The final stage follows the Loire estuary, which gradually widens into a genuinely maritime stretch of water. The scenery shifts: industrial port areas near Nantes, then marshes and reed beds as the route moves away from the city.
Paimboeuf, a once-thriving trading port in the 18th century before being overtaken by Saint-Nazaire, retains an elegant quayside that testifies to its past prosperity. Saint-Nazaire, with its striking WWII submarine base now converted into a cultural venue, comes into view across the estuary.
Arriving in Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, a seaside resort facing the mouth of the Loire, symbolically marks the transition from river to Atlantic Ocean — and for the more ambitious, a natural link-up point with La Vélodyssée, which runs along the coast further south.
Indicative distance for this stretch.