Sunday saw us home alone with our son for the afternoon. What to do, what to do! The weather being OK and having a free ticket for the elephant (Thanks July Cocoon) we had to use (limited date) it was decided. If you don’t know the elephant you’re really in for a treat the first time you see it.
This is actually a photo from the first time I saw it. I remember hearing the elephant roar in the distance and wondering what the hell was that.
It came out of the trees in the distance and it was HUGE. It’s kinda breathtaking.
All the years living here and I still love seeing it.
After queueing for about 10 minutes we arrived at the head of the queue. I was nervous … we had just missed the 15:45 departure (though it’s also from the other end at the carousel) so the next trip was at 16:30. Only two places though? Would that mean only 2 of us could go on? Yep, it did! Not a big deal though and you know why? Val could thankfully take some photos from the ground. We didn’t draw straws to decide who would go. Val had done it before with Charlotte. It was my turn. I’d advise going early to book tickets. There are, it would seem, a limited number of places available online via the website (Also they don’t offer the popular times online, you’ve got to queue for those)
Tickets will set you back €8.50 for an adult … and €6.90 for a child (4-17 years old) / Student / Unemployed. Children under 4 are free. There are a number of other options available which work out with better pricing … family tickets (2 adults 3 children … 1 adult 4 children) You can find out those details later on.
Tickets in hand we headed up to the first floor to go onboard.
It’s rather impressive when you know this moves around the park! (OK not so fast but still it’s incredibly cool)
For an adult, I guess it’s not so exciting onboard. Having now done it once I don’t think I’d go again (I still love seeing it and taking photos of it). However, for a small child, I suspect it’s rather mind-blowing. Two levels on it (3ish if you think of going up on top of the head as another level) … spiral staircase in the centre. It’s quite cool. There isn’t however that much to do on board. Though it’s interesting to see some of the gears and motors up close.
I’ve got some lovely memories with my son not to mention a few nice photos as souvenirs. The higher elevation of the elephant makes for some cool vantage points for photos 🙂
You can find more details on the official website https://www.lesmachines-nantes.fr/en/ (English version)
Merci July Cocoon 🙂
