In Vidauban, heritage is enhanced at rest areas

Varoises have been displaying large cube-shaped displays since yesterday. On each side, a local museum is being honored. The Vidauban Sud, Provence Verdon, and Estérel service areas are involved in the operation, which involves a total of nine service areas on the A8 motorway in the region, operated by the Enterprise network of motorway concession companies (Escota).

After the first edition dedicated to the Côte d'Azur through the retro posters of Nice artist Éric Garence, this year, 36 museums are being highlighted. All this is overseen by a partnership between the motorway concessionaire and Var Tourisme, the department's promotional organization.

This is particularly the case of the Museum of Fine Arts and the Departmental Exhibition Centre (HDE) located in Draguignan, and displayed in the Vidauban Sud rest area, or the House of Ceramics in Salernes and the Louis de Funès Museum in Saint-Raphaël.

Strengthening the attractiveness of the Var region

"We are an open window onto the region," assures Blaise Rapior, CEO of Escota. He adds: "Thanks to this system, travelers who are unfamiliar with the region will be able to extend their breaks and return to discover the richness of this region."

With more than 100,000 people using this section of the highway daily, the temporary exhibition is intended to be an original way to pique the interest of travelers.

"There's nothing better than the road to showcase the richness of the department," assures Guillaume Decard, president of Var Tourism. He hopes that this new "transversality between tourism stakeholders and the assets of the Var department" will help "promote the authenticity of the region."

Reinventing the break for greater safety

For the Escota network, the exhibition provides a dual benefit: promoting local heritage and culture while ensuring greater road safety.

The idea is to "ensure that the public has a good experience during their stay thanks to the information in these cubes," explains Blaise Rapior. As for safety, this information will allow travelers to extend their breaks by a few minutes, and thus set off again more vigilantly.

Deepen the territorial anchoring of rest areas

Making motorway service areas an illustration of the department's symbols is also a challenge shared by the Escota network and Var Tourism. Ten motorway service areas have already been renamed to give them more locally rooted names, like the Sainte Victoire service area.

As Guillaume Decard explains, motorway service areas "are the first point of contact with our region and play a key role in the tourist experience." This new exhibition is in line with this desire to bring the motorway and the region closer together. This second edition of the exhibition "On the road with... the museums of our region" will run until the end of September.