If you like the idea of wacky giant mechanical creatures set in an edgy industrial landscape with innovative architecture, urban parks and street art then you’ll love Nantes. France’s 6th biggest city, straddling the Loire river, located in the west of the country, a few kilometres inland from the Atlantic coast on the southern edge of Brittany, is emerging as a centre of innovation and creativity. It has a long history and complicated identity involving whether or not it is indeed part of Brittany, but that’s not what I want to write about. I want to focus on the fabulous and absurdly original urban regeneration on the île de Nantes (Nantes island) symbolised by a giant mechanical elephant.
This area was once a thriving ship building district but when that industry fell into decline so did the island. However, since 2002 it has been steadily revamped as a cutting edge creative neighbourhood mainly owing to the brilliant imaginations of two men, François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice. Delarozière and Orifice both come from performance backgrounds where they are actively involved in the renewal of street theatre. After more than 20 years of observing machinery and objects in motion and inspired by the imaginative monsters of Jules Verne and the mechanical world of Leonardo da Vinci they have come up with a vision on an unprecedented scale; an artistic project to create a gigantic steel tree, covered in living plants, mechanical insects and other creatures and topped by two enormous herons, for the public to enjoy on the island of Nantes.
While working towards this ultimate goal they have already created a huge mechanical elephant that wanders around the island squirting anyone in the way with water from its awesome trunk. This spectacular pachyderm is made out of a beautiful mix of wood and steel with flapping ears and a covered viewing platform for passengers. The public can ride the elephant for a reasonable fee, entering through its belly where the cogs and gears are on full view. But it’s not just pure engineering on view, there are plenty of creative artistic touches such as sculptures of elephants’ heads and Arabic writing in the metal railings.
Everywhere you look there’s something intriguing upon which to feast your eyes. And of course looking out from the elephant from 15 metres up you get great views of the surrounding city. The idea of the elephant is that it is there for everyone to enjoy even if you don’t want to pay to take a ride (which lasts about 30 mins) you can walk along with it and experience it as it makes its way around the island. It is not in a fenced off area but in the public domain.
The elephant is the most well known of the “machines of Nantes” and makes a wonderful figurehead for all the other machines in the former shipyard. Delarozière and Orefice’s first creations were giant sea monsters which can now been seen on the superb Jules Verne carousel across the esplanade from the “nef” (or nave) where the elephant lives. Within the nef (a beautiful example of industrial architecture) are some of the insects being prototyped for the “Heron Tree”. These are not visible for the non-paying public but tickets can be bought for the machines without the elephant or a combination ticket for both.
Visiting the machines is just as fascinating as going on the elephant and well worth the price. The selection of machines changes every so often as they are developed but when we went (April 2016) we saw a mechanical caterpillar, a huge and horrible spider, an ant and a heron, all small scale models for the tree project. There is also a funny scene with a crazy airplane along the lines of “those magnificent men in their flying machines”. This part of the visit is a guided tour (in French) with explanations of the workings of the machines and how they will be put to use in the tree. A few lucky members of the public are selected to try them out, pulling mechanical levers to move the creatures and flying high above the crowd.
I don’t know if there are tours in English but even if you don’t understand everything being said, just seeing the amazing creatures in action is worth it and you don’t actually have to stick with the group though if you don’t you won’t see the machines in action. Dotted amongst the creatures are fascinating sketches made by Delarozière and Orefice showing their ideas and plans, as well as unusual plants being tested for their suitability for the tree.
So back to the tree. The project was originally expected to be finished and in use by 2018 but it is running behind by a few years and won’t be ready till 2021-ish. When it is functioning however it will be unique and unprecedented as a living, breathing, environmentally friendly metal tree, 40 or so metres high, capable of holding 450 people at a time. The public will be able to walk around branches covered in plants, (a working model of a branch is already on display outside the “nef” above the café de la branch, photo below), some of the beasties living in the tree will be rideable and there will be viewing platforms from which to look out over the city. Finally the crowning glory will be the two herons at the top which will also have seats for a number of passengers. The whole project is mind bogglingly crazy and original beyond words. I can’t wait till it’s finished and I will certainly go back to climb the “arbre à hérons”.
Everything about the île de Nantes is fun, creative, unusual, beautiful and unique. The old shipyard buildings (the “nef”) and warehouses (transformed into cafés and creative performance spaces), vibrant murals and street art, absurd architectural details and funky new builds, the stunning carousel and interesting public art and of course the magnificent elephant itself lolloping through a public park with no barriers separating it and you, all adds up to something very special indeed. Nantes is a wonderful place to visit en famille, its crazy machines will appeal to all ages, from young kids to adults alike and I personally found it hugely inspiring.
To plan your visit and find out more about opening hours etc you can check the Machines de Nantes website. We didn’t reserve tickets, we just turned up as it opened at 10 am and had no trouble getting onboard. However I imagine it could be a different case in high season. Have you been to Nantes? What did you think? I’ll leave you with a few more photos of our visit.
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Nantes looks like great fun to visit! It has been added to my travel list!
Such an amazing creature! I’ve never seen anything like it. The wood is beautiful. My kids would just love getting sprayed by water LOL.
This is crazy awesome! Like something out of a Transformers movie!
I love this – definitely need to get to Nantes! It just looks fascinating & so much fun!
I really really need to ride this elephant!
My parents used to live in Brittany so we had a trip to Nantes for the Jazz festival. We really enjoyed the city and seeing the elephant. Brings back lovely memories. Kx
I can’t wait to go back in a few years when the great tree is finished, it’s going to be amazing!
Just popped over to check out your post about this amazing elephant! It’s such a cool experience seeing him up close… Love your photos! Now I wished we’d walked on the tree… But it was getting late and we wanted to head over to the markets 🙂
Wow that elephant is beautiful! 🙂
How is it possible to build such an awesome thing – moving art is so amazing! #MondayEscapes
It sure is! Greetings to you too!!
It sure is, now you’ll just have to visit for yourself too Nichola 🙂
So now you know the extent to which Nantes is a crazy place you must visit Cathy!
It’s a great linky isn’t it? I’m so glad you enjoyed my post and hope you get to Nantes soon.
Wow! That is truly a fabulous elephant. How cool.
I love reading #MondayEscapes as you discover all manner of amazing places, this is definitely one of the more wackier discoveries! What an amazing idea and such vision! Love the photos, my parents live in France, I’d love to see the elephant next time I go over.
These are amazing! I’ve seen photos of the elephant which is just astonishing but hadn’t realised there were more too. Would love to make a trip. #citytripping
Yes, my friend visited and wrote a post for me on this a couple of years ago and I couldn’t believe it when I saw the photos! It’s crazy and amazing all in one isn’t it?!
Incredible and such an amazing place to visit. Warm greetings!
Now that you mention it, steampunk is a great way to describe these crazy machines. And the whole place really is very cool.
Thanks Kate 🙂
Now you know where to go for your next European break Allane!
I can’t wait till it’s finished as well, but even at this stage it’s brilliant. It IS amazing how 2 people can have such a wonderful influence on a city.
If you’re not expecting squid I can see that it might be a bit of a shock! You’re the 2nd person to mention steampunk and it’s a great description for these machines.
My pleasure Brooke, happy you enjoyed it.
It really is, I agree Nayna.
It’s very original and a real breath of fresh air.
I had never heard of this before! It looks amazing, such an unusual place to visit!
Wow , what an amazing place I absolutely love the elephant, it’s spectacular.
Incredible! This sounds like the perfect place for me–it has street art, giant mechanical insects and animals and a fascinating take on architecture. Thanks for sharing your experiences in Nantes!
Good LORD, but this is fabulous. Steampunk heaven. We have been to Nantes, but it was many moons ago, and chiefly memorable for my brother accidentally ordering squid and nearly having a heart attack. Not a good impression. Reckon he’d feel differently now they have these machines though!
This is just incredible – just my sort of thing. How amazing to think how two visionaries can transform a place. Can’t wait for 2021 but the elephant will keep me interested until then.
#mondayescapes
This is way too awesome!! haha what a great idea!! I love that we can ride in it, I would looove to do that. I seriously need to visit Nantes!
Thank you for sharing this on #MondayEscapes Phoebe 😀
Very cool. This *really* makes me want to visit. The elephant and other mechanical creatures feel very steampunk. I love this sort of thing. #MondayEscapes
Great photos! #MondayEscapes
Kate x
Your kids would love it Michele, and the chosen few are very lucky, I was jealous!
A robotic panda sounds quite mad too Emma! I bet it wasn’t tame, the Japanese certainly know how to do wacky.
Thanks Nell, you won’t be disappointed if you put it in first place and get there soon!
Elizabeth you’d love it, you must put it on your never ending list of places to visit!!
It’s definitely a fun thing to do Erica
You really would Clare.
Kids just love it!
Oh what a disappointment! Looking on the bright side, when you do finally make it there’ll be even more crazy machines to see/go on. Maybe the tree will even be finished.
I hope you get there Mookie, it’s such fun.
Thank you Zaria, 🙂
You must go again and see the elephant!
Ha ha you’re so funny Swags, what if I said it was an elaborate poisson d’avril??? No, it’s all absolutely true and larger than life. You must go soon!
I’m so glad you like it Rachel, I really really loved it! I hope you get there one day…
This is one of the most madcap yet brillliant things I’ve ever seen. What a creative way to bring a disused site back into public use. That elephant is amazing, I’d definitely love to go for a ride! Nantes isn’t too far from us here in the UK… So this is now going on my wishlist. Thanks for linking up to #TravelTuesday!
This is the CRAZIEST thing EVER!!! I literally feel like I’m reading a science fiction story. I’m not sure I totally believe you. But, you’re Phoebe, so it MUST be true!!! Like you said, it’s SO original and inspiring. I don’t know when I’ll get back over to Nantes ever, but this whole attraction would surely be a great reason to make it happen! Thanks for linking up with us, Phoebe!
we last visited Nantes in 2002 and were amazed at the amount of sculptures we saw, it’s all coming quite clear now
Hi Phoebe,
I have never been to Nantes and this is the first time I am introduced to the Machines Of Nantes. Wow it looks like a fantastic experience, so many things to do and see. I will visit their website. Thank you for this amazing post!
Zaria
This looks amazing. I’ve never been to Nantes, but seeing this really makes me want to go. 🙂 The mechanical animals looks amazing.
MookieslifeÂ
Interesting to hear you saw the elephant on TV, I wonder whether that was in Croatia or elsewhere Tanja.
Slipped until 2022 we were told!
When we were planning a visit to Nantes a few years ago the elephant was tops on our list, right next to the carousel. Sadly, it was a major letdown when we weren’t able to make the trip and Nantes has been relegated to our Bucket List. I enjoyed reading your post and consider it a prep for our someday trip to the Loire Valley.
Wow, that really is amazing. Would love to go and visit it – the kids would adore it too.
Wow! Sounds incredible. What a fun and original place to visit. I think I’d love it every bit as much as my two boys. #citytripping
That elephant is amazing. I would love to go on that.
This is incredible Phoebe…the mechanical elephant is something else – I can’t believe I have never heard of it before! Nantes seems like a really unique place to visit… all those mechanical insects and animals…the tree is definitely going to be worth a visit too. Thanks for sharing on #citytripping
I adore this post! The animals look so freakishly wonderful, and it’s really interesting to read about all the regeneration that’s behind the attractions. I’ve never been to Nantes – it’s rapidly moving towards the top of my hot-list now though!
What an incredible place. And there was me thinking it was just about one magnificent elephant. Makes the robotic panda we rode around an amusement park in Tokyo look quite tame! 🙂
I love this, and I know that my kids would be able to spend all day here — perhaps even before the giant tree is completed. What fun it must be to ride on that elephant or be chosen for the flying machine.
I’ve seen this on TV years ago:) how cool! #city tripping
I’ll go with you, it’s a date!
Great timing! I hope you get there next year, it’s such fun.
It’s such an unusual thing to do, it’s definitely worth the money.
It really is a cool place, definitely lives up to that adjective Ruth!
Gosh, I imagine Nantes was quite different 26 years ago. You must try and go back again to see the changes.
a definite must Catherine, we’re so glad we went.
[u]YOU’D[/u] love it too not just your boys, it’s just as appealing to adults. You really must try and get there Rosie, though it’ll be even more amazing if you wait till the tree is finished
whimsical is a good description Marcia. Kids love it, as do adults, it really is for all ages.
1st parag, 2nd sentence Clara….in the west of the country near the Atlantic coast, southern Brittany. I know that’s not very specific but it’s more than just “not far from UK”!!
The spider was amazing, the way it moved was incredibly realistic.
Now this is another French City I would love to visit. The elephant is hugre and quite a spectacle, That spider is rather amazing too #AnimalTales
Well. That is something! I would love to visit it when it is complete – I am not entirely sure where Nantes is but at least I know it’s not too far from the UK!
Wow, how whimsical! Love this, bet kids do too.
Right THAT IS IT – I am going to get to Nantes this year! I hadn’t realised there was so much more to see and do besides the elephant and it all looks fabulous. The boys would love it. Wanders off to [i]mappy[/i] to see how far it is from Lenault to Nantes ….
What an amazing place. Surely a must when visiting that part of France. Great that you went there.
Heisann…. we, family of two sons, father and mother, visited Nantes on our way to Futuroscope many years ago (26) … where we all had lot of fun. If this park had existed then, we sure had been there!
Now, this is what I call a cool place! I have seen the elephant in magazines but I didn’t know there were other machines. I would love to visit, take a ride on the elephant and see the other creatures.
What an interesting attraction! I would certainly pay to take a ride on the elephant. We’ll have to add it to the travel list and wait until the tree is completed for the visit! Thank you for linking up with #WeekendWanderlust
Phoebe thank you so much for sharing this post with #TheWeeklyPostcard. This is the number place on my husband’s list for Europe next year so very timely. I know he’ll be reading and bookmarking this article with great interest.
Wow, it sounds and looks amazing. 2021 is in the diary!