At the Château de Chenonceau, there is no need to arrive early to avoid the queue. With the Ascension Bridge, where crowds in cultural places often reach peaks, the cultural institution has decided to make online reservations compulsory to access the interior of the Château des Dames. A system that arises from the Covid years. “The reservations date from the pandemic when we had to respect a safe distance between visitorscontextualizes Caroline Darrasse, director of public relations at the Château de Chenonceau. From now on, we have eliminated slots and reservations throughout the year except for weekends of great influence. We have kept this system to ensure visiting comfort and avoid overtourism. »
“Ensure a comfortable visit and avoid overtourism”
Despite “some discontent” at the beginning of this system, Caroline Darrasse ensures that if “reservations are not customary in France unlike in Italy, visitors are starting to get used to it”. And for those who have forgotten, don’t panic: “We offer them the opportunity to join certain slots when places are still available, we make arrangements”, adds the public relations director. The exteriors of the castle are also developed to be patient. In June, a scientific curiosity cabinet will open.
Skip-the-line tickets to the Royal Château d’Amboise
Another cultural place and other functioning. At the royal castle of Amboise, Samuel Buchwalder, communications manager “encourages visitors to purchase their tickets in advance. It’s the same price and it’s valid for six months. » An advance purchase that allows you to avoid the queue and go straight to the checkout. “The weekend promises to be very busy so it saves everyone time, especially for those who don’t have a ticket”, specifies the manager. On a possibility of seeing the visits only by reservation in the future, Samuel Buchwalder responds in the negative thanks to “a visit route which is done in one direction only, which makes the visit more fluid”.
Need to also book with restaurateurs
Beyond culture, restaurants record “an increase in reservations on websites since Covid”, explains Pascal Blaszczyk, vice-president of the Union of Trades in the Hospitality Industry (Umih 37). And if getting a table without reserving early enough is more and more difficult, Pascal Blaszczyk highlights “a reduction in the number of employees which forces us to work only by reservation because our capacity to carry out shifts is less important”.
Ghost reservations
But an online reservation does not necessarily mean a meal in the evening. According to Pascal Blaszczyk, “no-shows” – giving up without warning after having booked – have become the daily life of restaurateurs: “We were at 3% a few years ago, now we are closer to 18% in Touraine”, deplores the man who is also the manager of the Le Léonard de Vinci establishment in Tours. He had the bitter experience last Saturday when out of his 56 seats, a third did not show up.
Other establishments in Vieux-Tours take a first-come, first-served approach by not taking any reservations in advance. “You need very good geographical positioning to do that because you have to be sure to attract people”, details Pascal Blaszczyk. That’s good, Touraine is expecting many visitors in the coming days.
