Sofitel Legend and UNESCO bring living heritage into the heart of luxury travel

Sofitel Legend hotels are located in or near UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Amsterdam’s Canal Ring, Cartagena’s fortified city, Panama City’s Casco Viejo and Hanoi’s Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long.

Sofitel Legend and UNESCO have announced a global partnership to make cultural heritage a more active part of the travel experience, connecting guests with the traditions, people and places that shape each destination. The collaboration focuses on raising awareness of local knowledge, supporting the preservation of living heritage and helping travelers understand the cultural identities they encounter. Its shared vision is to make travel a way to preserve and pass on heritage, as well as a chance to discover it.

The partnership takes a broad view of heritage, extending beyond historic buildings and archaeological sites to include oral traditions, performing arts and artisanal skills. It also encompasses biodiversity and UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, with support for the wildlife, plant life and landscapes that are closely connected to local communities. The organizations see culture, nature and community life as parts of a shared heritage that needs to be sustained across generations.

Sofitel Legend hotels are located in or near UNESCO World Heritage sites, including Amsterdam's Canal Ring, Cartagena's fortified city, Panama City's Casco Viejo and Hanoi's Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long. The examples show the kinds of places the brand works around, rather than a complete list of its properties. The partnership sets out to make hotels gateways to local culture and to give guests a meaningful role in its preservation.

Four ways hotels will connect guests with local heritage

The collaboration is organized around four areas of work, beginning with support for local communities, artisans and heritage professionals identified with help from UNESCO networks. Hotels will develop guest experiences that showcase local craftsmanship and traditions, creating ways for visitors to encounter the people who keep those practices alive. The initiative also includes training for hotel teams, especially concierges, so they can share a deeper understanding of local history, customs and living heritage.

Hotels will host exhibitions, artistic encounters and curated displays of local artisanal work, giving cultural expression a place within the guest experience. A voluntary donation program will let guests contribute ALL Rewards points through the ALL Accor Charity platform, directing support to UNESCO. Together, these efforts are intended to connect cultural discovery with practical support for the people and traditions behind it.

Sofitel Legend CEO Maud Bailly said luxury hospitality should serve as a bridge between cultures, and that the brand has a responsibility to help preserve and share the traditions and skills that give destinations their character. UNESCO Director of Partnerships Julien Pellaux said the collaboration would bring visitors closer to artisans and tradition bearers while supporting knowledge transfer and local employment and income. Both leaders described tourism as a way to sustain heritage and support local development.

Hanoi launches the first cultural experiences

The partnership will begin at Sofitel Legend Metropole Hanoi as the hotel marks its 125th anniversary, with a program developed alongside UNESCO's Hanoi Office. One experience explores Vietnam's coffee culture through a coffee meditation session led by experts from Trung Nguyen Coffee, the country's leading coffee brand. The hotel notes that its own egg coffee dates to 1946, connecting the experience to its history in Hanoi.

Guests will also be able to visit Bát Tràng, a pottery village around 30 minutes from the city, for a half-day immersion with residents. The visit includes a guided museum tour, a traditional lunch celebrating village cuisine and a ceramics workshop led by a master artisan. A separate guided visit to the Imperial Citadel of Thăng Long will offer access to archaeological remains and historic artifacts not generally open to the public, with a heritage specialist explaining the site's thousand-year history and ongoing conservation work.

The Hanoi program is the first step in a wider rollout across Sofitel Legend hotels worldwide, with experiences shaped around each destination's culture and preservation needs. The partnership's focus on artisans, local knowledge, cultural programming and donations gives guests several ways to engage with heritage during a stay. Its central idea is that protecting heritage also means keeping the traditions and knowledge of local communities in active use.