A twelve-metre elephant sprays water on passers-by, on the very spot where the hulls of great ships were once riveted. Nantes sets the tone right from the quay: former capital of the Dukes of Brittany, a great Atlantic port turned laboratory of the imagination, the Loire metropolis blends the centuries with delightful self-assurance. River boats sailing down the river call in the heart of the city, an ideal starting point for a packed day.

The Castle of the Dukes of Brittany

Right in the centre, Anne of Brittany's fortress sets its granite curtain walls against the white tufa façades of its inner courtyard, Renaissance elegance set within a military shell. The ramparts are free to walk, and the urban history museum inside hides nothing of the past, including the role of the triangular trade that enriched local shipowners in the 18th century. The Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery, built beneath the Quai de la Fosse, extends this remembrance along the river.

Les Machines de l'île

On the Île de Nantes, the former shipyard halls house a mechanical bestiary inspired by Jules Verne, a native son born on the Île Feydeau in 1828 and honoured with a museum on the Butte Sainte-Anne, and by the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci. The Great Elephant carries its passengers along in a puff of steam, the Carousel of the Marine Worlds spins its deep-sea creatures over three levels, and the gallery displays the test creatures and prototypes born in the workshops. Young and old lose all track of time here; allow half a day.

From the Passage Pommeraye to the Graslin district

On the right bank, the 19th-century city displays its colonnaded theatre, its heritage-listed brasseries and above all the Passage Pommeraye, an 1843 shopping arcade rising over three levels of statues and wooden staircases. Two streets away, the Île Feydeau, the former shipowners' enclave, lines up its buildings with bulging balconies and carved mascarons, leaning slightly on their landfill foundations. The medieval Bouffay district, around the cathedral and its tufa nave taller than that of Notre-Dame de Paris, completes the loop on foot.

Pointers for the day

The Nantes table

Beurre blanc was born on these banks, and Loire pike-perch still pairs with it beautifully. Crêperies recall nearby Brittany, Muscadet from the neighbouring hillsides accompanies oysters and eels, and the gâteau nantais, soaked in rum from the old trade routes, is sold in every good pastry shop. Near the former shipyards, the LU tower recalls the biscuit factory that had all of France munching; the factory now houses a cultural centre. At the Talensac market, the stalls give the measure of a terroir between river and ocean.

Casting off

A green line painted on the ground links the stops of Le Voyage à Nantes, an art trail that scatters works and surprises all the way up to the rooftops; following it at random remains the best way to feel the spirit of the place. At departure time, the estuary opens toward Saint-Nazaire and its shipyards, where other giants of the sea are born. Nantes has watched ships go by for two thousand years; it has simply learned, better than others, to turn its memories into playgrounds, and you leave with the feeling of having only just opened the treasure chest.