Les Chantiers de l'Atlantique

Just a few kilometers from Pornichet, Chantiers de l'Atlantique embodies a major part of the region's industrial and maritime history. Their reputation extends far beyond France's borders, thanks to the construction of iconic ships ranging from the Normandie and the France to some of the most impressive ocean liners ever built.

This guided tour takes you right to the heart of the site, far from a simple showcase presentation. Aboard a bus, the tour crosses the internal streets of the shipyards, veritable arteries of a "city within a city". Stops and descents allow you to get up close to the workshops, assembly holds and construction areas, offering direct contact with the day-to-day reality of the site.

As the tour progresses, the eye is naturally drawn upwards. The immense gantries, among the most powerful in Europe, accompany the discovery and give an idea of the scale involved. Here, everything is dimensioned to accommodate the giants of the seas: liners from the Oasis family, ships from the MSC fleet and even vessels that have marked the history of world shipbuilding.

The two-hour tour explains the major stages in the construction process, the organization of the site and the diversity of the skills involved. The guide explains the technical choices made, the industrial constraints and the human dimension of this collective adventure, in which each trade contributes to the birth of "king ships".

Visits must be booked in advance, and are offered during school vacations, with extended opening hours. This framework allows us to offer visitors the best possible conditions for discovering a site in full operation.

A visit to the Chantiers de l'Atlantique is the perfect complement to a stay in Pornichet. It offers a striking glimpse of the industrial dimension of the coastline, and a better understanding of how maritime history continues to be written, even today, on the shores of the estuary.