Tour LU Belvédère, Île de Nantes
Climb to the rooftop terrace of the repurposed LU biscuit factory tower on the Île de Nantes and you'll be rewarded with a sweeping 360-degree panorama across the Loire, the cathedral spires, the cranes of the old shipyard and the new eco-district rising around you.
The View and What You'll See
On a clear day the view stretches south across the Loire floodplain toward the vineyards of Muscadet country. To the north, the twin towers of the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul punctuate the old city skyline. Sunset turns the river copper and the light is extraordinary.
The tower is part of the Le Lieu Unique cultural centre — a national centre for contemporary arts occupying the old LU factory. The distinctive neo-Gothic turrets of the original building make it instantly recognisable from across the island.
Combining It with Le Lieu Unique
Le Lieu Unique itself is worth a wander: its ground-floor bar serves local craft beers and natural wines until late, and the programme of exhibitions, concerts and performance art is consistently adventurous. Check the agenda on their website before you go.
The belvédère terrace is accessed via a narrow staircase inside the tower. Access is free and unsupervised during opening hours — a rarity for a viewpoint of this quality in a French city.
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