Les Machines de l’Île de Nantes
Nantes
Nantes' quirkiest sight is this fantasy world – a serious and seriously wacky workshop with mechanical contraptions galore displayed in plant-filled…
©Nasbe Photography/500px
Loire-Atlantique
This bite of the Loire-Atlantique département, where the Loire empties into the ocean, might as easily be termed 'lower Brittany'. Breton in every sense – cultural, architectural and historical – its centrepiece is Brittany's former capital, Nantes.
Attractions
Must-see attractions
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Nantes
Forget fusty furnishings – light-filled rooms inside the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany house multimedia-rich exhibits detailing the city's history. Look…
Nantes
A six-year renovation job by London architects Stanton Williams has done wonders for Nantes’ art museum, open again since 2017 inside the historic Palais…
Nantes
Overlooking the river, this is a magical museum with 1st-edition books, hand-edited manuscripts and cardboard theatre cut-outs. Child-friendly interactive…
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Nantes
Opened in 1860, this exquisitely landscaped park is among France's most interesting botanical gardens. Century-old magnolia and mulberry trees, Japanese…
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Mémorial de l’Abolition de l’Esclavage
Nantes
Down by the water, 2000 brick-sized glass plaques embedded in the quay-side pavement scream out the names of slave-trading ships that regularly set sail…
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Cathédrale St-Pierre et St-Paul
Nantes
Inside Nantes' Flamboyant Gothic cathedral, the tomb of François II (r 1458–88), Duke of Brittany, and of his second wife, Marguerite de Foix, is a…
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Nantes
Edgy temporary art exhibitions, events and happenings fill this old industrial slipway, shaped like a wedge of cheese at the foot of Île de Nantes'…
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