And then we rested!

We were so impressed by the little we had seen of Nantes yesterday evening that we decided to take a rest day and see some more of the city today. It was great to be staying in the city centre to be near everything. Nantes has a population of about 300,000. This morning, a beautiful morning, we went walkabout. First up the Castle – the residence of the Dukes of Brittany between the 13th and 16th centuries.

Nantes has a good tramway system with three lines. I love the sound that trams make, that gently bell.

There’s a marked ten-mile trail through the city called ‘The Green Line” that one can follow to see the major sights. We went to a number of the sights marked by the green line but weren’t following it as such.

 

 

 

 

The gothic Cathedral started in 1434, took 457 years to finish, finally being completed in 1891. No overnight build there!

 

The proportions of this building are just beautiful as are the windows. One can’t but be in awe.

 

 

I am no lover of shopping/shopping malls but the Passage Pommeraye is an architecturally beautiful shopping mall. Built in the early 1840’s it was called after its developer, Louis Pommeraye. It has great, small quaint shops.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps some chocolate!

The Opera House also known as Théâtre Graslin was completed in 1788.

Graslin Place across from the Opera House and the restaurant, La Cigale.

Place Royale with Basilique St Nicolas on the left.

I walked over the bridge to Île de Nantes to see ‘The Elephant’. Fearghus and Lola had told us to go see it (and other sights). The elephant is fun. Called Machines de l’île, he’s sited in the former Nantes shipyards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking back across the bridge from Île de Nantes, (though not shown here), there are plenty of cranes evident in the Nantes skyline, plenty of development going on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was so glad of our rest day – Nantes was well worth seeing!