Loire-Atlantique: Nantes, Mechanical Elephants, and Atlantic Salt
Loire-Atlantique, historically part of Brittany, was controversially placed in the Pays de la Loire region in 1956, a decision that still generates debate. Nantes, the prefecture, was the largest port in France during the eighteenth-century slave trade and has confronted this history through its Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery, opened in 2012. The city has reinvented itself around culture: Les Machines de l'Ile, a steampunk-inspired attraction featuring a giant mechanical elephant, occupies the former shipyards on the Ile de Nantes.
Nantes consistently ranks among the most liveable cities in France. The Voyage a Nantes annual art trail transforms the city each summer. La Baule, on the coast, has one of the longest beaches in Europe. Saint-Nazaire is a major shipbuilding centre (the Queen Mary 2 was built there) and port. The department has over 1.47 million residents and is one of the fastest-growing in France. The Guerande salt marshes produce the fleur de sel prized by chefs worldwide.
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Loire-Atlantique, historically part of Brittany, was controversially placed in the Pays de la Loire region in 1956, a decision that still generates debate. Nantes, the prefecture, was the largest port in France during the eighteenth-century slave trade and has confronted this history through its Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery, opened in 2012. The city has reinvented itself around culture: Les Machines de l'Ile, a steampunk-inspired attraction featuring a giant mechanical elephant, occupies the former shipyards on the Ile de Nantes.
Nantes consistently ranks among the most liveable cities in France. The Voyage a Nantes annual art trail transforms the city each summer. La Baule, on the coast, has one of the longest beaches in Europe. Saint-Nazaire is a major shipbuilding centre (the Queen Mary 2 was built there) and port. The department has over 1.47 million residents and is one of the fastest-growing in France. The Guerande salt marshes produce the fleur de sel prized by chefs worldwide.
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