Visit Nantes: Chantenay district

“Women and men of Nantes, never forget that, from high upon Butte Sainte- Anne, Jules Verne and his stories are watching you.” Almost immediately, you’ll be whisked away inside Nantes’ very own time machine. Your journey through history begins at quai de l’Aiguillon, with your feet (almost) in the Loire and continues during your walk 121 steps up to the top of the hill where the statue of St. Anne clutching a young Virgin Mary has been blessing the river since 1871. A few metres away, the Fresque des Acadiens fresco reminds us that, at the end of the 18th century, Nantes offered safe haven to the Acadians who had returned from the mouth of the St. Lawrence River in Canada. A little further off, the Musée Compagnonnique — which has been located in La Haultière manor since 1968 — exhibits a collection of masterpieces and tools used by the “Companions du Tour de France”. Today, the district has been transformed with the opening of the Promenade des Belvédères and the Jardin extraordinaire.