La Cite de la Mer

What La Cite de la Mer does

La Cité de la Mer is a French private venue-rental and event-organization business operated under the legal entity SAS AURA CITE DE LA MER (share capital €7,500, registered in Cherbourg under SIREN 982 887 945), with headquarters at the historic Gare Maritime Transatlantique in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Normandy. The company monetizes a portfolio of unique event spaces inside a converted Art Deco transatlantic terminal, including the decommissioned nuclear submarine Le Redoutable, aquarium-facing reception spaces (Jules Verne, Océan du futur), the Salle des Bagages, the Titanic & émigration exhibition, the Grande Halle, and a dedicated Congress Center comprising the Auditorium Jacques Perrin, the Salle des Pas Perdus, and meeting rooms. Service scope spans venue rental for corporate events, seminars, weddings, receptions, exhibitions, shows, private visits, and film/TV shoots, supplemented by turnkey event organization including catering coordination and technical support, with multilingual service in French, English, Italian, Dutch, and German.

The business model is direct, sales-led, and quote-based: a dedicated events team handles enterprise inquiries, site visits, and bespoke quotations; SMBs and individuals reach the venue via the website or phone. There are no third-party distributors, no public pricing, and no subscription or volume contracts — revenue is generated per event from space rental and ancillary services. Customer base is concentrated in regional Normandy enterprises and institutions, with named enterprise and government clients spanning nuclear energy and safety (EDF, Orano, Orano Projets, ASNR), banking (Société Générale), logistics (SOGENA TRANSIT), industrial relations (UIMM Manche), and transportation (Trans.Cité), and with repeat bookings observed. Marketing is conducted through a dedicated events website, organic Facebook presence, and regional tourism partnerships with Cotentin Tourisme, Cotentin Agglomération, and Destination Cherbourg. The business is privately held with no disclosed external investment, no M&A activity, no patents, and no AI/ML technology layer; competitive advantage rests entirely on the irreplaceable historical and architectural assets of the site.

Name

La Cite de la Mer

Legal name

SAS AURA CITE DE LA MER

Website

https://congres-cherbourg.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1933

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Event Venue & Hospitality Services

NAICS

Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121), Museums (71211)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Specialty & Historic Venues (Landmarks, Estates) (THAHAAAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Performing Arts & Cultural Event Venues (Theaters, Museums) (THAHAAAG), Specialty Museums (e.g., Maritime, Aviation, Sports, Music, Film) (THAJADAF)

Keywords

• Event venue rental
• Corporate event hosting
• Convention center services
• Wedding venue rental
• Historic event spaces

Headquarters

HQ city

Roissy-en-france

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Venue Rental: Rental of event spaces including auditorium, meeting rooms, reception halls, submarine, aquarium spaces, and exhibition areas for corporate events, weddings, seminars, conferences, and private functions.
2. Event Organization Services: Turnkey event organization services including catering, technical equipment, and event coordination for clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

La Cité de la Mer rents themed event spaces inside its Cherbourg-en-Cotentin maritime-heritage complex — including a congress center, a nuclear submarine (Le Redoutable), aquarium-facing rooms, the Titanic exhibition, the Salle des Bagages and a Grande Halle — and provides turnkey event-organization services (catering coordination, technical support, multilingual hosting) for corporate seminars, weddings, receptions, exhibitions and film shoots.

Product overview

La Cité de la Mer is a multi-venue event destination in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Normandy, offering a portfolio of unique event spaces centered around maritime heritage. The venue portfolio includes the Centre des Congrès (with Auditorium Jacques Perrin, Salle des Pas Perdus, and meeting rooms), the historic Sous-Marin Le Redoutable submarine, the Océan du futur exhibition, the Salle des Bagages, the Titanic & émigration exhibition space, and the Grande Halle. The company also provides full-service event organization for diverse occasions including weddings, congresses, seminars, exhibitions, shows, receptions, private visits, and filming.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Centre des Congrès (Congress Center) Main conference and meeting facility within La Cité de la Mer, comprising the Auditorium Jacques Perrin, Salle des Pas Perdus and meeting rooms, used for congresses, seminars, conferences and corporate gatherings.
• Sous-Marin Le Redoutable Historic decommissioned nuclear submarine offered as a unique exclusive event venue for private dinners, evening events and private visits.
• Océan du futur Future Ocean exhibition space available for private events, dinners and receptions.
• Salle des Bagages Historic luggage hall space within the Art Deco terminal adapted for events, receptions and dinners.
• Espace Titanic & émigration Titanic & emigration themed exhibition space used for events and themed gatherings.
• Grande Halle Large exhibition hall available for trade shows (salons), large receptions, exhibitions and major events.
• Event Organization Services (Organizzazione eventi) Full-service event organization for weddings, congresses, seminars, exhibitions, shows, receptions, private visits and filming, including venue rental, catering coordination, technical equipment support and multilingual event coordination.

Quantifiable outcome

• Client retention and repeat bookings - UIMM Manche hosts multiple events annually at the venue

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Cotentin TourismeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerRegional tourism partnership for destination marketing. La Cité de la Mer is promoted as a key attraction and event venue within the Cotentin peninsula tourism ecosystem.
• Cotentin AgglomérationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal government aggregation supporting regional development. The venue is part of the public infrastructure under the Cotentin Agglomération, which oversees cultural and tourism facilities.
• Destination CherbourgminorGTM or Marketing PartnerJoint destination marketing initiative promoting Cherbourg-en-Cotentin as a destination for business and leisure visitors, including La Cité de la Mer as a featured venue.
• Aura CulturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAura Culture serves as the President of SAS AURA CITE DE LA MER, providing leadership and strategic direction for the venue's cultural programming and event operations.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Musée national de la Marine: National maritime heritage museum in Paris and Toulon operating historic naval artifacts for public and private events. Closest thematic comparable - maritime heritage institution monetizing unique naval assets via private hire and cultural programming.
• Océanopolis Brest: Public aquarium and marine discovery center in Brittany offering themed event spaces, dinners with aquarium views, and corporate receptions. Most direct comparable for the aquarium-themed event dinner product and aquarium-views event offering.
• Domaine de Chantilly - Institut de France: Hosts corporate and private events inside the Château de Chantilly and its grounds. Comparable heritage-venue event model with multi-space rental (interior halls, gardens, exhibition spaces) targeting enterprise clients in the same quote-based, turnkey-event format as La Cité de la Mer.
• Palais des Congrès de Paris: Large congress venue with auditorium, exhibition halls, and meeting rooms under the ViParis network. Direct competitor in the MICE congress-center segment with a similar auditorium + salons + reception-hall product offering for corporate events.
• Cité des Congrès de Nantes: Regional French convention center offering auditoriums, exhibition halls and meeting rooms for congresses and corporate events. Closest scale-and-functionality comparable to La Cité de la Mer's Centre des Congrès for the corporate seminar / congress use case.
• Château de Versailles Événements: Operates high-end private and corporate events inside the historic Palace of Versailles. Most direct comparable to La Cité de la Mer's positioning as a 'prestige heritage venue' renting unique historical spaces for corporate seminars, gala dinners, and receptions in France.
• Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte: Heritage château offering private corporate and wedding events in its historic interiors and gardens. Comparable prestige-venue business model targeting premium corporate and celebration use cases similar to La Cité de la Mer's private-event segment.

Broad incumbents

• GL Events: Major French live-events and venue-management group operating a portfolio of convention centers, exhibition halls, and event services across France and globally. Provides industry context on the scale of a venue-management platform relative to a single-site operator like La Cité de la Mer.

Regional players

• Destination Cherbourg / Cotentin Agglomération events: Local government and tourism body promoting the broader Cherbourg-en-Cotentin area for business tourism events. Comparable as a regional destination-marketing counterparty for MICE leads in the same geography as La Cité de la Mer.

Emerging players

• Aquarium de Paris - Cinéaqua: Paris aquarium offering themed event spaces and private hire for corporate and private occasions. Overlaps on the aquarium-facing dinner/cocktail product (La Cité de la Mer's Espace Jules Verne) for the high-end event market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LaCitedelaMer

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about La Cite de la Mer