The most beautiful natural sites to discover Loire-Atlantique

Vertou can be the starting point for a bucolic walk. The path towards Nantes is becoming increasingly urbanized as walking, so perhaps you prefer to leave in the direction of Monnières. Along the Sèvre, you will fall on a few hamlets and navigation docks that recall the commercial past of the stream. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in particular, the Sèvre was widely used to transport the wines and spirits of Loire to Nantes. From there, drums were exported to Orléans, Holland and Northern Europe. In the opposite direction, wood, cereals or lime went up to the nantes vineyard. The arrival of the railway in the middle of the nineteenth century gradually signaled the end of the commercial vocation of the Sèvre.

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…

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.

This site is very popular with tourists, fishermen, hikers and other nature lovers. A 10 km circuit offers a nice walk through vineyards and villages. Lovers of old stones will still discover old houses at the staircases characteristic of our villages on the edge of the Sèvre. The place is pleasant and offers a point of view on the castle of Frémoire, whose silhouette is detached on the meadow overlooking the Sèvre. Do not forget his race track where every year, the last weekend of August, take the horse races of Vertou.

A swamp zone in the heart of Nantes! A former Loire flood meadow, the Malakoff marshes cover an area of 16 hectares classified Natura 2000, implying that the riches of its flora and fauna are protected. We cannot enter freely. In agreement with the City of Nantes, the Bird Protection League (LPO), however, allows you to visit this marsh, which was nicknamed Little Amazonia because of its luxuriance. The diversity of landscapes to see can only fascinate those who love wild nature: roseless, water bodies, alluvial forest, meadow, mares… Also presence of Highland cows (rustic Scottish race) which naturally maintain the grassland and pasture 10 months of the year. Since 2012, the Plague Sauvage, carried out as part of the centenary of the LPO and the Estuaire 2012 Contemporary Art Biennial, offers a privileged view of the site and its birds.

This 8 km course along the Lecourbe is accessible to hikers, cyclists and people with reduced mobility. Located in natural surroundings, the trail takes a practicable route with strollers and can be carried out in any sense. The Lecourbe Park and the Beautour Dock can, for example, be a starting point. A great opportunity to discover the "Folies", dating from the th century and th century, as well as the many boats now restored and converted into workshops and exhibition spaces. This circuit will lead you to discover the past activities of the men and the ecological, historical and heritage of the sites crossed. It is punctuated by 17 educational panels that will allow you to learn more about the "secrets" of the Nantes Nantes.

On sunny days, the boats of Nantes offer a mini-cruise along the Erdre, "the most beautiful river in France" according to the famous formula of King François I.

Many hiking connections with neighboring municipalities invite the discovery of the country of Herbauges: vineyards, lanterns, ponds and lake Grand Place. Five walking circuits are possible from the commune: The Landes (7 km), Mévellière/Bocage (7 km, the name of a castle of the eighteenth century located on a 55 ha estate), Les Moulins (12 km), Les Vignes (12 km) and the Tour du lac (74 km). Trails are included in the departmental plan for walking and hiking routes (PDIPR) and are registered in GR. Information from the City Hall at 02 51 70 55 55.

10,6 km (8,9 km with shortcut). This circuit offers its way to the Convent, its Clos de la Fontaine rose, the former mill of La and the Château-Chabot Castle, built in the th century. It was on the Marsoire Hill that the Germans established a battery of DCA to protect the airfield and Usine plant that repairs the Luftwaffe aircraft.

Approximately 5.6 km (1:30). The rostrums on the Loire edges can be seen in turn, many of which are subject to recovery work - the Forks Island which houses the ripple shrike and the shoreline swallow, two protected species. Finally the site of the Sangle where the rich archeological remains have been discovered attesting to a very ancient occupation of the site.