Nantes’ city centre is a tourist postcard. A castle, several efficient tramway lines, old buildings, a few art pieces here and there, historic neighbourhoods and hundreds of bars and restaurants. I’m not patriotic but even I must admit the city is very pretty—Nantes invested in the tourism industry, and it shows.

When I’m sick and tired of this polished side, I escape where no one goes anymore, along the Loire River, where the factories and not-so-glamorous industries supported the city’s growth for a long, long time. Dirty roads, empty buildings, graffiti, windy alleys, grass growing through cracked concrete and a few misfits hanging out.

The perfect place where you are in the mood for a dose of reality.