A Lillewe have now the Notre-Dame de la Treille cathedral. And under, within the crypt, we now even have Notre-Dame of Paris. Not in mannequin or drawing, in… digital actuality. Within the type of an “immersive expertise” referred to as “Eternelle Notre-Dame”. A big helmet on our heads, led by a digital information, we wander by essentially the most visited monument in France, from the laying of its first stone, within the twelfth century, till its reopening after the devastating fire of 2019. With out exaggerating, it is loopy.
In Paris, “Eternelle Notre-Dame” toured for 3 years and attracted greater than 700,000 spectators whereas there, they’ve the true cathedral readily available. Effectively, probably not, as a result of the constructing solely reopened to the general public final September after six years of labor. That is additionally the place the venture began, Orange, patron of the reconstruction, wishing to permit visits to Notre-Dame to proceed regardless of the closure. However as an alternative of providing a digital tour of the cathedral in its state earlier than the tragedy, we begin from the twelfth century, when the primary stone was laid, and land within the twenty first century, on the finish of the restoration venture.
From medieval Paris to the twenty first century
The 2 years of R&D, the digital actuality know-how, the situation and the contribution of specialists and historians… We understand the work that each one of this required as quickly as we placed on the VR headset. However first, we’re warned that the expertise can be bodily, particularly if we’re delicate to vertigo or movement illness. Since we’re loopy, we activated the simulation’s max mode. We should additionally know that we don’t stay static. We transfer by a 400 m2 room whose partitions and flooring are filled with unusual indicators permitting the headset to search out its method within the area and within the situation. The helmets additionally emit alerts, materialized within the glasses by the avatar of one another customer, helpful for avoiding bumping into one another.
We set off, arriving on the time of the development of Notre-Dame within the twelfth century. We wander by the streets of medieval Paris to the sting of the development web site. We see the stonecutters working earlier than taking our place on a platform which takes us very excessive, on the picket scaffolding on the stage of the rose window. And there, we actually have the impression of going up, unimaginable. We stroll rigorously on the disjointed planks, lifting our ft to keep away from non-existent obstacles. We decrease our heads in order to not bump in opposition to the beams and we bend in half to enter the constructing by this well-known rose window underneath development.
The mind now not understands something. As a result of the sensation of vacancy is there, whenever you stroll on a beam a number of tens of meters from the bottom. We keep away from the employees who’re engaged on the development web site, we instinctively stroll alongside the partitions despite the fact that we might very nicely cross by them. Once we arrive on the nice organ, we wish to sit on the seat dealing with the 5 keyboards, we wish to lean on the balustrade of a balcony providing a chicken’s eye view of the nave. “We needed to combine purple crosses into the software program, as a result of guests caught within the recreation fell whereas attempting to take a seat down or lean on their elbows,” we’re informed.
An unimaginable expertise, with just a few downsides
One other platform raises us to the highest of the bell tower, the place we uncover the picket construction used to dampen the vibrations of the immense bells. We stroll on the roofs of Notre-Dame with a wide ranging view of Paris. And we uncover from above the ravages of the 2019 hearth. We attend interval companies, we meet Napoleon and De Gaullewe stay discreet through the ceremony to pay tribute to the victims of the 2015 assaults. These 800 years of historical past, summarized in 45 minutes, finish among the many employees who made it doable to revive the splendor of the mom of all cathedrals.
Our file on Notre-Dame de Paris
Objectively, the journey is breathtaking. However we nonetheless famous just a few downsides, beginning with the value, 30 euros full price, 21 euros lowered price. It is a good finances in the event you come as a household. Particularly since to observe the information’s story and benefit from the go to, you would need to go a number of occasions. There may be additionally the gauge which scares us a bit, between 30 to 50 guests concurrently. Figuring out that for this press go to, there have been round fifteen of us and that there have been generally visitors jams. These accustomed to gaming on PS5 could also be a bit disillusioned by the standard of the graphics, however the immersive expertise stays unimaginable nonetheless.
