Nantes.

Nantes grew up where the Erdre river meets the Loire, once the seat of the Dukes of Brittany and later a busy port town. The Château des Ducs de Bretagne, with its moated walls and slate-roofed towers, still anchors the old town. Jules Verne was born in Nantes, and the city has kept a taste for invention ever since: on the former shipyards of Île de Nantes, Les Machines de l'île builds enormous mechanical creatures, among them a giant walking elephant, drawing directly on Verne's fantastical machines. Le Lieu Unique, a converted biscuit factory, now hosts contemporary art and live performance, while the covered Marché de Talensac keeps to a simpler, daily rhythm of stalls and regulars. Around the cathedral and through the Bouffay quarter, half-timbered houses line narrow streets that open onto small squares with cafés and bars. North of the centre, the Erdre is bordered by grand villas as it winds into open countryside, and the vineyards of the Pays Nantais nearby produce Muscadet, the crisp white wine most associated with the region.