Les Machines de l'Île Nantes: The Ultimate Guide to Nantes' Steampunk Wonderland
Imagine giant mechanical animals roaming with lights flashing, wheezing steam and constructed out of natural materials that you can ride, sit on and operate. This describes the amazing artistic and creative steam punk wonderland called Les Machines de l’Île Nantes which is in the city of Nantes in France.
"It is the only place where you'll find Jules Verne's "Invented Worlds", the mechanical universe of Leonardo da Vinci, and Nantes' industrial history, all on the exceptional site of the city's former shipyards." - Les Machines de l’Île Nantes
Les Machines de l’Île Nantes
Les Machines de l’Île Nantes is in Nantes, in the Département de la Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire and is still known as the capital of Brittany even though it is in a different region. This attraction with all its machines is open for tourists, as is the workshop where the mechanical machines created out of recycled metal, leather and handcrafted wood with their pulleys ropes, hydraulic cylinders and welded metal frames are made and repaired.
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I'd heard about this wonderland and if you know me well, you'll know I love playgrounds and carousels and there's always the little child-like nature lurking in the background ready to escape, laugh and squeal? And at the incredible Les Machines de l’Île Nantes I laughed and squealed a lot! (See our guide on Where to find Carousels in Paris for next time you're in Paris with the family.)
The Different Areas of Les Machines de l’Île Nantes
The park is made up of three main areas, le Grand Éléphant (the Big Elephant), le Carrousel des Mondes Marins (the Marine Worlds Carousel) and la Galerie des Machines (the Machine Gallery). After the creation of the Big Elephant and the Machine Gallery, it was about four years later that the Marine Worlds Carousel was opened to the public. The Heron Tree is the latest attraction to be under construction at Les Machines de l’Île Nantes, and while not fully finished, parts of it are open to see and test.
The Arbre aux Hérons (the Heron Tree) will be a steel tree 50 m in diameter and 45 m high, topped by two herons. Visitors will be able to walk from branch to branch in amongst amazing hanging gardens and take a ride under the heron's wings. Mechanical birds and insects will be along the branches for you to see and take rides on. Currently as the project progresses, people are allowed to view it and sometimes help with the testing of riding the heron.
Le Grand Éléphant (The Big Elephant)
I’d seen photos of le Grand Éléphant and watched a video of it moving around the park with riders atop its back before I visited the park myself, but seeing this massive piece of machinery appear to walk by itself and entertaining the crowd was more impressive than I had expected. My husband Paul is a mechanical engineer and after being married for more than 30 years, I could really appreciate the design and engineering skill in creating these one-off wonders. I took some close up photos of the hydraulic and pneumatic cylinders, bolts, rivets and hoses and these were interesting to look over with Paul when I returned home.
Le Grand Éléphant slowly 'walks' between the Galerie des Machines warehouses and the Carrousel (which is at the other end of the park complex) taking about 50 passengers on the purpose built platform on its back for a tour. Standing on the platform is like being on the 4th floor of a travelling house. As the elephant makes its way around its set path, a machinist blasts its trunk and shares construction details. It's funny to watch kids play 'chicken' with the Elephant and see if the machinist is watching them ... if he is, he often tries to squirt them with water from the elephant's trunk, and this is very entertaining.
Constructed from steel and wood (tulip poplar and basswood), the elephant's metal body is lubricated with 2,500 litres of hydraulic oil.
Le Carrousel des Mondes Marins (The Marine Worlds Carousel)
Imitating the Loire docks’ structure with its criss crossed beams, the Marine Worlds Carousel was designed to pay tribute to the history of the site that the Carousel was constructed on. Creators Pierre Orefice and Francois Delaroziere were passionate that their project reawaken people’s love with fairground art. The carousel has definitely attracted many visitors who are in love with merry go rounds, whimsical creations and clever engineering. Lovers of Jules Verne will love this merry go round and it's right across from the Musée Jules Verne (Jules Verne Museum) also.
Taking over the docklands alongside the Loire River that originally were the hub of ship building and particularly drawing on this maritime history of the city, together with the river’s tides, bridges and shipyards, the Marine World carousel is a clever blend of history and modern whimsical machinery.
The architects – Nicole Concordet and Christophe Theilmann were given the management of the project working from conceptual drawings by Francois Delaroziere. They've created a carousel that takes you, whether you observe from the outer platforms or take a ride, on a sea journey through the three floors of the carousel.
You can walk all around the platforms that surrounds each level and watch all the creatures move up and down, flap, blow steam and turn around. Of course, you can also climb in or onto the creatures and take a ride pushing and pulling on the levers to make them move or blow steam.
Starting with the seabeds with its Giant Crab, reverse propulsion squid and aqua diving capsule on the first level you can see the Abysses on the second level. The Abysses has a Lanternfish, a Manta Ray, a Pirate Fish and you get to it by walking along a telescopic bridge that retracts when the merry go round starts to move. I really liked walking on the telescopic bridge - give this a go if you can.
Rising to the surface of the sea on the third level the carousel rotates around a roundabout on which you can ride clam shell boats, Pirate boats, flying fish and Jellyfish. The red Big Top gives cover and adds old world charm to the carousel.
The carousel is approximately 25 metres high and 22 metres in diameter and has 16 fishermen statues guarding the Big Top, which gives you a great view over the Loire River and the city. On a wet and windy day (as it was when I visited) it's also very exposed so wear warm clothing with raincoats - and seriously forget an umbrella!
Les Galerie des Machines (The Machine Gallery)
The Gallery is a showcase of the machines built in the workshop of theatre company, La Machine. The public can observe the completed machines go through their movements and see diagrams of how they will be incorporated into the Heron Tree. Repairs are also made to the machines in the Machine Gallery and a 14 minute film tells the story of Les Machines de I'Île from its conception through to today.
Machines in the Gallery include a giant spider that climbs out of his massive hole and investigates the area above his hole before climbing back in, a sloth that slowly makes his way along a branch, a huge caterpillar (that you can sit on) and the prototype huge Heron that can carry humans in its hanging baskets as it flys high near the rafters of the warehouse. The heron has a wingspan of 8 metres.
Visitor Information - Les Machines de l’Île Nantes
- Address: Parc des Chantiers, Boulevard Léon Bureau, 44200 Nantes, France
- Cafe de la Branch offers food and drinks with indoor and outdoor seating.
- The boutique has excellent books on animals, machinery, sea creatures and posters, stationery and other gifts.
- To find out ticket prices, opening hours and directions head to the Les Machines de l’Ile Nantes website.
- Be prepared for the weather and take umbrellas and raincoats or sun-hats and sunscreen, as most of the Park is not undercover.
What do you think after seeing these photos? The Park really is a fantasy place of steampunk and clever mechanical engineering that brings the imagination of the creators, architects and engineers to life. A visit to the incredible world at Les Machines de l’Île Nantes is a must when in France!
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