Nantes Friday 6th May

After breakfast we did a walking tour of Nantes, well before any of the shops opened (if they were, considering it was a public holiday) and before any locals started moving around the city. When we visited the square in front of the Place Royale several banks had their glass windows broken through riots the week before and where now boarded up with timber. The riots apparantly where a protest against banking restrictions. Later on in our tour when we visited the Chateau of the Dukes of Brittany, several statues had the eyes and mouths painted red, giving the appearance of bleeding. This was by riotors two days ago!

On our walk we toured through the Passage Pommerave, a shopping district created in the 18th century in order to clean up the red light district, (but they just relocated further west of the area!),  the Chateau of the Dukes of Brittany, the restored Cathedral St Peter and St Paul and several other historical sites.  Again, there is influences from the Gauls, Vikings, Romans, English, French Revolution, Slave Traders, Napolean and WW2. Nantes was the biggest port in France to receive and trade slaves.

After we returned the ship then cruised further up the Loire to overnight in Ancenis.

Three levels of Passage Pommerave

Boarded-up windows of local bank which had windows smashed

Chateau of Dukes of Brittany

Inside the Cathedral of St Peter and St Paul. This cathedral had been badly damaged during the American aircraft bombings during WW2 and rebuilt. Hence the light, white arches.