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Machines of the island

At the origin of the machines of the island

The magical machines that populate the island of Nantes today are the result of an artistic project carried out by Pierre Orefice and François Delaroziere. A meeting of aesthetics and technology, these poetic and monumental creatures are inspired by both the visionary world of Jules Verne and the mechanical engineering of Leonardo da Vinci. They are a natural part of the urban landscape of a city that has also long developed through its industrial vocation: in the former shipyards, the large machines are now the stuff of dreams for young and old. They evoke the ever more distant journeys made possible by human technical advances, but also the exploratory soul that is still Nantes’.

With their apparent mechanisms, the island’s machines are themselves inspiring. They show, like a sectional drawing from an inventor’s sketches, the sublime contrast between the complexity of the gears and the simplicity of the raw materials, but also between an imaginative fairy tale aesthetic and pure mechanical performance. By revealing to the public the manufacturing process of the machines, the two designers of the project reconcile science and poetry, art and mechanics, stage and backstage. The result is a playful, inspiring and educational production.

Visit to the gallery of machines

The machine gallery is the test area, sometimes of adjustments of the Nantes workshops of large machines. A veritable mechanical bestiary awaits you, brought to life by the site’s machinists. The gallery presents the prototypes of numerous creatures, most of which are destined to populate the Heron Tree, a titanic project currently in progress. Among them, the giant flower-feeding hummingbird, a sloth, a heron with an 8-meter wingspan, a spider and a giant ant, or a caterpillar: so many creatures that you can take control of yourself!

A visit to the gallery is also an opportunity to be told the story of each creation by the machinists, and to discover the sketches that allowed the realization of the other great creations of the machine island: the now mythical Great Elephant, as well as the carousel populated by creatures of the abyss. Facing the gallery, the terraces of the workshops allow you to see the work in progress: at a height of more than 7 meters, you can observe the work of the builders of these fantastic creatures of wood and steel. A film is also projected, which goes back to the origins of the Machines de l’île project and to the previous achievements.

Rates and schedules

From November to March, the ticket office of the machines of the island opens from 2pm to 5pm on weekdays and from 2pm to 6pm on weekends and school vacations. In April, May, June, September and October, it opens from 10am to 5pm on weekdays and from 10am to 6pm on weekends and school vacations. It finally opens from 10am to 7pm from the second week of July to the third week of August. The visit of the site continues one hour after the closing of the ticket office, from 6pm to 8pm depending on the period. An annual closure takes place in January.

The Great Elephant trips have several departures during the day, every three quarters of an hour, 7 days a week in summer and during school vacations, and 6 days a week the rest of the year. The ticket office offers tickets for the visit of the Grand Gallery, the big elephant trip, and the sea worlds carousel tour. Each of these tickets gives access to the terraces of the workshop and to the prototype branch of the heron tree. The ticket for the trip in the Great Elephant costs 8.50 euros full price and 6.90 euros reduced price. The trip is free for children under 4 years old. The animated tour of the Gallery of Machines is also available for 8.50 euros full price and 6.90 euros reduced price. Same rates for the visit of the carousel with a ride. Without a tour, the price of a visit to the carousel is 6.30 euros full price and 5.30 euros reduced price. The purchase of a full price ticket to the carousel results in a discount on the price of admission to the gallery.

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Open from
06/04 at 14/09