Nantes, France

Nantes is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, 50 km from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth-largest in France, with a population of 303,382 in Nantes and a metropolitan area of nearly 950,000 inhabitants. With Saint-Nazaire, a seaport on the Loire estuary, Nantes forms the main north-western French metropolis.

Nantes' layout is typical of French towns and cities. It has a historical centre with old monuments, administrative buildings and small shops, surrounded by 19th-century faubourgs surrounded by newer suburban houses and public housing. The city centre has a medieval core (corresponding to the former walled town) and 18th-century extensions running west and east. The northern extension, Marchix, was considered squalid and nearly disappeared during the 20th century. The old town did not extend south before the 19th century, since it would have meant building on the unsteady islands in the Loire.

Nantes has several museums. The Fine Art Museum is the city's largest. Opened in 1900, it has an extensive collection ranging from Italian Renaissance paintings to contemporary sculpture.

The Royal de Luxe street theatre company moved to Nantes in 1989, and has produced a number of shows in the city. The company is noted for its large marionettes (including a giraffe, the Little Giant and the Sultan's Elephant), and has also performed in Lisbon, Berlin, London and Santiago. Former Royal de Luxe machine designer François Delarozière created the Machines of the Isle of Nantes and its large walking elephant in 2007. The Machines sponsor theatre, dance, concerts, ice-sculpting shows and performances for children in the spring and fall and at Christmastime.

Machines of the Isle of Nantes

The Machines of the Isle of Nantes (Les Machines de l'île) is an artistic, touristic and cultural project based in Nantes, France. In the old covered buildings of the former shipyards in Nantes that were at one time used for ship construction (les nefs), and later used as business sites, the Machines of the Isle are created by two artists, François Delarozière (of La Machine production company) and Pierre Orefice (of Manaus association).

The projects aim to promote the city's image and intend to build an identity for it as a creative metropolis of dream and of fantasy.

The Great Elephant (2007) is a mechanical elephant, 12 metres and 8 metres wide, made from 45 tons of wood and steel. It can take up to 49 passengers for a 45-minute walk. It is an inexact replica of The Sultan's Elephant from Royal de Luxe.

A Film By Damir Međurečan, March 2019.