Things to see and do Loire-Atlantique

This former Benedictine convent was bought in the Italian style by Jacques-Charles Valentin in the early th century. Access is made by the park which borders the Monk. A place for walks, with the Garenne Lemot, is the other bucolic park of Clisson to discover. It was Lemot who helped her friend on this site. All Garenne Valentin is attached to the Church of the Trinity. It is made from the remains of the old convent cloister, Belvedere and three bodies of hosts. The landscaped park has a monumental factory called the «rock pavilion» built on a granite rock dominating the Monk, on the foundations of the old convent latrines. It was built in 1819 and restored in 2003.

Perhaps you have passed by this building many times without ever noticing it? And yet... At the initiative of the diocese of Nantes, the Passage Sainte-Croix opened its doors at the end of 2010. It is the link between the Place Sainte-Croix and the Rue de la Bâclerie, in the heart of the Bouffay district. It is now through a very nice medieval garden that one can access this cultural center open to all, which aims to be a place of dialogue, education, reflection and culture. It offers many activities for the general public: heritage and contemporary art exhibitions, live performances, meetings and debates (Midis de Sainte-Croix, Samedis du Passage, conferences, round tables, film debates). But also guided tours and workshops for adults, activities for young people and an educational offer for schools. In just a few years, the Passage Sainte-Croix has become a full-fledged player in the cultural life of Nantes, partner of the Voyage à Nantes, the Folle Journée, the Photographic Fortnight... Note that the rooms of the Passage Sainte-Croix can be privatized: the patio (116^m2), the priory (70^m2), the workshop (67^m2).

The bell tower of the church has been refurbished as a panoramic tower from which one can enjoy a very clear view. You can admire the lake of Grand-Lieu and its marshes, as well as the eastern part of the Pays de Retz. You can see the towns of Saint-Mars-de-Coutais and Sainte-Pazanne, and sometimes, when the conditions are optimal, you can even see as far as the towers of Nantes. You will have to climb the 158 steps to reach the platform, 40 m high.

It was built between 1861 and 1864 - the steeple between 1893 and 1896 - in order to meet the needs of the summer population. Replacing a building of the 1864 th century (located at the location of the current halls), the church was assigned to worship in. The building has no transept and has three naves. The 23 stained glass windows are in the th century. They are the work of Meuret de Nantes. In the summer, the church hosts some concerts.

One of the few known bifaces wayside (th century), representing on one side the Crucifixion and the other the Visitation. Pen ar ran means in Breton state point.

La Brière or Grande Brière is a marsh located geographically north of the Loire estuary leading to the Atlantic Ocean, west of the Department of Loire-Atlantique. This is the second wetland in France right behind the Camargue. Since 1970, Grande Brière has been classified as a natural park. In Brière, more than elsewhere, man has shaped his environment, maintaining with him links of very specific appropriation and uses. There is little equivalent to the undivided property of the Grande Brière Mottière Marsh (6,850 hectares) by the inhabitants of 21 municipalities. This is nothing new since it was in 1461 that, for the first time, the official recognition of this property was proclaimed by letter patent of François II, Duke of Brittany. Even today, the Brierons continue to enjoy this property and manage their marsh themselves, which is, in certain respects, a true state in the state. You'll enjoy discovering this marsh,

including barges, traditional boats. The calm of this mode of transport makes it possible to discover a specific fauna and flora, such as: amphibious voles, mustache mesange, starry bucket and other bushards of rodents, plant side: great helophytes, chaising and other massettes…

In the footsteps of the artists who passed or stayed at the Croisic in the 19th and 20th centuries, you will follow in the footsteps of great names such as Eugène Boudin, Paul Signac, Maxime Maufra, Charles Jacques, Henri Le Sidaner, Jean-Émile Laboureur but also regional artists such as Émile Gautier, Émile Guillaume, Jack Cholet, Eugène-Jean Chapleau, Georges Lhermitte and many others. What holds the particular attention of the various painters passing through are the animation of the boats in the port, the sardines boats with coloured sails, the bustle during the auction sale or the traditional maritime scenes. The changing lights of the Traict, the wild coast and the ocean at any time of the day inspire artists. The reproductions of their paintings, made at the Croisic, are presented on desks facing the painted place, all along the two routes, the port and the wild coast. The first route, which runs from the cove of Les Rouleaux to the quay at Port Charly, runs through 15 colourful canvases with impressionist, pointillist or cubist accents. The second, from Castouillet to Crucifix Bay, testifies to the attraction of a still wild coast.

With regard to the disabled, Pen-Bron is a specialised hospital. The "Disabled" or allows to approach, even in summer, and, on the hospital side, there is a ramp to access the beach in the chair. Of course, in order to practise naturism, we need to move away from the centre, but it is a solution for those who live or go on holiday in Loire Atlantic.

Located south-east of Pornic, the dolmen of the Joselière is a funeral monument built around 3500 BC in the Middle Neolithic. It consists of a partially conserved quadrangular mound, approximately 12 metres apart. Consisting of a mass of flat stone stones, it is framed by two straight walls of dry stone, and contains a transeptée megalithic tomb (crossing of the side rooms and corridor) composed of four well-individualized quadrangular side chambers and served by an axial corridor whose entrance faces the south-east. It is accessible by the coastal road, about 200 metres from the beach of Joselière.

Between 1880 and 1886 by architect Georges Lafont, the chapel is enlarged in 1903 by two side naves. It was abandoned in the construction of a new church, Notre-Dame, in 1931. The chapel was abandoned for several years and was sold in 1981 by the parish to the city of La Baule, which renovated it in 1989. The "interior" retains its original decoration only the gallery and la voûte. Contemporary stained glass windows. Wooden vaults and charpente, married to the walls and stone pillars, regularly host exhibitions and concerts. It has become one of the city's cultural centres. It is an ideal place to discover the "treasures" of our country and elsewhere. The cultural area of Sainte-Anne Chapel is a place of culture par excellence. Throughout the year, the cultural events organized there are numerous and varied. Some are recurrent as "seaside writers", the autumn and spring salons of the La Baule Literary and Artistic Society, the exhibitions of the Culture and Faith Association, the Music Summer chamber music Festival, and of course the exhibition of La Baule.

It is a pleasure to walk in this 76-hectare park with its undergrowth, a 17th century castle and its ponds. In the 19th century, many trees and plants were planted there thanks to the shoots brought back from across the Atlantic by the sailors. Some of these rare species are still the curiosity of passers-by. In 1973, the City of Saint-Herblain acquired the site and opened it to the public, while also welcoming lay associations and a theatrical nursery. From the undergrowth, you arrive at the edge of the ponds where a few fishermen cast their lines, then you walk along the lawns lined with hundred-year-old trees, before passing under the porch of the castle. A good breath of fresh air!

The foundations of the fortress date from the year 984. They were ordered by countess Aremberge. Charles VIII decided to shave the castle before rebuilding it in the fifteenth century. The unique remnants of the ancient medieval enclosure are the two large, massive entrance towers. One can still see part of the fortress, leftovers and a polygonal bastion. In the courtyard there is a Renaissance logis of 1535 recently restored with its high-fronted windows and its square tower. Some pavilions were added in the seventeenth century. In 1977, the castle was classified as a historic monument and became property of the City in 1986. Starting in the 1990 s, work was undertaken: demolition of the nineteenth century chapel and the school building of the 1960 s and restoration of the châtelet.