After the Loire Valley, we went to Nantes, a beautiful little city on the west coast of France. The most exciting attraction was the ‘Les Machines de l’île’. It would be hard to describe, but I can show you:
Close to the carousel, there is a gigantic yellow crane. It was built in 1954 by the shipyards for the lifting of prefabricated elements of ships. Its characteristic yellow colour, which it has only been wearing since the late 1970s, makes it one of the emblematic elements of Nantes’ industrial heritage.
Our next stop was the ‘Château des ducs de Bretagne’. It was the residence of the Dukes of Brittany between the 13th and 16th centuries, and then became the Breton residence of the French Monarchy. The view of the city from the wall is really nice and we enjoyed the green area around the castle.
Besides the classic tourist attractions, Nantes is a lovely city with parks, coffee shops and creperies of course.
UK Wanderers 