On the border of the Loire and Brittany in the city of Nantes, you'll find a magical place: Les Machines de l’île’. It's a unique and ever-growing world of mechanical animals. Engineering enthusiasts will be fascinated by this place, developed by artists François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice. It evokes both the imaginary, invented world of Jules Verne and the mechanical universe of Leonardo da Vinci, and is a tribute to the industrial history of Nantes.

 

L'ile of Nantes, not Lille city in the North of France

It is located in the city’s former shipyards and is called ‘Les Machines de “l’Ile”’ (‘the machines of the island’) because the shipyards were on an island in the Loire River. Be sure not to confuse it with city of ‘Lille’ in northern France! This is a common mistake and those who arrive in Lille hoping to find the machines will be left disappointed!

 

Inspired by Jules Verne

Inspired by Jules Verne classics such as Journey to the Center of the Earth and Around the World in Eighty Days, this mechanical menagerie was initially built to breathe new life into the old shipyards. Its attractions now include the Marine Worlds Carrousel, containing 27 interactive sea creatures across three levels; a giant spider; and its most famous piece, the Elephant. All these machines also function as rides for visitors to enjoy.

elephant

You can take a tour on the huge elephant: the machinery is impressive - it also blows water. 

 

You can also visit the gallery where the artists and engineers work on upcoming projects and new machines. From the initial sketches to the fully functioning machines, the entire creative process is on display, so you can see how the machinists bring these magnificent creations to life.

Some of the machines are part of the traveling exhibition, and are exhibited all over the world. The horse-dragon, named Long Ma, was built as a gift from France to China, marking 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Long Ma performed in a show at the Beijing Olympic stadium in 2014, and again this summer in Ottawa, Canada with his colleague, the giant spider Kumo, to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canada’s Confederation.

Sea lamprey

A sea lamprey at the Marine Worlds Carousel...not for children only...

 

The Gigantic Heron Tree

The next big project is the gigantic Heron Tree, a monumental structure 50m (164ft) in diameter and 35m (115ft) high.

The tree will consist of 22 branches with ants and spiders for visitors to ride up into the tree, and footbridges decorated with real plants. Two giant herons will fly above the tree, carrying about 15 visitors in each basket underneath them.

The tree’s branches will hang over the main square and will lead visitors toward the bar and gift shop at the end of their visit. This new attraction is scheduled to open in 2022.

Spider prototype

Spider prototype to carry visitors on the gigantic tree

 

Les Machines de l’Ile is a feat of art and engineering and has been at the heart of a regeneration project in what has been a deprived area of Nantes. The increase in tourism that the project is generating will continue to help develop the area and improve infrastructure. So if you are interested in innovation with a touch of eccentricity, or if you’re traveling with kids, a trip to see Les Machines de L’Ile is a great day out for all the family. 

If you're interested, we can include a day trip to Nantes in any of our Loire Valley or Normandy itineraries. 

France Just For You

Experts in self-drive tours in France

Travelers Reviews

5.0
Michael
My wife and I are fairly seasoned travelers so when we decided to include a trip to France in our year long 50th Anniversary Celebration we wanted to do something different. We looked at group travel companies including those who specialize in "small" groups. None of them had the flavor we were looking for. In my search for somethin new I happened …
Judy
I can echo everything that has been said in the previous three reviews. The personalization of this entire trip was incredible and Emilie communicated quickly and completely, both in the planning of the trip and after we were in France. My husband and I were spending four weeks in France in celebration of our 50th anniversary. We were a little …
Liz & Chris
A great team of Professional, Friendly people who really know France ! The team at France Just For you are Fantastic. From the first introductory email to the last farewell, they listened, planned, helped and crafted a brilliant trip around Bordeaux, Medoc and Dordogne. They responded immediately to questions as if we were the only people they had …
Pamela
We just returned from a fantastic three weeks in Southwest France. I highly recommend the services of France Just For You, we could never have planned the trip ourselves as well as they did. Laura did the planning and gave us an amazing itinerary, and was available at a moment's notice when we had a plane cancellation on our flight to Bordeaux and …
Kimberly
Planning our trip via France Just For You was an amazing experience from beginning to end! Emilie's professionalism, attention to detail, thorough and thoughtful communication, and expertise made our recent trip to France one of the smoothest and most enjoyable we've ever experienced. France Just For You truly cares about the individual needs …
Tracey & Sandra
Without a doubt one of the best vacations my friend and I have ever taken! We keep raving to all about how authentic the trip was. Not only was every aspect of this trip gorgeous from the grape vineyards to the lavender fields to the mountainous towns and cathedrals, but the details were second to none. Emilie and Laura provided my friend and I …