Le Ménage Magique (The Magic Carousel)

While exploring Aix one day, we discovered the most amazing carousel at the end of the Cours Mirabeau. It looks like something out of a Jules Verne novel or a steampunk dream. Watching this carousel as an adult feels like stepping in to a fantasy world, I can only imagine how magical it must be to ride it as a child. There's a ship that steams, a giant grasshopper, a dinosaur spitting flames, a hot air balloon, an airplane, a snail, a submarine, an octopus, a pterodactyl and more. The most popular ride on the carousel is the rocket. It shoots 5 meters up and out of the carousel top. Our son said it even has a working altimeter. Our kids rode the carousel 5 times over the course of a few days. They talked about it NONSTOP afterwards...what they rode, what it was like, what they would ride next time, etc. We were sad to see it packed up and put on a truck not long ago. We had been under the impression it was at home in Aix. After researching the carousel a bit, we discovered it had been traveling all over Europe and was recently in Aix as part of an Art Festival. It will be returning permanently to Nantes, France. It was designed by Jean-Luc Courcoult, the director of a French Theater company called Royal de Luxe, and directed by Francois Delaroziére. Much of the carousel, including the dinosaur and octopus, are hand-carved. Please treat yourself and check out their webpage:  http://www.lesmanegesdandrea.com/ . We are so happy the kids were able to ride this incredible work of art while it was here.