and asking him:are you interested? “ “Yeah, it was very good.”He answers in one word with a wide smile on his face.
A comment confirming the validity of the enthusiastic beginnings of this new formula. “We are just getting started, but we have a lot of orders already so we are completely happy and then we are ready to welcome all those who want to come and test. We encourage them, it’s a great time to spend with the family.”, concludes the Director of Liaison with the Tourism Office.
