Bouffay quarter

OTNM — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 02:50:58 +0000

Middle Ages

For many years the town played the Middle Ages card and had its heart at Place Bouffay.

Description

As the years went on the centre out grew the area and the town had to rethink its position. Many monuments from this time are still visible in the modern day town.

Now mostly pedestrianised it still feels like the soul of the town. The names of the narrow lanes and streets bring back the time when the whole town was here. Depending on which way you go, you could pass in front of a timber-framed house or see a Renaissance dated chimney still hanging on. It’s a great area to meet up, go out, go shopping or enjoy the hustle and bustle of the crowds..

free downloadable audiotrail

Tomb of François II - Michel Colombe

Castle of the dukes of Brittany - History of Nantes Museum

Bouffay Square

Rue de la Juiverie

Suspens de Nantes, 2012 - Cécile Bart

Sainte Croix Passageway

Church of Sainte Croix

Bouffay Commune libre

Place du Change

Medieval Houses

Categories:

Points of interest

St Pierre and St Paul cathedral

A gem of the french Renaissance

Place:

NANTES

Description

First enter the cathedral through the crypt from the entrance in the Cours Saint-Pierre, then walk inside the transept: you will see a gem of French sculpture, the tomb of François II, Michel Colombe’s masterpiece dating back to the early 16th century. Anne de Bretagne commissioned this tomb for her parents, François II, the last Duke of Brittany, and Marguerite de Foix. Made of white marble, it is composed of a high and massive base on top of which lay the two recumbent bodies of the royal couple. Their heads rest on cushions held up by angels, and at their feet sit a lion and a hare. The sides are decorated with full-scale statues in successive niches, along with “kneeling statues”. At each of the four corners, four imposing statues are the allegorical figures of the cardinal virtues. Given the scale and the height of the work, the average visitor cannot see the upper part of the tomb. The Journey to Nantes has put into place a light structure allowing for a privileged point of view of the two recumbent figures.

Practical information

Opening times

No acces during sevices

Free

Categories:

Cultural sites - Architectural heritage - Museum

Last castle of the Loire before the river reaches the sea

[PASS] Free access to museum. Rarely seen, the castle is accessible and free from the battlements to the moats. Its museum on the History of Nantes with contemporary scenography appeals to all.

Place:

NANTES

Description

Fall under the spell of five centuries of medieval history… Last castle before the river reaches the sea,
this Breton monument with its outstanding buildings take you from the 15th to 17th centuries.
Building started under François 2nd, the last duke of Brittany, and then completed by his daughter, Anne of Brittany, twice queen of France. The castle houses a royal palace of elegant renaissance facades and ornate outward facing galleries or loggia. Large scale restauration gives way to a modern multimedia
exhibition in its museum, open to visitors on a castle tour. The courtyard, full circuit of the battlements,
the gardens around the moat, all lit-up at night make it an unforgettable experience for all the family.

> The book/gift shop
Historical and urban books (Published by “Château” amongst others), objects identified in Nantes, young section…

> Café-restaurant “les Oubliettes”
Set in the 14th century Old Keep and Conciergerie with a patio on the courtyard, a stop at the café-restaurant makes a welcome break without taking you away from the atmosphere of the castle.

Practical information

Opening times

Courtyard, battlements and moat garden: 10.00 – 19.00 open every day. July and august: 09.00 – 20.00 with Saturday night-time entry until 23.00. Within the château, museum and exhibitions: 10.00 – 18.00. Closed on mondays. July and august: 10.00 – 19.00 every day. Last tickets available 30 minutes before closing time Closed 1/01, 1/05, 1/11, 25/12

Admission prices

5 euros / 3 euros

Free

Free access to the ramparts, the moat and the yard. Free access to the museum on the 1st sunday of each month from september to june.

Pass Nantes

Free access to museum and reduced rate at the exhibition

Disabled access

The entire museum, temporary exhibitions and some of the ramparts are accessible in wheelchair. A specially marked trail for the blind and visually impaired is also planned.

Contact

Website

Phone

0 811 46 46 44

Fax : 02 40 12 43 96

Access

Tramway line 1 and busway: stop in Duchesse Anne
Handi : Reserved places at the Duchesse Anne car park, direct entry to the car park by the aid bridge
(side course St-Pierre)
Talking guidebooks in french, english, german, spanish, italian and breton, loop system for hearing aid users, special guide for the visually impaired+visioguide in French Sign Language.

Categories:

Points of interest

medieval place with terrace

Now, with the first rays of spring, students sit out on the café tables that blossom, as if this was always supposed to be.

Place:

Nantes

Description

In days gone by here stood the town's prison and law courts, however, nowadays the square houses a covered market.

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

In the heart of Bouffay's quarter

Set right in the heart of the quarter. Here you will find timber-framed houses. The name of this street suggests that it was inhabited by Jewish people at one time, though traces of a synagogue have never been found.

Place:

Nantes

Description

To see
The facade of n°11 rue de la Juiverie, which has held an ancient mystery for centuries : two coloured low-reliefs decorate the wall.
The first one depicts the sad face of a woman with her hair blowing in the wind. The second one is just as mysterious, a seemingly day-dreaming man, semi-lying on a bench. In his hand he has a tortoise, and on his left foot, wings...

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Categories:

Points of interest

Permanent work created for the event "A Journey to Nantes 2012"

Place:

NANTES

Description

The central stair cavity of the former Decré department store bears a resemblance to the inside of a camera pointed at the sky, with the constant rolling of its escalators and the overhanging circular eye high above, through which light enters. Cécile Bart takes advantage of this mechanical movement by using these automatic staircases to create a captivating cinematic experience. Seven hanging translucent “painting-screens” play with oblique angles, superimpositions, perspectives, and colours. The variation of positions gives the spectator the feeling that objects have been stopped mid-flight, or mid-fall. The surfaces, frozen in their levitation, are like stained glass thrown out into space where everything becomes a pattern. Cécile Bart conjugates surface, colour, light and space with great precision and liberates the canvas from the traditional frontality of painting. The stretched Tergal canvases are painted, while taking pains to remove any surplus paint in order to preserve the quality of translucency in this new pictorial medium.

Practical information

Opening times

This work is visible on the 3rd floor of the store, from 09.30 – 20.00, Monday to Saturday.

Free

Contact

Nom du contact

Galeries Lafayette

Phone

01 42 82 34 56

Categories:

Points of interest - Cultural sites - Architectural heritage

Between rue de la Baclerie and Ste Croix square

A 70m long covered passageway. Look for the Ste Croix belfry standing on the paved courtyard beneath its immense glass roof.

Place:

Nantes

Description

It cuts through the former priory which was contructed by Benedictine Monks in the 11th century.

It is also a cultural place with halls of conferences and entertainments, workshops of artistic initiation, a gallery of exhibition.

A public garden hides from it..

Practical information

Opening times

From Tuesday to Saturday from 12 am till 6:30 pm

Free

Disabled access

Contact

Courriel

Phone

02 51 83 23 75

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

Its belfry is a mark in the city center

Situated in the heart of the district of Bouffay, The church occupies the place of the chapel of the castle of Bouffay, first place of residence of Counts de Bretagne.

Place:

NANTES

Description

Baroque style front, flamboyant nave and neogothic choir, but the big curiosity of the building is its belfry. The foundationof the building iis made on a rectangular plan, goes back up to the XVIIth century and is similar to the baroque style.
In 1860, addition of a floor on which the carillon bases which surmounted the Tower of Bouffay, decorated with angels sounding trumpet. The heaviest bell of Nantes named "Charles Marie" and weighing more than 8 tons is settled there. The stained glasses of this church will be redone as before after the bombardments of 1943.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Points of interest

"Humour, Goodness, Happiness"

Bouffay has its own mayor, its vineyard (rue du Vieil Hôpital : grape-picking every year mid-september) and is twinned with the "Free District" of Montmartre.

Place:

Nantes

Description

In 1974 there was a project to bring the Bouffay quarter of town back to how it was in the 1930's. The "Free District" or "commune libre du Bouffay" was founded modelled on the Montmartre "Free District" initiative, under the 1901 association act. It is run by a governer-mayor who is head of the town council. Its motto reflects its spirit : "Humour, Goodness, Happiness".

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Categories:

Points of interest

Known as the geographical center of the town

A half-timbered house of the XVth century is standing on the square.

Place:

NANTES

Description

It is from the Middle Ages, the starting point of the main roads to Vannes, Rennes and Angers.

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

The tracks of the Middle Ages are district of Bouffay

In spite of the plethora of 18th and 19th century houses, there do remain wooden-fronted stone houses in the medieval quarter.

Place:

NANTES

Description

The main ones :
Timber-framed houses - Place du Change, called the Apothecary's House.
A timber-framed construction with three-storeys of decorative corbels topped by a slate-covered gable. Wooden beams and statuettes on its facade. These days it houses a restaurant.
rue de la Baclerie n°8
rue Bossuet n°5 and 6
rue des Carmes n°19 and 21
rue de la Juiverie n°7
rue St Pierre n°15

Stone buildings
rue Fenelon n°3
rue des Carmélites n°16
rue St Pierre n°1
rue St Jean
The hotel Saint-Aignan has a highly decorative facade

The +
On certain houses the number plaques contain the letter "P". These plaques (black numbers on white background) date back to pre 19th century. The letter "P" stands for "puits" which means water well, and is therefore practical in case of fire !

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Chantenay quarter

Florence — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:28:47 +0000

View over the port

A one-time working class stronghold, Chantenay still has a hold over the town.

Description

The hill-top “butte Ste Anne”, the last peak of the Amoricain Range, rises 30m up and offers a superb view of the river and the Isle of Nantes.

Chantenay - Butte Sainte Anne

Musée Jules Verne - Jules Verne Museum

Statues of Nemo and child Jules Verne

Planetarium

Fresco of Acadians

Church of Sainte Anne

Le Rayon Vert - Art galery

Musée Compagnonnique

Square Maurice-Schwob

Lunar Tree - Mrzyk & Moriceau

Categories:

Points of interest

Village annexed by Nantes in 1908

Annexed by Nantes in 1908, "Chantenay the Red" managed to keep its "free commune" spirit. Many of its streets are named after revolutionary figures or symbolic figures of democracy.

Place:

NANTES

Description

In 1902, it becames the first place in France to name a public square after Zola. It's not surprising that the area still has a village feel and an active charitable and not-for-profit scene, most notably the "Buttineries", which takes place on 18th and 19th June 2011.

Steps and statue of Sainte Anne
Inaugured in 1871, the statues blesses the Loire and all those who sail on her from the top of her rock while cradling the virgin child. At her feet lie 121 steep steps that brave visitors can take from the "quai d'Aiguillon". Other-wise you can take the ramp-road in front of the "cité de l'Hermitage" which in 1938 (and the rebuilt in 1953) as concrete sailing vessels was the first social hoursing project in Nantes.

the 10 - 10, place des Garennes
Aformer school transformed into meeting rooms for local associations who organise street parties, exhibitions, shows and concerts. The name "10" comes from the 10 original groups who set it all up.

Categories:

Visits - Activities - Museum

Richness and diversity of the work of Jules Verne

[PASS] Free access. Entirely dedicated to the work of Jules Verne.

Categories:

Points of interest

Sculptures

The sculptures dating from 2005 represent a young Jules Verne sitting on a bench, looking out to sea in the same direction as Captain Nemo, hero of his future novels.

Place:

nantes

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Categories:

Film - projection - For children - Shows - Visits - Activities

The Universe, the planets and the stars…

[PASS] Free access. Discover the heavenly skies in 3-D.

From 02/05/2013 to 31/10/2013

in Planetarium

See all dates

Categories:

Points of interest

Important story of the history of Nantes.

Not many know that Nantes came to the rescue of Acadian exiles from Canada in the 18th century. In 1785 most left for a new life in Louisiana, some were originally from Chantenay.

Place:

Nantes

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

The high point of the town

Sitting at one of the high point of the town and recently restored, it has a magnificent bell tower of 46m. Built in the mid-19th century it became the hub of culture and sports for the area.

Place:

Nantes

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Cultural sites

on the Ste Anne hill

The name comes from the novel by Jules Verne.

Place:

NANTES

Description

Housed in a former rest home, the rooms are today open to known and lesser known artists to exhibit their work to a wider audience.

Practical information

Free

Contact

Phone

02 40 71 88 27

Categories:

Visits - Activities - Museum

Masterpieces of apprentices

The Hautière Manor is quite representative of Middle Ages civil engineering with notably a large ...

From 02/01/2013 to 31/01/2014

in Musee compagnonnique

See all dates

Categories:

Parks and gardens

Point of view on the city

Created in 1931 directly above the former granite quarry is a park designed by architects in an industrial landscape over-looking the Loire, making it an unusual but worthwhile visit.

Place:

Nantes

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Categories:

Cultural sites

Permanent work created for Estuaire 2012

By day, it rises out of the river; at night, a halo of light emanates from each of the tree's branches, which surges out against the black background.

Place:

NANTES

Description

Since graduating from the École des beaux-arts de Nantes where they first met, the two artists, known for their drawings, have never left each other's side and have built an international career together. In the room they designed for in the Château du Pé for Estuaire, the black paint of the ceiling drips over the walls, and the night invades the day. The same could be said for their work in general, where dreams seem to take over reality. Looking at their drawing is like trying to follow a line of logic in a dream – it is based in reality but it is deformed, and they infuse this with a joyful or disturbing fantasy. Driven by a desire to open up the field of drawing, they also make animation films, wall-drawings, or installations in which they include a sculpture. Their piece for the cliffs of the Butte Sainte-Anne is their first autonomous sculpture. Lunar Tree takes the form of a perfectly white dead tree, 12 m (40 feet) tall. By day, when seen from Square Maurice-Schwob, it rises out of the river; at night, from the tip of Île de Nantes (at the foot of the grey crane), a halo of light emanates from each of the tree's branches, which surges out against the black background. Shape and colour make the tree look like a drawing with volume in space.

Practical information

Opening times

Visible day and night.

Free

Contact

Phone

02 40 75 75 07

Feydeau quarter

Florence — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 01:38:41 +0000

18th century

This quarter is a former Loire's island

Description

The Ile Feydeau is now joined to the town and to the Ile Gloriette where once the Loire freely flowed. (Nantes used to be considered as the “Venice of the west”). This urban isle stands out from its surroundings and its untouched 18th century character makes it a firm favourite with the locals.

Nantes slave trade port

The opulent life-style in 18th century Nantes was guaranteed by 2 main sources: Africa and America. Ships built and fitted in Nantes ran the triangular trade between France’s number one port at the time, the Guinean coast and the West Indies. The principle was cruelly simple: buy Africans and sell them on for sugarcane to be refined in Nantes. This is how colonial products like coffee, cocoa, pepper, indigo and exotic wood came to be unloaded along the quayside of Quai de La Fosse and île Feydeau. It was here in particular that the shipbuilders built up their dynasties.

Practical information

In the castle’s town history museum, rooms 11 to 17 “The black gold trade in the 18th century”, are dedicated to peak of the colonial trade, heavily built on the slave trade

free downloadable audiotrail

île Feydeau

Rue Kervegan

Temple du Goût

Cour Ovale

Perraudeau's building

L'Hôtel de la Villestreux

Mascarons

Balconies of Ile Feydeau

Quai de la Fosse

The Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery

Categories:

Architectural heritage

A magnificient example of the city's architecture

The isle evoking the extravagant way of life the maritime traders led in the 18th century, when the port of Nantes was the biggest in France and one of the most important in Europe.

Place:

NANTES

Description

Since 1926, it took nearly 20 years to fill-in the parts of the rivers Erdre and Loire that flowed round the ile Gloriette. From that moment on the isle lost its natural status and today strips of lawn bordered by granite show us where there was once the river. Someone forgot to tell the shipbuilders houses about the change and their sandy foundations are no longer hold them up straight ! Built mainly in limestone, decorated with ornamental faces and wrought-iron balconies with inner courtyards and vaulted staircases, the pomp of these houses indicates the importance of the city's former commercial trade.

The buildings have two facades around an inner courtyard which opens on to the road and the quayside and from which rise beautiful stone staircases with wrought iron banisters. The balconies indicate how important a floor was ; the ground floor was for commercial use only and is dominated by arched windows an reception rooms. Above were the refinely decorated private apartments.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

Main street of île Feydeau

The street is completely lined with remarkable buildings of the XVIIIth century.
The isle's central road, which starts to the west on the Petite Hollande square that evokes the Dutch colony of the time.

Place:

Nantes

Description

February 8th 1828, Jules Verne was born at n°4 Cours Olivier de Clisson.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

Remarkable facade on the old quay of the Loire

The facade has a central doorway and high, arched windows, with three balconies going narrower as they ascend. A pyramidal gable sits at the top of the building.

Place:

NANTES

Description

Built in 1750 by the ship merchant Guillaume Gou.

Place of temporary exhibitions.

Guided tour by Nantes Tourisme take you into the courtyard of the building.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Architectural heritage

Remarkable building of Ile Feydeau

Two identical buildings around a rectangular courtyard, known as the "Oval Courtyard" due to the shape of its window frames on the shorter sides.

Place:

Nantes

Description

A prime example of the isle's architecture at that time.

Guided tours of this quarter by Nantes Tourisme take you into some of these courtyards.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

Remarkable facade on the quayside

This buiding has a triangular pediment and tree great centred arches allowing light into the ground floor an the half-level.

Place:

Nantes

Description

The first floor is decorated with a balcony set on a console.

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

Remarkable building of Ile Feydeau

One of the isle's oldest and largest buildings, it has 108 windows and doors. It was built on two plots and has a gateway for access by vehicle.

Place:

Nantes

Description

Guides tours of this quarter by Nantes Tourisme take you into some of these courtyards.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

Masks decorating doors and windows.

Mascarons are door or window ornaments portraying sometimes wild or hideous faces.

Place:

NANTES

Description

The isle seems to have been particulary inspired by the mythological and the exotic : spirits of the sea, bearded winds, haloes of shells, a figure in a crown of stone, a woman crowned in a sheaf of wheat, a feathered head, Bacchus with grapes in his hair....

must see
- Allée Turenne
n° 3,8;9,10 and 10 bis, 11,13
- Place de la Petite Hollande
n° 2,3
- rue Kervegan
n° 9,13,28

Guided tours of this quarter by Nantes-Tourisme take you into some of these courtyards.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

remarkabke wrought iron

Don't miss the remarkable wrought iron balconies especially the curved one at the Temple du Goût (16 allée Duguay Trouin).

Place:

NANTES

Description

- Allée Turenne
n° 3,8,9,10,11
- Place de la Petite Hollande
n° 1,2,3
- Rue Kervegan
n° 9,18,30
- Allée Duguay Trouin
n° 8,9,10,15,16

Guided tour by Nantes Tourisme will allow you to discover them in detail

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

The quays of the Loire river call to travel

Absolutely central to the Nantes locals for generations for the simple reason that it was here that the ships, having travelled the world, would return to.

Place:

NANTES

Description

Many shipbuilders had there homes along here too, most notably the Mansion Durbé at n° 86, whose out buildings served as a warehouse for the India Trading Firm.

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Categories:

Grands événements - Points of interest - Cultural sites - Architectural heritage

Uunique in Europe

An urban, political and art project

Place:

Nantes

Description

An impressive 400 meter-long walkway under the quayside, from the Victor-Schoelcher passage to the Anne-de-Bretagne bridge. This memorial pays homage to all those who have fought and are still fighting against slavery in all its forms throughout the world. All along the green esplanade are 2000 commemorative plaques noting ships leaving Nantes on slave trade expeditions and the main African and American trading posts, revealing the enormity of the abhorrent slave-trafficking. Under the quayside, a 90 meter-long underground passage evokes the captives in the ships’ holds, inciting us to think about fighting for the abolition of slavery and the modern form it takes today. Throughout this thought-provoking walk reached by a decorative staircase, a series of quotations, in every language, from times past and present and from all over; they depict humanity’s long combat against slavery. The tour ends in an area denoting the history of the slave trade across the Atlantic and its 11 million victims.

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Contact

Phone

0811 46 46 44

Graslin quarter

Florence — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 02:15:56 +0000

19th century

Its theatre, shopping arcade and famous brasserie have drawn in shops attracted to the slightly dated carefree time of the 19th century.

Description

The town’s industrial success shaped the whole elegant area of the town.

Despite being heavily bombed the last world war it has managed to remain one of the finest examples of 18th – 19th century town planning. Named after its promoter, Mr Graslin, it was designed by the architects Ceineray and Crucy.

Basilique Saint Nicolas - Saint Nicholas Basilica

Place Royale

Rue Crébillon

PASSAGE POMMERAYE

Place Graslin

Angers Nantes Opéra - Théâtre Graslin

Brasserie La Cigale

Cours Cambronne

Muséum d'histoire naturelle - Natural History Museum

Estuaire, une Histoire Naturelle?

Eglise Notre Dame de Bon Port - Church Notre Dame de Bon Port

Quai de la Fosse

The Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery

Categories:

Architectural heritage

This neo-gothic church was built in 1854 and can be seen from afar thanks to its white spire reaching 85m high.

Place:

NANTES

Description

The rue de l'Arche-Sèche is a remnant of the 13th century fortification, running by the church and passing underneath the one of the main shopping streets, the rue du Calvaire.

Practical information

Free

Contact

Lien externe

Categories:

Architectural heritage

Rebuilt after the war and with a recent change in the layout, the square surrounds the central blue granite fountain.

Place:

NANTES

Description

The marble statue representing Nantes armed with a trident dominates the bronze representations of the the Loire and the four rivers running into it: Erdre, Sèvre, Cher and Loiret.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Shopping - Points of interest

Can you “Crébillonner”? Yes you can! Because it means window shopping while strolling up and down the road of the same name!

Place:

NANTES

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Shopping - Architectural heritage

Classy boutiques in a historic monument.

Beneath the elegant glass ceiling rises its monumental staircase flanked by allegorical statues. The boutiques in the shopping arcade bring this listed building to life.

Place:

NANTES

Description

There aren’t many European towns that can claim to have a more architecturally valuable shopping arcade. Built in 1843 and still unchanged in the 21st century. Built on a steep incline the three floors are flanked by numerous shops and a monumental decorative staircase. It’s a haven for shoppers needing a fix and has inspired many artistes, the film-maker Demy (Lola, Une chambre en ville)and the designer Tardi (The story of the unknown warrior).

Practical information

Opening times

During th week from 8h to 20h , sunday and holly days from 9h to 19h ; Closed on the 1st of May

Free

open during the day

Disabled access

accessible from the Crebillon street to see it all from the highest level.

Contact

Access

BUS : stop Commerce / TRAMWAY line : 1 , 2 or 3 : stop Commerce

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

Architectural heritage

Presided over by the theatre whose steps are a regular place to meet-up, it is the central spot and focal point of the area.

Place:

NANTES

Description

**Graslin
Works started this year: The goal is to emulate the work done in 2007 on the place Royale meaning more room for pedestrians. This follows the general trend of urban planning work already carried out.

**Théâtre Graslin
Pivotal to the town planning of the Graslin Quarter, it stands proud with 8 Corinthian columns supporting 8 muses beautifully lit-up at night.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Cultural sites - Architectural heritage

Place:

NANTES

Practical information

Disabled access

Contact

Phone

02 40 89 84 00

Categories:

Fish - seafood - Nantes' table - Chief's cuisine - Points of interest - Cultural sites

Decor 1900, listed restaurant

[PASS] ] Winter special offer from 1/10-31/03. One free ‘tout chocolat celaya’ break, made up of an old – and style – chocolat with 3 small cakes of the day !

Place:

Nantes

Description

Presided over by the theatre whose steps are a regular place to meet-up, it is the central spot and focal point of the area. Its symmetrical organisation means it acts as a hub for traffic and nearby attractions.
In the Graslin area, the setting and décor of this listed restaurant is quite simply stunning. And the local food menu is up to standard too!

Practical information

Terrace ; open for sunday lunch ; open after 22h00 ; 170 seats

Pass Nantes

Winter special offer from 1/10 - 31/03. One free “tout chocolat celaya” break, made up of an old– and
style chocolat with 3 small cakes of the day.

Disabled access

Contact

Site Internet

Phone

02 51 84 94 94

Access

TRAMWAY line 1 : stop Médiathèque.

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

Architectural heritage

Designed as a public walkway lined with buildings and trees, this courtyard was named after General Cambronne, a figure whose statue takes central place.

Place:

NANTES

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Visits - Activities - Museum

For animal-lovers: collections of zoology, ...

[PASS] Free access

Categories:

Exhibition - Activities

Exhibition : the mouth of the Loire

free with the Pass Nantes

From 20/08/2012 to 26/07/2013

in Museum d'histoire naturelle

See all dates

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

Architectural heritage

With its domed roof based on St-Peter’s in Rome, it has become one of the architectural symbols of the town. Built in the middle of the 19th century, the church also known as St-Louis, was the patron for all sailors who set off overseas.

Place:

NANTES

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

The quays of the Loire river call to travel

Absolutely central to the Nantes locals for generations for the simple reason that it was here that the ships, having travelled the world, would return to.

Place:

NANTES

Description

Many shipbuilders had there homes along here too, most notably the Mansion Durbé at n° 86, whose out buildings served as a warehouse for the India Trading Firm.

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Categories:

Grands événements - Points of interest - Cultural sites - Architectural heritage

Uunique in Europe

An urban, political and art project

Place:

Nantes

Description

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Contact

Phone

0811 46 46 44

Ile de Nantes

OTNM — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 20:30:45 +0000

Area of the former shipyards

Five kilometres long, one kilometre wide and surrounded by stretches of the Loire, the Isle of Nantes is the link between the north and the south of Greater Nantes.

Description

For 10 years this has been a changing landscape under a major and singularly enthusiastic urban project. Today, at the helm of its second phase, are new urban architects led by Marcel Smets and the uapS agency. Once used for cattle grazing, then an industrial heartland of soap factories, shipyards and sea-trade, it has today a new lease of life. A veritable reawakening of housing, services, shops, places to hang out, industrial heritage, sea-faring or port, a working past and contemporary architecture; a real cultural melting-pot.

free downloadable audiotrail

Station Prouvé - Nantes Tourisme Reception office

Shipyard Park

The Grand éléphant and Galerie of the Machines de l'Ile

L'Arbre à Basket (Basketball Tree) - Agence a/LTA

The Sea World Merry-go-Round

Cranes

Les Anneaux (The Rings) - Daniel Buren and Patrick Bouchain

The Banana Warehouse

HAB Gallery

The Zebra Crossing, Regulations and General Directions - Angela Bulloch

Air - Rolf Julius

Le 1

Absence - Atelier Van Lieshout

Terroirs Bio

Le Bistrot de l'Ile

Le Gribiche

The Foundry garden

B.A Ba Restaurant

Portail 0°-90°, Portail 8°-98 - François Morellet

Categories:

Tourism information desk - Activities - Cultural sites

Art work of Estuaire

An information centre about the "Estuaire" journey: discover 22 perennial works of art on 16 ...

From 13/04/2013 to 27/06/2013

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From 28/06/2013 to 01/09/2013

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Categories:

Points of interest - Parks and gardens

On the former ship-building yards

This public park covers 13 hectares on the west of "île de Nantes"

Place:

NANTES

Description

Now you will see the flagship elements which are used in shows such as the Isle’s Machines and its giant elephant, the ship-building workshops (permanent shipbuilding exhibition at the MHT) or the Station Prouvé, where you can find out more about the Estuary trail. A walk along the Loire, landscaped gardens, a 600m2 beach, a play area and a solarium fill this huge space tailor-made for enjoyment and strolling around.

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Categories:

Grands événements - Visits - Activities - Cultural sites

essential and unique in Nantes

The universe of plants and the one of the Heron Tree

From 14/05/2013 to 30/06/2013

in Les machines de l'ile

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Categories:

Leisure/sports - Exhibition - Activities

create your rules: improbable encounters and practices unreleased game!

From 03/01/2013 to 31/12/2013

in Parc des chantiers

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Categories:

Visits - Activities - Cultural sites

An authentic 360-degree theatre

Free with the Pass Nantes. An incredible urban sculpture dedicated to the sea

From 14/05/2013 to 30/06/2013

in Carrousel des mondes marins

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Categories:

Points of interest

Remnants of the industrial era.

The two Titan cranes rise up above the western part of the isle.

Place:

NANTES

Description

The yellow one was put on site in 1955 to raise boat blocks and enable assembly on the slipway. The grey one is a port crane and was needed to unload ships from the 1960’s onwards, and have since been classified “historical sight”.

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Categories:

Cultural sites

Art work of " Estuaire"

Based on the Ile de Nantes, the site chosen for "Les Anneaux" is a the link between two areas: the great maritime and naval past of the town, and today's great architectural and urban projects, putting Nantes on the European stage.

Place:

Nantes

Description

"Les Anneaux" follows this principle. Daniel Buren wanted to highlight the double perspective of the Ile de Nantes: the architectural perspective, drawn by the docks and the warehouses, and the natural perspective delineated by the Loire river. A series of 18 rings facing the river offers as many different cutouts of the landscape. At night, the enlightened rings - red, blue and green, three colours at the basis of so many others - become multiseeing tools...

Practical information

Opening times

by day and night

Free

Categories:

Points of interest

Exhibition room, restaurants and bars.

But just come anyway to admire the views from the western tip of Quai de La Fosse, Chantenay and Trentemoult.

Place:

NANTES

Description

It was in June 2007 that the banana warehouse got a new lease of life. 150m long, 50m wide and built in 1950 it was where imported bananas from Guinea and Guadeloupe were left to ripen. It has since been transformed into exhibition room, restaurants and bars with outside tables overlooking the Loire.

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Contact

Website

Categories:

Night life - Cultural sites

Night art work of "Estuaire"

For this project, he has created a 6000 meter square "meteorological indicator" to be installed on the front of the building.

Place:

Nantes

Description

François Morellet creates here an ever-changing piece, hence avoiding the vision of an unchanging artistic proposition. Through the use of three different luminous visual presentations, clouds (white curve), the sun (red circles) or the rain (blue dashes), this piece will inform the locals on the weather conditions 4 hours in advance.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Cultural sites

In this work, Angela Bulloch is inspired by “zebra crossings”, British road crossings, to create a special access to Manny.

By scrupulously respecting the English road safety regulations, she has redesigned the public space in front of the building : a series of zigzag lines have been painted along the length of the building, each side of a public crossing of black and white lines, which itself is signalled by the famous Belisha Beacons. These flashing yellow globes on top of black and white striped posts can be seen on every street corner in the United Kingdom, Ireland, as well as in Singapore and Hong Kong, former British colonies.

Place:

Nantes

Description

For Manny, Angela Bulloch submits The Zebra Crossing – Regulations and General Directions : a work which creates a connection between the building and its immediate environment, the outside and the inside as well as the public and private spaces.

From the beginning, Angela Bulloch’s work consists in altering and turning upside-down existing systems, rules and structures. She enjoys remodelling the characteristics of time and space in a given area, by questioning its context or social reality.

Artwork of Estuaire 2009

Practical information

Free

Contact

Access

In front of "Manny" building

Categories:

Cultural sites

Air is aimed at the people walking by Manny. Under the building’s metallic skin, a soft music resounds within the walls.

Several speakers are dissimulated under the passageways which diffuse a sound composition adding another material to the wire mesh which covers Manny. Between the chinking of metal and vague birdsongs, this low and discrete music is a part of the building’s immediate environment. By treating the sound as a material, Rolf Julius’ aim is to transform the art into sound, reducing the importance of the visual sense to rebalance the perceptive senses.

Place:

Nantes

Description

Rolf Julius was both sculptor and musician. He discribed his work like this: " I create a musical space with my at. With my music, I create an art space. Art and music are the same thing. There is a meeting of minds with the spectator and listener, and from deep inside, something new comes about."

Art work of Estuaire 2009

Practical information

Free

Contact

Access

In front the "Manny" building.

Categories:

Fish - seafood - Nantes' table - Chief's cuisine

Place:

Nantes

Practical information

Disabled access

Contact

Phone

02 40 08 28 00

Categories:

Cultural sites

L'Absence is in turn a bar, a sculpture, a comment on today’s architecture that will, without a doubt, fuel students’ imagination.

The sculpture "L'Absence" fits into the architectural constraints of the site. The result is a moving and living mass, with multiple protuberances, as the incarnations of an instinctive gesture, without any delimitation or any function. A living space where the artist wishes discussions will happen.

Place:

Nantes

Description

Founded in 1995 by Joep Van Lisehout, AVL is a multidisciplinary company known for its contemporary art, design and architectural projects. Functional, simple, often imposing, their works often take the shape of furnitures, prefabricated houses, sculptures or renovation of architectural monuments. Based in the port of Rotterdam, a team of 20 people is in charge of the production of the pieces (from conceptualization to the construction). Giving priority to an independent and autonomous lifestyle for each and everyone, they often look into the conflict between individuality and collective, sexuality, power and utopia.

This piece was created for the 1% Artistic of the new School of Architecture of Nantes (Lacaton & Vassal).
Artwork of Estuaire 2009

Practical information

Opening times

Opening schedules: please call +33 (0)240 48 60 40 or www.absence-nantes.fr

Free

Contact

Website

Courriel

Phone

02 40 74 85 43 ou 06 83 47 78 72  .

Access

Bar , in front of the new School of Architecture of Nantes

Categories:

Nantes' table

Place:

Nantes

Practical information

Disabled access

Contact

Phone

02 51 86 25 60

Categories:

Gourmet break - Nantes' table

Place:

Nantes

Contact

Phone

02 40 47 92 35

Categories:

Nantes' table

Place:

Nantes

Contact

Phone

02 40 47 95 59

Categories:

Parks and gardens

sous la halle métallique d’anciennes fonderies.

Sheltered by a 16m high hall where the ship’s propellers were once made, this luxurious 115m garden stretches out from the heart of an urban island.

Place:

NANTES

Description

3 hectares
With a majority of exotic types, the 100 plant varieties here carry on the tradition Nantes has for botanical gardens. 200 trees even overflow into the local public areas.

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Contact

Website

Access

TRAMWAY : arrêt Vincent Gâche ligne : 2

Categories:

Nantes' table

Place:

Nantes

Practical information

Disabled access

Contact

Phone

02 28 44 38 04

Categories:

Points of interest

created for Estuaire

Itinerary Estuaire Nantes <> Saint -Nazaire

OTNM — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 14:45:53 +0000

An artistic overland trail

Get ready for a walk like no other! "Estuaire Nantes <> Saint-Nazaire” on in 2007-2009-2012 is a collection of installations in the open air.

Description

The internationally renowned artists create something to take you off the beaten track along the estuary. Since 2007, 16 installations are parts of a whole stretching over 60kms. A house suspended 15m up, a 7m pendulum swinging on the side of an old cement works, a star garden, a 40m snake, a water nymph camped out in the Saint-Félix canal, a garden on the roof of a submarine base, a boat that sulks, an observation tower in the middle of a marsh and the now famous ‘rings’ by Buren in the port of Nantes. All of these installations stand out on their own as well as taking you round a fascinating land, discovering local natural environment.

Practical information

You can get to all of the places over land (foot, bike, nearby parking)

Contact

02 40 75 75 07

Website

Péage Sauvage - Observatorium

Nymphéa - Ange Leccia

Absence - Atelier Van Lieshout

The Zebra Crossing, Regulations and General Directions - Angela Bulloch

Air - Rolf Julius

Station Prouvé - Nantes Tourisme Reception office

Les Anneaux (The Rings) - Daniel Buren and Patrick Bouchain

Lunar Tree - Mrzyk & Moriceau

Le Pendule - Roman Signer

The Settlers - Sarah Sze

The artists rooms at the Pé castle

Did I miss something ? - Jeppe Hein

Misconceivable - Erwin Wurm

Le Jardin Etoilé - Kinya Maruyama

Serpent d'Océan - Huang Yong Ping

Suites de triangles - Felice Varini

Jardin du Tiers-Paysage - Gilles Clément

L'Observatoire - Tadashi Kawamata

Villa Cheminée - Tatzu Nishi

Serpentine rouge - Jimmie Durham

Categories:

Cultural sites

Created for Estuaire 2012

A massive wooden sculpture on which we might invent a simple and convivial life to replace urban traffic

Place:

NANTES

Description

Observatorium aspires to bracketing off our everyday life and placing it in parks and natural spaces where every individual could take the time to immerse him/herself, because "perceiving our environment is impossible without first looking at oneself". Indeed, the Rotterdam collective favours the use of their artwork by inviting the population to appropriate them in their own way.

This project is borne out of questioning the raison d'être of this natural enclave. Next to the train station, this space was the site of heavy bombing during the Second World War. In the 1970s, the project for a city motorway was drawn up and the gravel used for the foundations of the Tour Bretagne, in construction at the time, was used as ballast for the future highway... When the project was abandoned, nature took over, and the site is now home to an exceptional biodiversity which has gained it the nickname "The little Amazon".

Observatorium illustrates this story using a "fairy tale of progress": "If a project for a highway eventually allowed nature to thrive, our project will allow one to enter urban zones even further". They have created a massive wooden sculpture of a tronçon of highway on which we might invent a simple and convivial life to replace urban traffic. As usual, they have created ties with the local population because "art can first and foremost create time and space for people to pay attention to the world and to the internal resonances our experiences can acquire."

Practical information

Opening times

From the 22nd september, open everyday from 9:30 à 19:00.

Free

Disabled access

Accessible to physically handicapped, except for the 2nd floor

Contact

Website

Phone

02 40 75 75 07

Categories:

Night life - Cultural sites

Nymphéa, a new variation on the nymph theme, is a large video projection on the surface of the Saint-Félix canal. A young woman, nymph or mermaid, glides peacefully and quietly in an aquatic environment.

A young woman, nymph or mermaid, glides peacefully and quietly in an aquatic environnement. The fact that the water is both the image and the visual support of the projection creates a confusing and ethereal feeling: the creature seems imprisoned in this tunnel, her body taking the shape of this inhospitable back alley. The reflections play with the ever-moving surface of the water, a tribute to Claude Monet's visual experiments. The undine is played by Laetitia Casta, a worshipped icon of our society, becoming through this artwork a contempory mythical nymph.

Place:

Nantes

Description

First a painter, Ange Leccia then went on to use the video as his creative medium. His “arrangements”, as he likes to call them, are born out of the people he meets and of a specific alteration of still images and moving images; these can either be torn, slowed down or cut.

Artwork of Estuaire 2009

Practical information

Opening times

Artwork visible from nightfall.

Free

Free access

Contact

Website

Access

TRAMWAY : stop Duchesse Anne Château line : 1

Categories:

Cultural sites

L'Absence is in turn a bar, a sculpture, a comment on today’s architecture that will, without a doubt, fuel students’ imagination.

Place:

Nantes

Description

This piece was created for the 1% Artistic of the new School of Architecture of Nantes (Lacaton & Vassal).
Artwork of Estuaire 2009

Practical information

Opening times

Opening schedules: please call +33 (0)240 48 60 40 or www.absence-nantes.fr

Free

Contact

Website

Courriel

Phone

02 40 74 85 43 ou 06 83 47 78 72  .

Access

Bar , in front of the new School of Architecture of Nantes

Categories:

Cultural sites

In this work, Angela Bulloch is inspired by “zebra crossings”, British road crossings, to create a special access to Manny.

Place:

Nantes

Description

Artwork of Estuaire 2009

Practical information

Free

Contact

Access

In front of "Manny" building

Categories:

Cultural sites

Air is aimed at the people walking by Manny. Under the building’s metallic skin, a soft music resounds within the walls.

Place:

Nantes

Description

Art work of Estuaire 2009

Practical information

Free

Contact

Access

In front the "Manny" building.

Categories:

Night life - Cultural sites

Night art work of "Estuaire"

For this project, he has created a 6000 meter square "meteorological indicator" to be installed on the front of the building.

Place:

Nantes

Description

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Tourism information desk - Activities - Cultural sites

Art work of Estuaire

An information centre about the "Estuaire" journey: discover 22 perennial works of art on 16 ...

From 13/04/2013 to 27/06/2013

See all dates

From 28/06/2013 to 01/09/2013

See all dates

Categories:

Cultural sites

Art work of " Estuaire"

Place:

Nantes

Description

Practical information

Opening times

by day and night

Free

Categories:

Cultural sites

Permanent work created for Estuaire 2012

By day, it rises out of the river; at night, a halo of light emanates from each of the tree's branches, which surges out against the black background.

Place:

NANTES

Description

Practical information

Opening times

Visible day and night.

Free

Contact

Phone

02 40 75 75 07

Categories:

Cultural sites

Art work of Estuaire, by day and night

This surrealist clock, without a hand, indicates the slow decline of the building, the inevitable race to death. It also reproduces the perpetual and relentless flow of the river, its violent and peaceful power.

Place:

REZE

Description

Rezé has a strong architectural heritage (Le Corbusier, Dominique Perrault or Massimiliano Fuksas). One of its quarter, a former fisherman village, overlooks the river: Trentemoult. This is where Roman Signer made the decision to start off his project using an old concrete factory, built at the end of the sixties, and which is now derelict. Born in 1938 in Appenzell, Roman Signer is famous all over the world for his “explosive” performances. Fascinated by the power of nature (storms, wind, volcanoes, geysers, glaciers, torrents), he keeps on pitting its strength against objects. Often putting himself at risk, his work is endowed with a unique and unprecedented poetic force.
Roman Signer is also known for particularly enjoying derelict buildings. This concrete factory proves to be an especially inspiring building due to: its proximity to the river, the complexity of its mechanic structure, the red colour contrasting with the surrounding landscape, and its primary function (turning materials into concrete). Using a minimalist approach, Roman Signer wishes to highlight all these characteristics. A 7m long pendulum will hang from the building, steadily beating time, relentlessly. A sharp and powerful sound will punctuate its course, like an excessively gigantic metronome.

Practical information

Opening times

When the wind is too strong, "Le Pendule" stops

Free

Contact

Access

GPS:47°11.641'/ -1°35.072'

Categories:

Cultural sites

Permanent work creatd for Estuaire 2012

Sarah Sze (1969, Boston) creates works that exist in relation to a landscape or architectural context in which she places her light, aerial sculptures that play with contradictions. Often monumental, her works invite the spectator to stroll and discover new perspectives.

Place:

Bouguenais

Description

In the hamlets of Bouguenais, Port Lavigne occupies a unique status thanks to its location, deep in the wet prairies. Near the shipyard, a promenade runs alongside the Loire, lined with tall trees (often covered in mistletoe) and paths with luxurious vegetation. Despite its proximity to an airport, Nantes' ring-road, and ports, Port Lavigne is a vast natural domain. It is precisely this site's capacity to whisk us away to another time, another era, and another world that attracted Sarah Sze.
The Settlers, a work that is spread out over the art trail, invites one to explore and to feel the site. Three trees are literally "colonized" by a group of sculptures, creating a series of encounters that are improbable in our part of the world: in one, a bear cub climbs on a tree stump, helped by its mother; in the second, a jaguar lounges about; and, in the last one, a colony of monkeys swing from the third tree. Every animal is portrayed doing something natural: hunting, washing, playing, or sleeping.
The sculptures, perfectly realistic and visible from the river and the bank, are black and appear to be shadows. For the artist, "they play with the idea of a desire for a return to nature and the wild."

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Approx. 15 min. walk from the parking lot. Path is difficult for physically handicapped.

Contact

Phone

02 40 75 75 07

Categories:

Cottage

Like a living fairy tale, it is full of surprises : try it for a night or more !

Halfway between Nantes city centre and the Jade coast, Saint‐Jean‐de‐Boiseau gives you the calmness of water and greenery from the vineyards. The village opens up onto the 18th century Château du Pé parkland. The 6 doors of the bedrooms open up to 6 worlds which are as many means of interpreting the world as mirrors on our deepest being.

Place:

SAINT-JEAN-DE-BOISEAU

Book

Description

A castle built on a mound, dominating on one side a pond and on the other the vast marshes of the Loire: the setting immediately evokes the world of fairy tales. Inside, a magnificent bestuary, pieces of furniture hidden in the walls, a talking window, shapes coming out of the walls: one can also enter the bedrooms thought up by the artists in the fairy tale way.

Practical Information

Equipments:

Free parking - Internet - Wirless internet

Contact

Pays:

Courriel

Téléphone (réservation)

06 09 43 01 63

Access

Accès ou retrait :

Accès au château du Pé : pour obtenir le code d'accès de la borne d'entrée au Château du Pé, contactez le Chateau du Pé, Sylvie Hubelé au +33 6 09 43 01 63.

En voiture : Le château du Pé est situé à Saint-Jean-de-Boiseau, communauté urbaine de Nantes Métropole. Prendre la direction du centre-bourg, église/mairie. Le château du Pé est à 20 min de Nantes en voiture.

En transport en commun : ligne de bus TAN n°99 (Nantes Neustrie > Le Pellerin)

A noter aussi : Saint Jean de Boiseau est à mi-chemin entre les 2 bacs de Loire COUERON-LE PELLERIN et INDRE-LA MONTAGNE.

Heure d’arrivée/départ :
 du lundi au samedi : arrivée à partir de 17h30 (jusqu’à 19h30) – départ à 9h45
 le dimanche : arrivée à partir de 19h00 (jusqu’à 20h) – départ à 9h45

Réservation d'un séjour :
Les chambres ne sont pas accessibles de 9h45 à 17h30

Un état des lieux d’entrée et de sortie est établi entre le locataire et le loueur.

Les animaux ne sont pas admis.

Responsabilité du locataire
Le locataire est responsable de l’ensemble des désordres et dégradations causés de son fait, ou de ses négligences, aux biens mis à sa disposition et aux tiers.
Il doit être titulaire préalablement à son entrée dans les lieux d’une assurance de type villégiature/responsabilité civile couvrant les responsabilités encourues à raison du présent contrat

Categories:

Cultural sites

Art work of Estuaire

Did I miss something? sticks to this principle.
Artwork will be reinstalled as soon as possible at the Château du Pé (at Saint Jean de Boiseau) in the garden.

Place:

Saint Jean de Boiseau

Description

The visitor who sits on the bench becomes the catalyst for an incredible quatic event: a 20 metre high jet of water is propelled into the air. When the visitor gets up from the bench, the fountain disappears.

Practical information

Free

Contact

Website

Access

GPS: 47°11.553' / -1°43.163'

Categories:

Cultural sites

Art work of Estuaire

Here an abandoned yacht tilts onto its side and tips over, irresistibly attracted by the river. To the question "Do objects have a soul?" Erwin Wurm responds "yes" with an exclamation mark.

Place:

LE PELLERIN

Description

His work invites the spectator to look for art in the movements of daily life and in particular conditions of existance: physical, spiritual, psychological and political. Full of humour, his sculptures tip ordinary moments over into an absurd universe. Obsessed by human capacity to "sculpturally" transform, he applies those human characteristics (thinness, obesity) to social features, like a car or a house. For him, objects, like human, undergo a throught process.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Parks and gardens

Art work of Estuaire

Place:

PAIMBOEUF

Description

Paimbœuf is like a life-size adventure book, cast in a maritime past. Based on the riverbank of the Loire, the "star-studded garden", soon to be classified "remarkable garden of the Loire-Atlantique", is an ideal place to contemplate the landscape. Team Zoo is a variable association of architects created in Takamasa Yoshizaka's workshop at Waseda University in Tokyo. It is made up of around ten teams, which were spun off from two original groups, Mobile Workshop founded in 1969 by Kinya Maruyama, then the ZO Workshop in 1971. For Team Zoo, a construction is not an object – it is a place for discussion, an integration tool, which must, like an item of clothing, not hinder movement and, like a landscape, evolve with time. Based on the constellation of Ursa Minor and the four cardinal points, architect-artist-landscape designer Kinya Maruyama used vernacular materials to build Le Jardin étoilé. Visitors experience this space: here, you can walk, play, sit, breathe, or reflect. Created for Estuaire 2007, Le Jardin has also been able to evolve. In 2012, Kinya Maruyama further embedded the garden in its natural element: the changes made to it are primarily vegetal.

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Difficult access. In wheelchair: no access to elevations.

Contact

Phone

02 40 75 75 07

Access

GPS: - 47°17178'/ -2°01.033'

Categories:

Cultural sites

Permanent work for Estuaire 2012

Place:

Saint-Brévin-Les Pins

Description

Saint-Brévin is made up of two seaside towns: Saint-Brévin-l'Océan and, to the north, Saint-Brévin-les-Pins which stretches out between two hills topped by old forts. At the tip of the Nez de Chien fort, at "the lateral limit of the ocean" (the border where the river and ocean meet), Huang Yong Ping's (1954, China) skeleton of an enormous sea-serpent surges out of the sea, as if it had just been found in an archaeological dig. Its movement makes it look alive: with its disproportionate body, one imagines that it crossed the seven seas before washing up on this beach. The shape of its spine echoes the curve of the Saint-Nazaire bridge, and the way it sits is reminiscent of the architecture of les carrelets, the distinctive off-shore fisheries on the Atlantic coast. By having a major figure from Chinese mythology appear on European shores, Huang Yong Ping examines, the notions of identity and cultural hybridity, as is often the case in his work. The environmental question is also very present in his art where he regularly exposes the paradox of the man sawing the branch he is sitting on, torn between creative abilities and destructive impulses. This is one of the many possible interpretations of this work: placed on the beach, the skeleton appears with the tide and, little by little, will be home to marine fauna and flora.

Practical information

Opening times

Visile day and night. Beach and swimming are not allowed.

Free

Disabled access

Contact

Nom du contact

Estuaire Nantes <>Saint-Nazaire

Phone

02 40 75 75 07

Categories:

Cultural sites

Art work of Estuaire

From a viewpoint located on the roof of the panoramic terrace at the submarine base, Felice Varini draws a "horizontal line" which hugs the lanscape around the Saint Nazaire port.

Place:

SAINT NAZAIRE

Description

The divisions of the shapes above and below this line split the landscape into different sequences. The artist reveals a shape painted on a single level, a shape that detaches from and places itself on top on the architecture to which til seems to belong. Leaving the viewpoint on the terrace now means experiencing the third dimension and seeing the explosion of the figure.

Practical information

Free

Contact

Website

Categories:

Cultural sites

Art work of Estuaire

The "Jardin du Tiers-Paysage" is a triptych which takes advantage of the three architectural devices of the site:"The Wood of Aspen" placed in "les chambres d'éclatement des bombes" in 2009, the "Garden of Grasses and Stonecrap" in "The Covered Rows and The Label Garden" will be in the Pit in 2012.

Place:

Saint Nazaire

Description

Appearing suddenly from the concrete of the base, 107 aspens with bright leaves sway in the wind. Having the base to scintillate and quiver is the first intention - poetic intention- of Gilles Clément, who sees in the base a place of resistance, where the ecological diversity of the estuary can reside in.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Cultural sites

Art work of Estuaire

At Lavau, the commune is favourable to nature contemplating. Tadashi Kawamata designs a new identity and uses the wooden path leading to an observatory, to offer to everyone a new viewpoint over the river.

Place:

LAVAU SUR LOIRE

Description

The building site of the Observatory started in 2007 with the end of the path:little by little, the visitor rises in the middle of the reed beds and reaches a vast platform where a tower is built. In 2009, the artist rounded up the construction by adding a wooden path in the surrounding meadows and reed beds that were drawing the line between the tower and the village. Tadashi Kawamata created her a little path out of wood, 40cm above the ground, which is embedded in the marsh and seems to float in the natural environnement.

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Accessible to physically handicapped, except tower.

Contact

Website

Walking length round trip: 1h30

Access

GPS: 47°18.309' / - 1°57.874'

Categories:

Cultural sites - Guest houses

Art work of Estuaire

At its top, visitors will be able to rest and enjoy the viewpoint in a little garden.

Place:

Cordemais

Book

Description

For Estuaire 2009, Tatzu Nishi produced his first perennial creation at Bouée (accessible via Cordemais). Referring to the imposing "iron castle", he created an identical copy of one of the tower of the power station: a 15m high tower on the riverbank.

Visually stunning, Tatzu Nishi's piece engages with our ability to imagine reality. It starts like a Jules Verne's novel: where does this house come from? Are the power station's chimneys copies of this relic?

Small garden accessible from 2.00 p.m to 6.00 p.m each sundays.

Practical Information

No disabled access

Equipments:

Green

Contact

Pays:

Courriel

Téléphone (réservation)

0892 464 044

Access

GPS: 47°16.894' / - 1°53.785'

Categories:

Cultural sites

Art work of Estuaire

The strange industrial animal evokes a 40m snake or dragon.

Place:

INDRE

Description

Coming out of the river, he creeps and stands up to face the Loire river, "mouth wide open". PVC tubing and the representation of a snake are recurrent materials and themes in Jimmie Durham's work. The snake symbolizes the river and the tube stands for a canal for imagination; this piece is an attempt to fragment - by linking them - space and hierarchy: water/sky, above/below, visible/invisible, past/future...

Practical information

Free

Contact

Website

Artwork to be discovered from the landing stage of the ferryboat in Basse-Indre.

Access

GPS: 47°11.914'/ -1°40.448'

Le Voyage à Nantes : the trail in the city

Florence — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 20:30:47 +0000

a trail for the summer 2012

New artworks in the middle of the public space, visual interventions in the streets of Nantes, festive places, singular cruises in a revisited heritage...

Description

Le Voyage à Nantes is a 8,5 km urban tour, from the SNCF train station to the western point of the Isle of Nantes. On your way, let yourself be guided from one artwork signed by a today’s great artist to a remarkable element of our heritage, from « inevitable » destinations to unknown treasures, from a historic alleyway to a contemporary piece of achitecture, from a stunning point of view of the city to a sunset on the estuary…
On the whole, there are about thirty stops, from East to West, joining to create a sensitive and poetic tour : Le Voyage à Nantes is all the multiplicity and the uniqueness of a scattered monument.

free downloadable audiotrail

Nymphéa - Ange Leccia

Tomb of François II - Michel Colombe

Castle of the dukes of Brittany - History of Nantes Museum

Suspens de Nantes, 2012 - Cécile Bart

Le Nid (The Nest) - Jean Jullien

Place Graslin

Estuaire, une Histoire Naturelle?

The Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery

The Grand éléphant and Galerie of the Machines de l'Ile

The Sea World Merry-go-Round

L'Arbre à Basket (Basketball Tree) - Agence a/LTA

Station Prouvé - Nantes Tourisme Reception office

Les Anneaux (The Rings) - Daniel Buren and Patrick Bouchain

The Zebra Crossing, Regulations and General Directions - Angela Bulloch

Air - Rolf Julius

Absence - Atelier Van Lieshout

Categories:

Night life - Cultural sites

Nymphéa, a new variation on the nymph theme, is a large video projection on the surface of the Saint-Félix canal. A young woman, nymph or mermaid, glides peacefully and quietly in an aquatic environment.

Place:

Nantes

Description

Artwork of Estuaire 2009

Practical information

Opening times

Artwork visible from nightfall.

Free

Free access

Contact

Website

Access

TRAMWAY : stop Duchesse Anne Château line : 1

Categories:

Points of interest

St Pierre and St Paul cathedral

A gem of the french Renaissance

Place:

NANTES

Description

Practical information

Opening times

No acces during sevices

Free

Categories:

Cultural sites - Architectural heritage - Museum

Last castle of the Loire before the river reaches the sea

[PASS] Free access to museum. Rarely seen, the castle is accessible and free from the battlements to the moats. Its museum on the History of Nantes with contemporary scenography appeals to all.

Place:

NANTES

Description

> The book/gift shop
Historical and urban books (Published by “Château” amongst others), objects identified in Nantes, young section…

Practical information

Opening times

Admission prices

5 euros / 3 euros

Free

Free access to the ramparts, the moat and the yard. Free access to the museum on the 1st sunday of each month from september to june.

Pass Nantes

Free access to museum and reduced rate at the exhibition

Disabled access

The entire museum, temporary exhibitions and some of the ramparts are accessible in wheelchair. A specially marked trail for the blind and visually impaired is also planned.

Contact

Website

Phone

0 811 46 46 44

Fax : 02 40 12 43 96

Access

Categories:

Points of interest

Permanent work created for the event "A Journey to Nantes 2012"

Place:

NANTES

Description

Practical information

Opening times

This work is visible on the 3rd floor of the store, from 09.30 – 20.00, Monday to Saturday.

Free

Contact

Nom du contact

Galeries Lafayette

Phone

01 42 82 34 56

Categories:

Night life - Points of interest

Bar with a panoramic view on the city

Permanent work created for the event "a Journey to Nantes 2012". [PASS] Free access and complimentary drink

Place:

NANTES

Description

Weighing 80 000 tonnes, towering at a height of 144 m (472 feet), and with a water reservoir of 90 000 litres, the Tour Bretagne was inaugurated in 1976. The 32nd floor offers a 360° panorama over the metropolis. Jean Jullien, a fêted artist in the international world of graphic design, was entrusted with organizing this space. Born in Nantes, he now works and lives in London. Directly inspired by popular culture from his childhood (from cartoons to video games) and still today, through exhibitions, books, marketing campaigns, as part of the many commissions he has received from all over the world, he offers a sensitive and lunar universe, emphasized by the “handmade” aspect of his work. Le Nid is the home of an enormous white bird, half-stork, half-heron, who sleepily watches over the city. Its reassuring presence invites spectators to come contemplate the view. Its large body also doubles as a bar. As if leaping out of a Jean Jullien drawing, gigantic eggshells transform into seats and tables. On the walls, the artist’s hand has immortalized the city’s emblematic spots on bright posters.

Practical information

Opening times

From Thursday to Sunday 10.00 – 2.00 (last access 1.45)

Admission prices

Free access for the panoramic view, drinks at the bar are to be paid for.

Free

Pass Nantes

Disabled access

Contact

Courriel

Nom du contact

Tour de Bretagne

Phone

02 40 35 36 49

Categories:

Points of interest - Architectural heritage

Architectural heritage

Presided over by the theatre whose steps are a regular place to meet-up, it is the central spot and focal point of the area.

Place:

NANTES

Description

**Théâtre Graslin
Pivotal to the town planning of the Graslin Quarter, it stands proud with 8 Corinthian columns supporting 8 muses beautifully lit-up at night.

Practical information

Free

Categories:

Exhibition - Activities

Exhibition : the mouth of the Loire

free with the Pass Nantes

From 20/08/2012 to 26/07/2013

in Museum d'histoire naturelle

See all dates

Categories:

Grands événements - Points of interest - Cultural sites - Architectural heritage

Uunique in Europe

An urban, political and art project

Place:

Nantes

Description

Practical information

Free

Disabled access

Contact

Phone

0811 46 46 44

Categories:

Grands événements - Visits - Activities - Cultural sites

essential and unique in Nantes

The universe of plants and the one of the Heron Tree

From 14/05/2013 to 30/06/2013

in Les machines de l'ile

See all dates

Categories:

Visits - Activities - Cultural sites

An authentic 360-degree theatre

Free with the Pass Nantes. An incredible urban sculpture dedicated to the sea

From 14/05/2013 to 30/06/2013

in Carrousel des mondes marins

See all dates

Categories:

Leisure/sports - Exhibition - Activities

create your rules: improbable encounters and practices unreleased game!

From 03/01/2013 to 31/12/2013

in Parc des chantiers

See all dates

Categories:

Tourism information desk - Activities - Cultural sites

Art work of Estuaire

An information centre about the "Estuaire" journey: discover 22 perennial works of art on 16 ...

From 13/04/2013 to 27/06/2013

See all dates

From 28/06/2013 to 01/09/2013

See all dates

Categories:

Cultural sites

Art work of " Estuaire"

Place:

Nantes

Description

Practical information

Opening times

by day and night

Free

Categories:

Cultural sites

In this work, Angela Bulloch is inspired by “zebra crossings”, British road crossings, to create a special access to Manny.

Place:

Nantes

Description

Artwork of Estuaire 2009

Practical information

Free

Contact

Access

In front of "Manny" building

Categories:

Cultural sites

Air is aimed at the people walking by Manny. Under the building’s metallic skin, a soft music resounds within the walls.

Place:

Nantes

Description

Art work of Estuaire 2009

Practical information

Free

Contact

Access

In front the "Manny" building.

Categories:

Cultural sites

L'Absence is in turn a bar, a sculpture, a comment on today’s architecture that will, without a doubt, fuel students’ imagination.

Place:

Nantes

Description

This piece was created for the 1% Artistic of the new School of Architecture of Nantes (Lacaton & Vassal).
Artwork of Estuaire 2009

Practical information

Opening times

Opening schedules: please call +33 (0)240 48 60 40 or www.absence-nantes.fr

Free

Contact

Website

Courriel

Phone

02 40 74 85 43 ou 06 83 47 78 72  .

Access

Bar , in front of the new School of Architecture of Nantes

Categories:

Night life - Cultural sites

Night art work of "Estuaire"

For this project, he has created a 6000 meter square "meteorological indicator" to be installed on the front of the building.

Place:

Nantes

Description

Practical information

Free