Article: 48 HOURS IN nantes ; The birthplace of Jules Verne makes a great destination for adventurous weekenders seeking festivities, food and fun, says Nicola Barranger

The city's heyday was during the 18th-century slave trade, when it was the premier port in France for human traffic. This gave way to shipbuilding in the 19th and much of the 20th centuries, but since that industry sailed away billions of euro have been ploughed into rejuvenation projects. For decades Nantes was known among locals as une belle endormie ('a sleeping beauty'). But after a massive regeneration programme, the birthplace of Jules Verne is blooming.

The second bi-annual Estuaire 2009 Art Festival has just opened and will run until August 16. Thirty art installations from around the world line the banks of the Loire from Nantes to St-Nazaire; estuaire.info/009. And 27 June sees ...

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