FlyView, the immersive VR attraction in the heart of Paris

Discover the capital as you've never seen it before... That's the idea behind FlyView, the new virtual reality cultural attraction set up near the Opéra Garnier. Bookable on the dedicated website, visitors can fly over Paris and its monuments in a giant Jetpack.

But for those afraid of heights, don't worry... You'll be able to fly over the capital with both feet firmly planted on the ground, as you board a simulator and don an HTC virtual reality headset, giving you the real sensation of flying over the rooftops of Paris in real view (no 3D). To take part in this 13-minute attraction, however, there are a few conditions: you must be at least 8 years old and at least 1m20 tall.

• To be read
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The editors had the privilege of previewing this brand-new experience, and overall it's pretty interesting. The scenography is highly amusing and successful (you arrive in an "airport", go down to the boarding area, enter a room to find out what instructions to follow, and then enter the Jetpack room where you take your seat), and the experience itself is satisfying on several points: firstly, the fact that the images proposed in VR are real shots and not computer-generated images, which makes the journey more realistic. Secondly, that the "take-off" actually takes place above the building where FlyView is located, which the teams succeeded in doing with the drones, and thirdly, that the synchronization between the motion simulator and the images is fairly well calibrated, for total immersion.

All in all, it took a good 3 years to design this unprecedented experience, involving some 100 people on the project. The VR realization required a drone and 7 on-board cameras for complete visitor immersion. A total of 50 custom-built simulators will be installed over a surface area of 800 m2 (two floors) to realize the dream of thousands of people: to have the sensation of flying over "the most beautiful city in the world". So, shall we get on board?

Please note that it's been over 4 years since our last visit, so the place and experience may have changed.