Must-see attractions in Atlantic Coast

  • Nantes, France - September 17, 2022: The Great Elephant animated giant puppet, part of the Machines of the Isle of Nantes artistic and tourist attraction, wanders slowly amid onlookers on a sunny day.; Shutterstock ID 2220543875; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
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    Les Machines de l’Île de Nantes

    Nantes

    Nantes' quirkiest sight is this fantasy world – a serious and seriously wacky workshop with mechanical contraptions galore displayed in plant-filled…

  • New museum of wine in Bordeaux City

    La Cité du Vin

    Bordeaux

    The complex world of wine is explored in depth at ground-breaking La Cité du Vin, a stunning piece of contemporary architecture resembling a wine decanter…

  • Entrance of the Aquarium of La Rochelle, France in summer.

    Aquarium La Rochelle

    La Rochelle

    La Rochelle's state-of-the-art, family-friendly aquarium is home to 12,000 marine animals and 600 different species. Visits begin by descending in a…

  • Harbour and maritime museum in the Port of La Rochelle, France.

    Musée Maritime

    La Rochelle

    In a series of boldly coloured, red, blue and yellow canopied hangars at the Bassin à Flot, the Maritime Museum evokes the history of La Rochelle port,…

  • Visitors having fun on the Mirroir d'eau (Water Mirror) of the Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux, France on a hot summer day during a heat wave.

    Miroir d’Eau

    Bordeaux

    A fountain of sorts, the Miroir d'Eau is the world's largest reflecting pool. Covering an area of 3450 sq metres of black granite on the quayside opposite…

  • Bordeaux Cathedral

    Cathédrale St-André

    Bordeaux

    The Cathédrale St-André, a Unesco World Heritage Site prior to the city's classification, lords it over the city. The cathedral's oldest section dates…

  • Phare des Baleines lighthouse.

    Phare des Baleines

    Île de Ré

    For an overview of the island, follow the crowds to Phare des Baleines, the island's scarlet-tipped, 59m-tall lighthouse on its northwestern tip. Scale…

  • Tour de la Lanterne

    La Rochelle

    Easily mistaken for an ornate church spire, the conical 15th-century Tour de la Lanterne is La Rochelle's beauty queen. It was so named because of its…

  • Château des Ducs de Bretagne

    Nantes

    Forget fusty furnishings – light-filled rooms inside the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany house multimedia-rich exhibits detailing the city's history. Look…

  • La Base Sous-Marine

    Bordeaux

    By far the city's eeriest and most menacing sight, this mammoth hulk of a submarine base (1941–43) was one of five built on the Atlantic Coast by the…

  • Basilique St-Michel

    Bordeaux

    This imposing Flamboyant Gothic church lies at the heart of St-Michel. Begun in the 14th century, it took more than 200 years to complete and is best…

  • Musée d’Arts de Nantes.

    Musée d’Arts de Nantes

    Nantes

    A six-year renovation job by London architects Stanton Williams has done wonders for Nantes’ art museum, open again since 2017 inside the historic Palais…

  • Place de la Bourse in Bordeaux.

    Place de la Bourse

    Bordeaux

    This is Bordeaux's most iconic square. A mirage of elegance and symmetry, it was laid out by architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel between 1730 and 1775 and…

  • Porte Cailhau, one of the main entrances to the old city, in Bordeaux, France.

    Porte Cailhau

    Bordeaux

    The main entrance into medieval Bordeaux, this grandiose 15th-century city gate was built to celebrate King Charles VII's victory at the Battle of Fornovo…

  • Exterior of the Museum of Aquitaine in the centre of Bordeaux city in France.

    Musée d’Aquitaine

    Bordeaux

    Gallo-Roman statues and relics dating back 25,000 years are among the highlights at this bright and spacious, well-curated history and civilisations…

  • Jules Verne museum in Nantes.

    Musée Jules Verne

    Nantes

    Overlooking the river, this is a magical museum with 1st-edition books, hand-edited manuscripts and cardboard theatre cut-outs. Child-friendly interactive…

  • Abbaye de St-Savin sur Gartempe

    Atlantic Coast

    Nicknamed the 'Romanesque Sistine Chapel', this Romanesque abbey-church – a Unesco World Heritage Site – showcases extraordinarily fine frescoes from the…

  • Musée du Vin et du Négoce

    Bordeaux

    This small Wine and Trade Museum, hidden in one of the city's oldest buildings – an Irish merchant's house dating to 1720 in the ancient trading district…

  • Le Garage Moderne

    Bordeaux

    A trio of dedicated mechanics help locals fix their own cars and bicycles at this alternative garage that doubles as experimental cultural space in the…

  • Musée de la Mer et de la Marine

    Bordeaux

    Slated to open in early 2019, this landmark new museum by the Basins à Flot comprises three floors of exhibition space devoted to almost everything there…

  • Clocher Observatoire

    Île de Ré

    A hike up the 117 steps inside the bell stone of fortified Église St-Martin rewards with a mighty fine panorama of St-Martin-de-Ré and the coast. The well…

  • Institut Culturel Bernard Magrez

    Bordeaux

    Glittering glass chandeliers, parquet flooring, original moulded ceilings and pretty peppermint-green painted wood-panelling create a wonderfully romantic…

  • Futuroscope

    Atlantic Coast

    This futuristic theme park takes you whizzing through space, diving into the deep-blue ocean depths, and racing around city streets and on a close…

  • Basilique St-Seurin

    Bordeaux

    It was around this vast Romanesque complex that the quartier of Saint-Seurin grew in the 11th century. As early as the 5th century, a church dedicated to…

  • Grosse Cloche

    Bordeaux

    Guarded by a twinset of witch-hat capped towers, this Gothic belfry was built on the vestiges of 13th-century protective ramparts and later served as both…

  • Place de la Victoire

    Bordeaux

    The city's finest people-watching square, place de la Victoire throbs with students lingering over drinks on the vast cafe terraces here. Tray-wielding…

  • Musée National des Douanes

    Bordeaux

    This unusual museum explores the role of French customs from modern day to the 1730s when the magnificent Hôtel des Fermes du Roy (1735–38) was built on…

  • Jardin des Plantes

    Nantes

    Opened in 1860, this exquisitely landscaped park is among France's most interesting botanical gardens. Century-old magnolia and mulberry trees, Japanese…

  • Musée des Beaux Arts

    Bordeaux

    The evolution of Occidental art from the Renaissance to the mid-20th century is on view at Bordeaux’s Museum of Fine Arts, which occupies two wings of the…

  • Les Vivres de l’Art

    Bordeaux

    Rub shoulders with bohemian Bordeaux at this ramshackle atelier (artist workshop) where Jean-François Buisson, one of several resident artists, welds…

  • Église Ste-Croix

    Bordeaux

    Exquisite decorative sculptures representing greed, lust and other terrible age-old vices adorn the striking Romanesque façade of this elegant church in…

  • Église Notre Dame la Grande

    Poitiers

    The celebrated western façade of this Romanesque church was exquisitely sculpted in soft gold stone between 1115 and 1130. Spot the temptation of Adam and…

  • Musée d’Art Contemporain

    Bordeaux

    Built in 1824 as a warehouse for French colonial produce such as coffee, cocoa, peanuts and vanilla, the cavernous Entrepôts Lainé creates a dramatic…

  • Réserve Naturelle Marais d'Yves

    La Rochelle

    An easy 15km drive south of La Rochelle, this nature reserve runs a free nature centre where you can peer through telescopes to watch some of the 192…

  • Plage d’Arcachon

    Arcachon

    In the delightful Ville d'Été (Summer Quarter), Arcachon's deep sandy beach, Plage d'Arcachon, is flanked by two piers. Lively Jetée Thiers is at the…

  • Tour St-Nicolas

    La Rochelle

    The only tower to be decked out like a house, this 37m-high pentagonal stone tower has leaned slightly to one side ever since building was complete in…

  • CAP Sciences

    Bordeaux

    An imposing concrete hangar on the riverfront is the venue for this cutting-edge science museum, host to various temporary exhibitions focusing on…

  • Cloître des Cordeliers

    St-Émilion

    Within the ruined cloisters of a 14th-century Franciscan monastery, winery Les Cordeliers has made sparkling Crémant de Bordeaux wine in its ancient…