It overlooks the banks of the Loire Nantes, an important maritime center in northern France, today a constantly evolving city which over the years has transformed into a vibrant cultural centre. The factories and construction sites of the past host exhibitions and major events and the entire urban fabric offers tourists works of art that recount historical moments of the city.
Walking through the main streets you can’t help but notice a green line drawn on the asphalt which indicates a 12 km long route to follow and which leads to the most beautiful streets and squares of Nantes, among contemporary architectural works and unexpected panoramas.
Tourists and residents are involved in this cultural itinerary that provides shows, installations of works of art, meetings and exhibitions, the result of the work of artists, architects and designers. The starting point can only be the Place Unique (Lieu Unique), the city’s cultural center on the banks of the Saint-Félix canal. So let’s go and discover Nantes and its iconic beauties on an eight-stop daily tour.
1 – Lieu Unique
One of the trademarks of Nantes is the Petit Beurre, a biscuit with simple ingredients that has become so famous that it deserves a museum in the stables of Château Goulaine. The history of this biscuit was born about 130 years ago in LU factory which since 2000 has transformed into an important cultural center. The acronym today indicates Lieu Unique (Unique Place) but originally referred to the initials of the couple who owned the factory: Jean-Romain Lefèvre and Pauline-Isabelle Utile. A truly unusual place that captures attention with the tower, colored pink, blue and gold, which overlooks the Saint-Félix canal and from which you can admire a 360-degree panorama. The Lieu Unique welcomes exponents of various art forms – from music to science, from theater to philosophy, to architecture – and is a place of exhibitions, exhibitions, shows, concerts, philosophical debates, festivals but also home to the largest French hammam: a spa that combines oriental charm with industrial style.
2 – Jardin des Plantes
The Plant Garden offers a moment of quiet in a botanical garden in which to take a peaceful walk. The area, way back in 1688, was created by Louis XIV to cultivate medicinal plants while the transformation into the current park began in 1800. Today the garden is home to around 11,000 different species of plants from all over the world arranged over an area of seven hectares. Of particular beauty is the collection of camellias for which the park has obtained an important recognition in 2016 from the International Camellia Society. In addition to the renowned camellias, with attention to the smallest details, there is also the Hectot Magnolia, a grandiflora over 200 years old and other collections from America, Africa and Asia. Some of these are protected in greenhouses: one dedicated to tropical plants and one to plants from the Canary Islands.
3 – Musée des Beaux-Artes
The Museum of Fine Arts was commissioned by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1801 and since then it has never stopped expanding, with the last renovation finishing in 2017. It started with 40 state paintings from the reserves of the Central Museum and today among prints, paintings and sculptures, the museum occupies three architectural spaces: the Palace, the Oratory chapel and the Cube. The works span a historical period ranging from the 13th to the 21st century, from the great masters of the Italian Renaissance such as Perugino and Tintoretto to the major exponents of the French, Flemish and Dutch schools up to the contemporary art contained in the last exhibition space of the museum, the Cube. This building enjoys natural lighting that filters through the glass and the white sandstone predominates on the walls. The interior is spread over four levels between abstract and monochromatic paintings or those that favor geometric and multiform lines.
4 – Cathédrale St-Pierre et St-Paul
Nantes Cathedral, dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, has been classified as a historic monument since 1862. It stands on the ruins of two other buildings that preceded it: the first stone was laid in 1434 and the works lasted 457 years, with various modifications and renovations due to the damage caused by the wars. The portal, with five entrance doors, was one of the first parts completed and King Henry IV crossed it in 1598 for the signing of the Edict of Nantes. The white of the internal calcareous tuff highlights the splendid windows, the large naves and above all the large organ from 1620. Furthermore, the funerary monument of Duke Francis II of Brittany and his wife Margaret of Foix it is a true sculptural masterpiece, in which the medieval style merges with the Renaissance one. The tomb is surrounded by statues of the twelve apostles and four female figures representing the cardinal virtues: prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance.
5 – Château des Duc de Bretagne
The majestic Castle of the Dukes of Brittany stands in the historic center, nestled on the waters that surround it and built under Gothic and Renaissance influences. Over the years its role has changed several times: from a residence it was transformed into a military stronghold by the last Duke of Brittany, before becoming a prison in the 16th century and a bunker used by German troops during the Second World War. The castle, restored in 2006, currently houses the Museum of Urban History of Nantes: 32 rooms retrace the history of the city from its foundation to today with seven stages that tell the origins of the castle, the ducal period, the slave trade, the revolutions, the wars and the transformation into today’s metropolis. In the end, also the walk on the perimeter walls of the castleaccessible for free, offer enchanting views of the city and help to understand even better the role played by this important French river port.
6 – Place Royale and Place Graslin
The two splendid squares, Place Royale and Place Graslin, are the result of an urban planning study that dates back to the 18th century but also an example of the style and architectural rigor of Nantes. Before the urbanization plan, the city suffered from traffic problems due to too narrow streets and the lack of squares. It was thus decided to design these spaces in order to make them pedestrianized to further enhance their beauty: the shape of these squares is given by the union of a rectangle with a semicircle and the architecture fully respects the principles of the classical period, with the symmetry of the facades and opening prospects. Place Royale is characterized by a monumental fountain from 1865 whose allegorical statues symbolize the city and its maritime vocation; While Place Graslin is easily recognizable by the theater of the same name built in 1783 in Corinthian style and the splendid mosaics of Café La Cigale, on the corner with Cours Cambronne.
7 – Passage Pommeraye
Le Passage Pommeraye is an important example of territorial revaluation studied by the lawyer Louis Pommeraye in 1843, who wanted to transform a degraded stretch of road into a splendid shopping arcade. It was not an easy task to combine two roads located on different levels but the result was extraordinary: the majestic internal staircase, adorned with statues and columns, connects rue Santeuil and rue de la Fosse. The statues are allegories and symbolize the wealth of Nantes in the 19th century in the various sectors: Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, Fine Arts, Entertainment, Science and Maritime Commerce. The architecture is grandiose, mostly of neoclassical inspiration, favoring the harmony of proportions and broad, pure and sober lines. The rich decorations are more imaginative and borrow from the eclecticism that was beginning to inspire architects in the mid-19th century. 134 meters long, luxury shops but also artisan workshops are open inside the gallery who sell unusual products such as personalized sardine tins.
8 – Les Machines de l’Ile de Nantes
The Machines of the Island of Nantes are one of those places where you feel like a child again. Here the boundary line between adults and children, in fact, disappears to give space to the imagination. The project was born in 2007 by François Delaroziere and Pierre Orefice with the intent to make the fantasy world of Jules Verne coexist with the genius of Leonardo Da Vinci’s mechanical universe. In an iconic place for the industrial history of Nantes – the old shipyards – stands an iron cathedral from which you can exit aboard the Grand Eléphant, an enormous elephant that trumpets and sprays passers-by with water from its trunk. Or choose le Carrousel des Mondes Marins (Carousel of the Sea Worlds), a carousel with different sea creatures placed on three levels to simulate the depth of the sea, from the surface to the depths.
Useful information
Itinerary: Lieu Unique, Jardin des Plantes, Musée des Beaux-Artes, Cathédrale St-Pierre et St-Paul, Château des Duc de Bretagne, Place Royale, Passage Pommeraye, Place Graslin, Les Machines de l’Ile de Nantes
What to eat: Rillettes, Moules marino res, Gigot d’agneau la Bretonne, Tarte Tatin, Crepes Suzettes
Where to eat: Maison Bagarre, 6 Rue Jean Jacques Rousseau
Where to sleep: Maisons du Monde Hotel, 2 bis Rue Santeuil
Text by Angelo Laudiero|Reproduction reserved © Latitudeslife.com
