The île de Nantes (French pronunciation: [ildənɑ̃t] , Island of Nantes) is an island located in the centre of the city of Nantes, France, surrounded by two branches of the river Loire—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.
The island is 4.9 km (3.0 mi) long and 1 km (0.6 mi) 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-like "prairie au Duc", "prairie d'Aval", "prairie d'Amont", "prairie de Balagué", "prairie de Pré-Joli". [1] 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. [2]
The "île de Nantes" is linked to the rest of the city by 13 bridges:
The Vendée's bridge is a railway bridge, which crosses the island, but there is no railway station on the island.
Brittany is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of Roman occupation. It became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed as a separate nation under the crown. Brittany is the traditional homeland of the Breton people and is one of the six Celtic nations, retaining a distinct cultural identity that reflects its history.
Nantes is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, 50 km (31 mi) from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 320,732 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabitants (2020). With Saint-Nazaire, a seaport on the Loire estuary, Nantes forms one of the main north-western French metropolitan agglomerations.
The Island of Montreal is a large island in southwestern Quebec, Canada, that is the site of a number of municipalities, including most of the city of Montreal, and is the most populous island in Canada. It is the main island of the Hochelaga Archipelago at the confluence of the Saint Lawrence and Ottawa rivers.
Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.
Orléans is a city in north-central France, about 120 kilometres southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the department of Loiret and of the region of Centre-Val de Loire.
Angers is a city in western France, about 300 km (190 mi) southwest of Paris. It is the prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Anjou until the French Revolution. The inhabitants of both the city and the province are called Angevins or, more rarely, Angeriens.
Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue is an on-island suburb located at the western tip of the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is the second oldest community in Montreal's West Island, having been founded as a parish in 1703. The oldest, Dorval, was founded in 1667.
Saint-Nazaire is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany.
Laval is a town in western France, about 300 km (190 mi) west-southwest of Paris, and the capital of the Mayenne department.
Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine is a municipality located in Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine region, in Quebec, Canada. It is located on the islands of the Magdalen Islands archipelago, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 250 km (160 mi) from Gaspé, 120 km (75 mi) from Prince Edward Island, 90 km (56 mi) from Cape Breton Island, and 150 km (93 mi) from Newfoundland.
Châteaubriant is a town in western France, about 350 km (220 mi) southwest of Paris, and one of the three sous-préfectures of the Loire-Atlantique department. Châteaubriant is also situated in the historical and cultural region of Brittany, and it is the capital of the Pays de la Mée.
Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine is an administrative region of Quebec consisting of the Gaspé Peninsula (Gaspésie) and the Îles-de-la-Madeleine. It lies in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at the eastern extreme of southern Quebec. The predominant economic activities are fishing, forestry and tourism.
Parthenay is an ancient fortified town and commune in the Deux-Sèvres department of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. It is sited on a rocky spur that is surrounded on two sides by the River Thouet, and is the sub-prefecture of the Parthenay arrondissement.
Route 117, the Trans Canada Highway Northern Route, is a provincial highway within the Canadian province of Quebec, running between Montreal and the Quebec/Ontario border where it continues as Highway 66 east of McGarry, Ontario. It is an important road since it is the only direct route between southern Quebec and the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region.
The Pont de Bir-Hakeim, formerly the Pont de Passy, is an arch bridge that crosses the Seine in Paris. It connects the 15th and 16th arrondissement, passing through the Île aux Cygnes. The bridge, made of steel, was constructed between 1903 and 1905, in replacement of a footbridge that had been erected in 1878. The bridge has two levels: one for motor vehicles and pedestrians, the other being a viaduct built above the first one, through which passes Line 6 of the Paris Métro. The bridge is 237 metres (777 ft) long and 24.7 metres (81 ft) wide. The part crossing the Grand Bras of the Seine is slightly longer than the one crossing the Petit Bras.
Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Its inhabitants, known as Michelois, numbered 5,173 at the 2018 census.
Jacques Bizard Bridge is a bridge that crosses the Rivière des Prairies and connects the island of Île Bizard to Montreal Island.
The railway from Moret-Veneux-les-Sablons to Lyon is a French 492-kilometre long railway line, that connects the Paris region to the city Lyon via Nevers and Saint-Étienne. The railway was opened in several stages between 1828 and 1861. The section between Saint-Étienne and Saint-Just-sur-Loire was the first railway line in France. It has functioned as an alternative line for the Paris–Marseille railway between Paris and Lyon. Its main use, besides local traffic, is now for the connection between Paris and Clermont-Ferrand.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Nantes, France.