Gone to See the Elephant
Le Grand Eléphant out for a stroll in Nantes, France
In 1796, an enterprising sea captain named Jacob Crowninshield sailed his ship from Calcutta to New York. His most important cargo was the first live elephant ever to be seen in America. Word of this exotic import spread rapidly and soon visitors were arriving from hundreds of miles away to view the sensational creature on display. Upon returning home, they shared breathless tales of how they had gone to see the elephant. . .
These widespread stories gave rise to a popular new phrase in the American lexicon. "Gone to see the elephant" came to mean a personal journey to experience something truly extraordinary. A classic example was the 1849 California Gold Rush, when over 300,000 fortune hunters headed west by any means available. Some of the lucky ones realized their dreams of wealth while others found only disappointment. They all had one thing in common. They had all "gone to see the elephant".
One of the world’s most well-known “elephants”
Today, France, in particular, offers a great many unique and unforgettable "elephants" to go see. Iconic monuments. Legendary cathedrals. Priceless works of art. Palaces. Castles. However, there are a couple of amazing ones you may have not heard about. Off the beaten path of tourism, they each take a little extra time to get to but, you may find, it's time well spent.
Les Machines de l'île
This fantastic, ever-expanding project is set in Nantes, a city about 200 miles southwest of Paris. It is called Les Machines de l'île (The Machines of the Island). The artists and engineers behind it have created an original, steampunk mix of Jules Vern's science fiction (the author was born in Nantes) and Leonardo da Vinci's technological wizardry. The result is a kind of immersive, other-worldly theme park. Les Machines de l'île includes three primary elements: La Galerie, Le Carrousel and Le Grand Eléphant.
Passengers carried aloft by a giant heron in La Galerie
La Galerie is a large exhibition space where phantasmagorical visions have been artfully realized in wood and steel. Visitors can get up close and personal with gigantic insects, an enormous arachnid and super-sized hummingbirds while a passenger-carrying heron with a 26-foot wingspan soars overhead.
A huge, animated ant roaming La Galerie
Le Carrousel is essentially a huge, three-story merry-go-round populated with surrealistic sea creatures crafted in wood and steel. It can accommodate 300 passengers, including 89 who can ride and control their own bizarre marine beast. It's a Disney-meets-Dali attraction for both kids and adults.
One of the 89 bizarre sea creature rides on Le Carrousel
Le Grand Eléphant is the awesome centerpiece of Les Machines de l'île. Crafted in wood, steel and leather, this self-powered colossus is 40 feet tall and weighs over 48 tons. It strolls the grounds several times a day, thrilling its 50 passengers with the feeling of riding an animated four-story building. Spectators below are surprised to find the massive beast can even wave its ears and spray water from its fully articulated trunk. You can see this bad boy in action in the 60-second video below
The Eléphant in the zoom at Les Machines de l’île
Le Grand Eléphant on the move (video)
Le Viaduc de Millau
The small town of Millau (mee'-yo) sits in the peaceful Tarn Valley of southern France, about 130 miles west of Avignon. That location puts it directly on the primary route between Paris and Barcelona. In the 1980s, ever-increasing numbers of holiday travelers began to cause severe traffic congestion and delays in the area. Something had to be done.
In 1991, a decision was made to build a bridge to span the valley and bypass the town altogether.
As with any project of this scale, there was a great deal of planning and debate. After thirteen years of proposals, design competitions, construction and a cost of $494 million, Le Viaduc de Millau (The Millau Bridge) opened to the public in December 2004. It was, and still is, simply astonishing.
Seven sailboats shimmering in the distance
When you get your first glimpse of the structure from the highway, it appears to be a row of seven silver sailboats, shimmering in the distance. As you draw closer, the stunning reality is revealed. Those are not boats. They are the seven towers of the tallest bridge on planet earth. At 1,104 feet, the equivalent of a 110-story building, the Viaduc de Millau is 80 feet higher than the Eiffel Tower.
Taking flight on the tallest bridge in the world
Millau and the Tarn Valley far below
Your mind is still trying to process what it's seeing when suddenly, your wheels are on the bridge. It no longer feels like you are driving a car. It's as if you had been launched into the sky, untethered and impossibly high above the valley below. You have become a pilot. A somewhat terrified yet exhilarated pilot. After a mile-and-a-half flight, your heart is still racing as you descend and touch down on terra firma again.
An incredible marriage of design and engineering
Ranked as one of the greatest engineering achievements of all time, the Viaduc easily fulfilled its original mission. The intense traffic problems are long gone. In the past, motorists could spend up to four frustrating hours crossing the valley. Today, that journey takes only a few adrenaline-fueled minutes.
Transportation elevated to art at the highest level
The project's designers wisely included an adjacent visitor center so that travelers could properly behold the spectacular creation. Soaring majestically over the Tarn Valley, the Viaduc de Millau is a breathtaking, jaw-dropping work of art. From its graceful masts and cables above to its massive pylons below, it is a stunning combination of beauty and power. The next time you are in France, this is one "elephant" absolutely worth going to see!
And that's the way the story goes.