The île de Nantes (Island of Nantes) is an island located in the centre of the city of

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, surrounded by two branches of the river

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

- the "bras de la Madeleine" (branch of the Madeleine) at the north and the "bras de Pirmil" (branch of Pirmil) at the south. It is one of the eleven neighbourhoods of Nantes.

Dimensions and history

The island is long and wide due to joining together former small islands in the centre of Nantes, separated by the branches of the Loire river (sometimes referred to locally as the "Boires", as in "Boire des Récollets, "boire de Toussaint" and "boire de la Biesse"). The branches (intervening channels) were filled in during the 19th and 20th centuries. Chiefly these islands were the "île Beaulieu", "île Sainte-Anne", "île de Petite Biesse" and the "île de Grande Biesse" the more

water meadow A water-meadow (also water meadow or watermeadow) is an area of grassland subject to controlled irrigation to increase agricultural productivity. Water-meadows were mainly used in Europe from the 16th to the early 20th centuries. Working water-m ...

-like "prairie au Duc", "prairie d'Aval", "prairie d'Amont", "prairie de Balagué", "prairie de Pré-Joli". It is one of the most developed and well-conserved parts of the city while featuring modern buildings such as its major basketball and indoor sports venue. Many trees and flowers are on the island, which in part helped the city to be recognized as European Green Capital in 2013.

Access

The "île de Nantes" is linked to the rest of the city by 13 bridges: * 8 bridges cross the branch of the Madeleine: ** Éric Tabarly bridge ** Résal bridge (railway bridge) ** Willy Brandt's bridge ** Aristide Briand bridge ** Général Audibert bridge ** Haudaudine bridge ** Passerelle Victor Schoelcher (pedestrian bridge) ** Anne-de-Bretagne bridge * 5 bridges cross the branch of Pirmil: ** Léopold Sédar Senghor bridge ** Georges Clemenceau bridge ** Pirmil bridge ** Pornic bridge (railway bridge with a bicycle track) ** Trois continents bridge The Vendée's bridge is a railway bridge, which crosses the island, but there is no railway station on the island.

Locations of interest

Machines of the Isle of Nantes The Machines of the Isle of Nantes (french: text=Les Machines de l'île) is an artistic, touristic and cultural project based in Nantes, France. The project is based in the old covered buildings of the former shipyards in Nantes that were at one ti ...

* Court of justice of Nantes * Titan cranes * Blockhaus DY10 * The ''

Palais des Sports de Beaulieu Palais des Sports de Beaulieu is an indoor sporting arena located in Nantes, France. Built in 1973, the seating capacity of the arena is for 5,500 people. It is currently home to the HBC Nantes handball team. The arena hosted the 1974 Europ ...

'' * Buren's rings * The ''hangar à bananes'' (bananas facility)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ile De Nantes

Ile Ile may refer to: * iLe, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino acid * Anothe ...

River islands of France