
Les Machines de l'Île
An art project in the old shipyard buildings of the Île de Nantes, where giant mechanical creatures are built and set in motion. Its Great Elephant, twelve metres tall, walks the grounds with passengers riding on its back.
- Where
- Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France
- Grade
- Local gem
- Worth
- 10 points collected on site
- Coordinates
- 47.2060, -1.5648
Get the Les Machines de l'Île stamp
Open LOQAH when you are at Les Machines de l'Île. It checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp is yours: confirmed on site in gold and struck with the date. It goes into your Pays de la Loire volume with your photos and a note.
Near Les Machines de l'Île
Château des Ducs de Bretagne 1.6 km
A great castle on the right bank of the Loire in Nantes, home to the Dukes of Brittany from the 13th to the 16th century. Its pale stone ramparts and moat enclose a courtyard and the city's history museum.
Château d'Angers 81 km
A castle above the river Maine, founded in the 9th century by the Counts of Anjou and enlarged in the 13th, with seventeen striped towers of dark schist and pale stone. Inside hangs the Apocalypse, a vast medieval wall hanging woven in the 14th century.
Île de Ré 112 km
A flat island off La Rochelle, 30 kilometres long and five wide, joined to the mainland by a 2.9 kilometre bridge opened in 1988. Cycle paths run between salt marshes, oyster beds and whitewashed villages with green shutters.
Château de Saumur 113 km
A castle above the meeting of the Loire and the Thouet, first built in the 10th century by Theobald I, Count of Blois, as a stronghold against Norman raids. Its white towers appear in the famous medieval calendar of the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.
Carnac Stones 122 km
More than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones near the south coast of Brittany, the largest such collection in the world. Hewn from local granite by the pre-Celtic people of the region, they run in long rows across the fields, among dolmens and burial mounds.
Fontevraud Abbey 122 km
A monastery founded in 1101 by the preacher Robert of Arbrissel, where communities of men and women lived under the rule of an abbess. Its abbey church holds the tombs of Henry II of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Richard the Lionheart.
Belle-Île 123 km
The largest of Brittany's islands, 14 kilometres off the Quiberon peninsula. Monet painted the rocks of its wild western coast, and its harbour town of Le Palais sits below a star-shaped citadel.
Château d'Ussé 140 km
A castle at the edge of the Chinon forest overlooking the Indre valley, first fortified in the 11th century and later rebuilt in stone. With its white towers and turrets, it is said to have inspired Charles Perrault's Sleeping Beauty.
More hidden gems in Pays de la Loire
Questions
Where is Les Machines de l'Île?
Les Machines de l'Île is in Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France. The nearest other LOQAH stamps are Château des Ducs de Bretagne (1.6 km), Château d'Angers (81 km), Île de Ré (112 km).
How do I get the Les Machines de l'Île stamp?
Open LOQAH when you are at Les Machines de l'Île and get its stamp. The app checks where you are once, at that moment, and the stamp goes into your Pays de la Loire volume, confirmed on site, with the date.
I have been to Les Machines de l'Île before. Can I still have the stamp?
Yes. Add it from Earlier trips in your Pays de la Loire volume, with the date if you know it, or import your Google Timeline and LOQAH matches the places you were.
Collect your first stamp.
LOQAH is free on iPhone and Android, in India and 20 more countries, with more countries on the way. Stand at a place, collect its stamp, and keep every trip in a passport that grows.







