SAINT-JOSEPH-DE-PORTERIE

It's a route of real or symbolic colours: from the black of Barbara's song (immortalising the "rue de la Grange-au-Loup") to the red of the Roseraie, via Port-la-Blanche.

Walking along the Bretonnière stream, we are reminded of the very special urbanisation of the left bank in the early 1950s. It was here that the story of building with a mutualist spirit in this part of Nantes began. After the working day and the 48-hour week, around fifty families, most of them from the Batignolles-Châtillon factory, worked to build workers' housing estates.
The walk will then take you to the banks of the Erdre, a wild and romantic river where you can admire a string of small castles and follies in Nantes. These beautiful properties were built by shipowners in the 17th and 18th centuries, who became rich through the spice and slave trades. If you go as far as the village of Port-la-Barbe, an old fishing village, you'll have a great view of the Erdre and the Château du Bignon. If you return to the main route, you'll be able to see the Château de la Desnerie.
Finally, at the junction of the rocky plateau and the Bretonnière valley, the Beaujoire floral park offers beautiful views over the Erdre. The Paul Plantiveau rose garden is now the park's main attraction. This landscaped area combines perennials with almost 20,000 rose bushes, mainly selected for their fragrance.