Rosapark and Thalys Present "Scents of the City"

May. 16, 2017

For the last 6 years, French train company Thalys, with its "Welcome to our world" signature, has invited travelers to discover cities; remarkable destinations with a different vision, far from clichés and off the beaten path. In 2015, Thalys and agency Rosapark transported us to these destinations with the incredible acoustic experience "Sounds of the City". Today, Scents of the City is giving us the opportunity to explore these cities again, this time through a series of singular, idyllic fragrances. For in today’s world, where everything moves so quickly, where a day trip is over all too soon, Thalys offers something better to travelers, a bit of breathing room. 

To bring to life this olfactory journey through Paris, Amsterdam, Cologne and Brussels Rosapark created a unique pop-up travel agency. The unbelievable ephemeral installation was open to the public this past weekend in a Brussels gallery, from May 12-14, offering a true sensory journey with the 16 unique specially-blended scents for each city.

A sensory voyage, co-created by Thalys clients, partners and collaborators who were asked to share suggestions for each city’s most iconic aromas. A singular, innovative look at each city using scents specially created in collaboration with Drom Fragrances and perfume consultant, Elisabeth Carre.

A sensory experience, whimsical… and educational.

Gathered together under a spectacular arch, each scent was enclosed in a tube, 752 in all, arranged by color, creating a graphic masterpiece, a rainbow of tones illustrating the journey from one city to the next. Thalys, ever faithful to its values of conviviality and hospitality, offered visitors an interactive experience allowing guests to stroll among the tubes, discovering the different scents. Each tube had its own number, which referred to a specific site. The corresponding addresses were revealed on large maps of each city.

Whether a recognizable fragrance like "A real French breakfast", the aroma of a buttered tartine in a Parisian café, "Latexxx", the latex odor from the Sex Museum in Amsterdam, or the more poetic "Moments after Mass", the blended scent of the Cologne cathedral, or that of the pipe in "Afternoon at the Magritte Musuem" … each scent plunged visitors into each city’s universe, allowing them to discover, and rediscover, the cities in a whole new way.

This installation is only a part of a much larger communication campaign, which began with a soft launch of the installation in Paris earlier this year, and now continues online and on the big screen, thanks to an idyllic film, which transports us to the heart of each city, its neighborhoods and its history through the journey of a curious adventurer who sets out to learn more about what’s behind these surprising scents.

This stroll through the Thalys cities is set against the lively, moving melody of the Romanian song "Those Dark Eyes".

The movie will run in theaters in French, Belgian, Dutch and German cities, as well as online, and on the brand’s new Facebook page starting May 16th.