Terrace of the Fortified Lock

The terrace of the fortified lock

The Saint-Nazaire audio-guided tour offers you to take some height on the panoramic terrace of the fortified lock, to discover the city from an unexpected angle.

A 360-degree panorama over the port

At first glance, the submarine base and the fortified lock resemble immense concrete chests, marked by time and infiltration. Yet, it is to these two structures that Saint-Nazaire owes some of its most beautiful panoramas. From the rooftop terrace of the lock, accessible by a few steps, the view embraces the Saint-Nazaire bridge, the port district and the basin of the shipyards, in a 360-degree sweep of the horizon. On the part turned towards the estuary is exhibited an old cannon coming from the Campbeltown, this British destroyer that played a central role during Operation Chariot. Facing the Joubert lock, one also distinguishes the large red and white geometric shapes that punctuate the port landscape. The terrace thus offers a privileged viewpoint, where war memory and port activity answer each other.

What there is to see

The terrace offers a panoramic view over the cable-stayed bridge, the port, the shipyards and the estuary. One also discovers there a cannon from the Campbeltown, a vestige of Operation Chariot, which anchors the place in history. It is an ideal belvedere to embrace at a single glance the whole port landscape of Saint-Nazaire.

Practical information

The panoramic terrace is above the fortified lock, on the port of Saint-Nazaire. It is generally accessible during the opening hours of the site, according to weather conditions; a few steps are to be climbed to reach it.

What does one see from the terrace of the lock?

A 360-degree view over the Saint-Nazaire bridge, the port, the shipyards and the Loire estuary.

What is exhibited on the terrace?

An old cannon coming from the Campbeltown, the British destroyer of Operation Chariot.