Nantes

The waters of the River Loire, the longest river in France and the ancient “royal highway”, surround Nantes before flowing into a vast delta in the Atlantic Ocean. Nowadays, Nantes is the ideal starting point for discovering the wonders of the castles of the Loire Valley. A welcoming, dynamic and creative city, the beating heart of Brittany and capital of the Department of the Loire-Atlantique, Nantes surprises visitors with its rich historic past, but also with its forward-thinking artistic effervescence, especially in the field of design.

 

 

Today it houses the Nantes History Museum, which accurately tells the story of the economic and commercial development of the city (shipyards, the biscuit industry and sugar-processing). The sugar came from the Antilles, where slaves, taken from Africa by merchants from Nantes with their ships, were unloaded: a disturbing page of history that the city wished to exorcise by creating a memorial dedicated to the abolition of slavery. The Feydeau District, a former island on the Loire in heart of Nantes, with its elegant buildings in tuff and granite, all with functional warehouses on the ground floor, demonstrates the productiveness the ship-owners of Nantes during the period of trade with the American isles.

 

A rare opulence is manifested in the nineteenth-century Passage Pommeraye, which was named after its creator. This gallery in Neoclassical style is uniquely distributed over three floors and with its elegant boutiques was once an elegant meeting place of the Nantes bourgeoisie.

 

 

A 14-metre tall Great Elephant connects the Carousel to the area of Les Machines de l’Île, where self propelled machines that recreate Verne’s fantastic creatures are built - a joy for young and old alike. The beautiful scenery makes Nantes a romantic place, in part due to its large green spaces and more than 100 parks and gardens (declared the greenest city in France for 2013).

 

The nearby Atlantic Ocean brings in a salt wind which, together with the surrounding forests, makes the air among the cleanest and healthiest on the continent. The atmosphere of its cafes; the Belle Époque brassieres; the taste of its traditional biscuits; the bouquet of Muscadet, its most renowned wine; the cultural vivacity of the students that flock to its famous university; and the presence of international art works along the Estuary trail, which can also be covered “à velo”, make Nantes one of the European capitals of ‘good living’.

 

A refined way of living is also found in the traditional recipes that foster conviviality. The cuisine of Nantes, to be savored in typical taverns or restaurants, offers quality dishes. Absolutely worth tasting are the endless variations of crepes (sweet or savory, flavored with rum, vanilla, orange), the Beurre blanc sauce to pair with fish, and the soft Nantais cake, made with sugar, almonds, butter, and rum from the West Indies, with an exotic flavor.

 

Text by Anna Glik

Updated by Alisè Vitri

Avion Tourism Magazine
Photos: Sisterscom.com Shutterstock
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Video: www.france.fr

 

 

www.nantes-tourisme.com

www.france.fr

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