Nantes’s most historic figure is certainly the novelist Jules Verne (“Journey to the Center of the Earth,” “Around the World in Eighty Days”). Born in Nantes in 1828, he sat for hours on end, looking out his window at the busy port, imagining the exotic destinations the ships had traveled from. His adventures best come to life not at the museum, but at Les Machines de L’Ile. However, fans of the author and young explorers will enjoy the museum’s displays of memorabilia and artifacts inspired by his writings, from ink spots to a “magic” lantern with glass slides. Die-hard fans can seek out his former residence at 4 rue de Clisson in the Ile-Feydeau, though it is privately owned and not open to the public.