The west side of the Île de Nantes is inhabited by whimsical animatronic creatures inspired by Jules Verne’s writings and Leonardo da Vinci’s fanciful gizmos, and brought to life by the artist François Delaroziere.
All these extraordinary machines are interactive: The Grand Éléphant for example is 12 metres tall and carries 52 passengers on its back for a walk in which you can feel the vibration of every step.
The Carrousel des Mondes Marins is a gigantic carrousel with moving marine creatures, and the Arbre aux Hérons is a climbable sculpture with ramps and stairways in the form of a vast tree.
The indoor Galerie des Machines has many more sculptures and shows you how they were designed and built.
