The charming city of Nantes offers an unconventional get-away across the Channel, says Jenny Southan
Sitting with a cold beer in the lunchtime sun, I’m mesmerised by a life-size mechanical elephant loping along the Loire River with a dozen people on its back, every now and then spraying water from its swinging trunk and flapping its giant ears.
Since Air France subsidiary Cityjet launched flights to Nantes from London City last spring, the French city has become a convenient alternative to Paris for those who want a weekend break across the Channel. And rest assured it offers more than quaint streets, picturesque churches and historical monuments.
I’m relaxing on Ile de Nantes, a 3.5 sq km mass around which the river flows, cutting it off from the city centre. In the past, the site was used for shipbuilding, but in recent years it has been reinvented as a quirky locale with unusual eateries, the riverside Banana Hangar (once a storage space for the fruit, now home to bars, a nightclub and a gallery) and the elephant’s home, Les Machines de l’île.
This partially outdoor art complex was opened three years ago by François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice, two former members of the Royal de Luxe street theatre company. Wandering around the warehouses, it is hard not to associate the robotic animals, such as a giant reverse-propelling squid, with the strange creatures described by French science fiction writer Jules Verne in his book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. So it’s no surprise that he is part of the city’s heritage, having been born here in 1828.
The city is certainly continuing Verne’s legacy of imaginative thinking. Since 2007 it has also hosted the Estuaire project, a biennial three-month exposition of art installations along the Loire River between Nantes and Saint-Nazaire – the last one takes place next year.
As well as being the capital of the Pays de la Loire region, Nantes is the exact centre of the world’s land hemisphere. It has been deemed one of the most liveable cities in Europe, and its close proximity to the airport (10km south-west) is a plus for travellers. There are also a number of vineyards nearby if you want to indulge in some wine tasting or stock up on a few bottles to take home. One of these, Domaine de Bel-Air, is only two minutes from the airport. I pay a visit before flying home and am welcomed by owner Catherine Bouin-Jacquet, whose family has been making wine here for 300 years.
After a stroll among the vines, Catherine shows me where they make the wine. In one room is a series of silver cylinders filled with Gamay rosé, and in another, open-topped underground vats are filled with thousands of litres of gently bubbling grape juice. I am told the space has to be well ventilated because of the amount of carbon dioxide released by the fermentation process – a hazard that is known to make people pass out and fall into a vat if they are not careful. Still, I figure there must be worse ways to go.
In the tasting room, Catherine pours me my first glass of Muscadet, which has hints of lemon, cinnamon, grapefruit and vanilla. If you want to arrange a tasting with food pairings, call in advance – the vineyard is open Monday to Saturday (visit domaine-de-bel-air.fr for times), with Sundays reserved for group bookings. I also try some delicious cloudy grape juice – it has a tang, meaning it is on the verge of fermenting and becoming wine.
Several samples later, I head for the airport with a couple of cartons under one arm and memories of mechanical elephants in my head.
Useful information
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Cityjet (cityjet.com) serves London City-Nantes twice a day.
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The Nantes city pass provides free entry to 25 tourist attractions, free public transport, coach transfers from the airport to the city, and discounts on shopping and entertainment. Passes are available for 24 hours (€18), 48 hours (€28) and 72 hours (€36). Book online for a 10 per cent discount. Visit nantes-tourisme.com
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See also iledenantes.com, estuaire.info
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For a four-hour guide to Nantes, visit businesstraveller.com/city-guides
