Monuments to visit Nantes

"It's a famous three-masted mast... "which is the pride of the Nantes people. Born in the Dubigeon shipyards of Chantenay, Belem celebrated its 120th anniversary in 2016 on the Quai de la Fosse, in Nantes, its home port. 58 metres long, with 22 sails, it looks great. The last tall French commercial sailboat of the 19th century inherited its name from its crossings to Belem, Brazil. Classified as a Historic Monument in 1984, it is one of the oldest ships in the world. Owned by the Caisse d'Épargne and managed by the Belem Foundation, it is both a training boat that takes in apprentice sailors for a large part of the year to help them discover sailing and a museum boat that can be visited at each of its stops. The opportunity to get on board, to survey its wooden pontoons, to discover the crew's working spaces, to approach the wheelhouse and the helm, to enter the mahogany lounges... The Belem also regularly takes part in tall ship gatherings and sometimes on more distant trips to fully play its role as ambassador of the French flag.

What an emblem! The Lu Tower is best visited from the outside. The two 38-meter high Art Nouveau towers erected by the famous cookie maker from Nantes were demolished in the 1970s. One of them was rebuilt identically in 1998. You can enjoy a panoramic view of the city, after climbing its 130 steps. At the top, the visit begins with the gyrorama: a machine that turns with a crank. It continues with the descent of the staircase, where we discover the history of the factory, via a video and archive photos.

They are 18 rings lined up on the quay of the Antilles, along the Loire. Established in 2007 as part of the Biennale d'Art Contemporain Estuaire, they are now part of the cultural heritage of Nantes and are one of the stops on the green line of the Voyage à Nantes itinerary. Designed by the famous French visual artist Daniel Buren, to whom we owe "Les deux plateaux" in the courtyard of the Palais Royal in Paris, with the help of Patrick Bouchain, they offer perspectives and cut-outs on the river landscape. Call to the sea in one direction, views of Nantes, its towers and bell towers on the other. At night, these large steel rings, 4 metres in diameter, light up in red, green and blue, offering even more perceptions. The Rings were created to give way to visitor interpretation, but they also echo the city's history, evoking the rings of slaves during the triangular trade of which Nantes was the hub in the 18th century. They also evoke the union of the river, the sea and the land.