Nantes, France

Nantes has reinvented itself more successfully than almost any French city outside Paris. The former industrial shipyards on the Île de Nantes now house Les Machines de l'Île — a fantastical project inspired by Jules Verne (born here in 1828) and Leonardo da Vinci, whose centrepiece is the Grand Éléphant, a 12-metre mechanical elephant that carries passengers through the grounds. The Château des Ducs de Bretagne — the medieval fortress of the Breton dukes, where the Edict of Nantes was signed in 1598 — has been restored as a free-entry city history museum. The Passage Pommeraye, a 19th-century shopping arcade on three levels with ornate staircases and carved figures, is one of Europe's most beautiful covered passages. Every summer, Le Voyage à Nantes transforms the city into an outdoor art trail: installations by international artists are placed across the urban landscape, connected by a green line painted on the pavement. Nantes sits at the head of the Loire estuary, making it the gateway to the Loire Valley châteaux upstream and the wild Brittany coast to the northwest. The city's food scene reflects both Breton and Loire influences: crêpes and galettes, Muscadet wine, beurre blanc sauce (invented here), and seafood from the Atlantic. TGV to Paris in 2h15, and the airport connects to most European cities.