sous-marin l'espadon

bensil

Neither my wife or myself had been near a submarine before, so a trip to the u boat pens was well up our list of places to see during our short visit to the area. We only made the tour of the sub and although it was disappointing that it was not a German U Boat, the French sub definitely gives a flavour of the horrendous conditions the submariner had to endure. The engineering is amazing and the maximisation of space is incredible. Anyone who is even the slightest claustrophobic should think twice before squeezing through the very narrow main walk way and small doors. The sleeping areas are no more than 1.5M and you can only assume that the Mariners were of very short and slight build. Great visit that we both enjoyed.

Quadlock

...tiny cramped submarines. It's a very interesting visit if you're at all interested in engineering or similar. The technology was clearly stretched to the limit when this was built - the electronics that take up a great deal of space would now fit in a shoe box and be better! Not much plastic in evidence either but the over powering lack of space is striking and the smells which would have been much more intense when it was in use - fuel - electriacl discharges food and some less welcome pongs too! Worth the trip!

johnmZ2635FV

Well laid out attraction, given the limited space they have to work with and the English audio guide was very good. Make sure you add the free visit to the viewing area on top of the building - wonderful views all round of the U-boat pens, the amazing bridge and the famous dock entrance.

fionat2013

Visited Saint Nazaire to see the U-boat pens as husband and sons all interested. Very helpful staff in tourist information office directed us husband to the gift shop to buy English language book of history of area. Sons interested in going on a sub so headed for ticket office. Great advice given and so bought combined ticket for The Espadon and Escal’ Atlantic. You can wander about the area without paying for any museums but I'm glad we did. The sub visit is by self guided audio tour in English. Some of it was a bit complicated for a non technically minded tourist but boys found it fascinating. Very atmospheric and really gave an idea of the cramped and difficult conditions experienced by sub-mariners.We found a lot of information before visiting after googling the The Helpful Engineer's website - recommend!

477mackn

Dear Mack N, while we appreciate your taking the time to write a comment we have to put things straight. Entry to the submarine is 9 euros, a far cry from the sum you quote. Even if you combine the submarine with a visit of Escal’Atlantic, the ocean liner experience inside the main submarine pen, plus a tour of the heritage museum Ecomusée, it still costs only 19 euros per person. So you’ll have to admit that we’re not ripping off our visitors. As to “dark and damp”, well that’s what a submarine pen is like… We hope you put your short stay in Saint-Nazaire to advantage and went for a nice walk along the seaside.

chazzerino

The Espadon was built by the French from U Boat plans. The trip round the ship was interesting and very atmospheric, giving you a very good idea of the hardships endured by the German U Boat seamen. Is there another surviving U Boat ? Perhaps this is unique.

Francoman

If you like submarines this is the place for you, audio description provided as part of the entrance fee in different languages. The submarine is French not German but still gives you the experience of what life was like under the water.

donalg2013

Very interesting to see this submarine. How did submariners live in such a confined space? The visit took only about 20 minutes, but that was about as long as I wanted to stay in this submarine. That said Le Redoutable in Cherbourg was far more spacious.

PKatVCR

Visited along with my wife and one year old son.It is exactly what you expect - a submarine! You basically enter it from one end and pass along its length getting to view how everything operated in the sub.Clearly you can't take a push chair in the submarine so you'll need to carry any young kids however it only takes about 20-30 minutes to do the tour so its pretty manageable.They have a place where you can leave pushchairs near the ticket office and the staff there will keep an eye on them for you.You get a free recorded guide that gives you an excellent running commentary as you view the interior of the sub.Well worth a visit if you are with kids as they'll love going on a submarine - as will many adults!We had combined tickets with Escal'Atlantic and this proved to be much better. I would probably just do the submarine tour and then walk around the docks if I visited again as Escal'Atlantic was not up to much.

Juliechilds

Really interesting museum giving you the chance to go look round a real submarine. The audio commentary was well done and is a available in several languages. Go early as it can get busy as its such a popular attraction. Well worth a visit.

SianW164

An unusual attraction, well worth visiting, especially as it forms part of the whole St Nazaire port visit. It is moored in the lock which was used during WW2 to get the submarines out from the pens opposite without being spotted. Good recorded tour in English. The submarine pens opposite should also be visited - and all the roofs.

biggeorge55

This is French sub from 1960s. One gets a taste of what living and working was like on board. Worth a visit.

Intrepidity060

Easy to find (part of the Nazi U-boat submarine pens complex), easy parking which is also free and set in interesting port surroundings. A thoroughly enjoyable visit all round. If you have never been in a submarine (this one is from the 1950's) then this is a fascinating (if claustrophobic) experience. The audio guide is well worthwhile, too.

PARIS522

50 days being the longest time the submarine could remain submerged.A 1950s French submarine to walk through and experience the cramped life of a submariner, a very good audio guide explains in detail how it operated and provides a good insight into life on board.The company that provides this experience has 3 other sites in the area and you can get a good discount if you buy all your tickets at the same time.

DoctorTechnical

On the docks opposite the U Boat pens, walk around over the swing bridges either end df the enclosed water faced by the pens. The submarine is housed in a seperate concerte pen? You get a handset audio guide telling you all about the boat and where it has been ( under the Artic ) you get to wander freely inside the somewhat claustrophobic vessel. Even Mrs Technical who has an aversion to war stuff found it really good, and that says lots! Well worth a visit.