The 11 things to do in Nantes

Visit Nantes: what are the best things to do and see in the largest city in Western France?

Nantes is the 6th city of France and as such it has many places and activities to visit. Whether you like to go out in a box, attend an exhibition, drink a quiet drink in a trendy neighborhood, discover the city and learn more about history, Nantes is full of ideas of escapades and places all as unique to each other.

So, ready to go for a little trip to Nantes? Here are a few ideas to visit Nantes, to do alone, to two, with family or friends.

1. The machines of the island

Flickr – Jean-Pierre Dalbéra

It’s a must-see place in Nantes in recent years: indeed, this place offers a vision that would be at the crossroads of the world of Jules verne and that of Léonard de Vinci. Come on. poetry and metal machines , the machines of the island offer a unique journey within a permanent exhibition where your imagination will be tested. Here, the visit is interactive, the visitor participates in the development of machines from the plant or animal world.

Located in the old hangars on the banks of the Loire, you will be able to go to meet fantastic animals such as ant, carnivorous plant, chenille, whale, taupe, the famous elephant and for a few weeks, a yellow dragon horse with red eyes. For kids and adults, a place not to be missed.

2. The Château des ducs de Bretagne

Flickr – Mr Thinktank

Symbol par excellence of the city of Nantes, this castle is the most Western located on the banks of the Loire, it is also the symbol of a medieval Brittany. Its realization is the fact of the Duke of Brittany in the 15th century and today it houses the Musée d’Histoire de Nantes .

In addition to the castle itself with its fortifications, its ramparts, its luminous courtyard from which it is possible to admire the interior facades of the Grand Logis, the Golden Crown Tower or the Grand Government, its neighborhoods and 32 rooms to discover, there are also the doves that form as a small garden where tourists and dwarfs like to walk, dream, find themselves, as in the distance

Do not hesitate to walk along the courtines that lead to the different towers around the castle and to take the old round path. The Château des Ducs is today classified as a historic monument . If possible, let yourself be tempted by a nocturnal discovery because the light of the castle is deeply involved in the renaissance of this incredible place.

3. The Garden of Plants

Flickr – Jean-Pierre Dalbéra

Located close to the train station (north exit), the Jardin des Plantes covers 7 hectares. This garden is a small lung in Nantes because it is in the heart of downtown, surrounded by many houses and buildings. It is a square-shaped garden with an arrangement made in English, including many avenues and alcoves but also ponds, streams, a household.

Many passages are protected, especially with respect to birds. Do not forget to discover the greenhouses (palmarium, rose garden, orangery) which are exceptional and so charged with history. The garden is open from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm in winter and up to 8:00 pm in summer.

4. St Pierre Cathedral

Flickr – jean-louis Zimmermann

Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul Cathedral is a remarkable and grandiose religious building to which the dwarfs are very attached. It is a very impressive monument by its dimensions and it is enough to discover the nave (higher than that of Notre-Dame in Paris) to understand how much the building is considered an architectural masterpiece.

Don’t hesitate to discover the crypts and to see in all its seams the strange tomb of François II (father of Anne de Bretagne) with its gisers, one of which is a biface statue. One of the few cathedrals to keep the same state since its construction 450 years ago.

5. The Pommeraye passage

Wikimedia – Julien Thibault

Probably one of the most beautiful passages covered throughout Europe, the passage Pommeraye do not leave indifferent: it is a merchant gallery that was built during the first half of the 19th century. The Pommeraye passage is a strolling place for all lovers of luxury and small shops: especially, if you have the opportunity, go there during the Christmas period to discover the thousand lights and sumptuous decorations all in finesse.

The passage Pommeraye connects the street (huppée) Crébillon with the rue de la Fosse which gives on the Place du Commerce, place of all appointments for the nantais. A real architectural work with its large wooden staircase, statues and all artistic details that adorn and pave the narrow passage.

6. The Unique Place

Wikimedia – Martin Argyroglo

The Single location (LU as a glance at the famous Nantaise biscuitery) is today a must-see place of culture whose main objective is to promote art in all its forms: exhibitions, concerts, dance shows.

There is a bar that is open until 3 o’clock in the morning, a complete and avant-garde bookstore and a very good adjoining restaurant. Although it happens, the famous LU tour attracts all eyes, it is truly an institution of night outs on Nantes.

7. Jules Verne Museum

Wikimedia – Pasdenom

Located at the top of the Butte Sainte-Anne, this museum reveals all the life and work of Jules Verne who lived for many years in Nantes. (Note that the machines of the island, cited above, are freely inspired by Jules Verne’s imagination).

A very playful museum with free attractions for all lovers of the author 20,000 places under the sea . Note that the Jules Verne Museum is located at the same distance between Los Angeles and Vladivostok.

8. The island of Versailles

Flickr – Christopher Guillou

Probably one of the most popular and popular corners of paradise of the nantais. L’ island of Versailles lies at the end of Boulevard des 50 Orages and the city of Nantes has decided to put it in a huge Japanese garden.

With its constructions in the traditional Japanese architecture, its wooden corridor, its rich and abundant vegetation, its patio in its centre, the island of Versailles is a small green lung that breathes Zen and serenity. A real place of relaxation, away from the city brouha, where all we have to do is listen to the runoff of the water.

9. The opera Graslin

Flickr – Groume

Located in the heart of Nantes, opera Graslin was built at the end of the 18th century in an antique style with its 8 muses each placed above the Corinthian columns that draw the entrance of the theatre. An exceptional place (you must absolutely discover its ceiling) that can accommodate nearly 700 people by representation.

A must-see monument that is also one of the places to meet the dwarfs in the northwest district of Nantes. A unique place for lyrical art and culture in Nantes.

10. A boat ride

Visiting Nantes is also to be led by the peaceful pace of navigation over the course of the Loire, Erdre or Sèvre.

Indeed, very nice walks are to be made by boat. It would be a shame not to rent a boat in Nantes , and thus fail to discover the natural richness and remarkable heritage of the estuary of the Loire.

11. What else to do in Nantes and its surroundings?

• The castle of Goulaine
• The Nantes vineyards that produce the Muscadet
• The city of Clisson
• Visit them Marais Salants de Guérande from La Baule
• The Memorial of the Abolition of Slavery
• The village of Trentemoult

Our workshop in Nantes

Have you ever dreamed of putting yourself in the skin of a saunier? So come and discover this workshop near Nantes, in Beauvoir Sur Mer. During 2 h , for 48 € , you will be welcomed in an exceptional setting classified as "Natura 2000".

First of all, you will start this workshop with a tour of the salt marsh with Analia and Julien. You can then put yourself in the skin of a saunier by putting your feet in the clay and by harvesting the Sel Flower yourself.

After these magnificent discoveries, you can leave with your harvest that you will have conditioned in a small pot of ceramic. A workshop to be discovered in the region!

Nantes: How to get there? Where to stay?

It is relatively easy to get to Nantes, without spending too much. Numerous low-cost companies serve many aircraft each week from several cities in France: Marseille (Ryanair), Montpellier (Volotea), Lyon, Toulouse, Nice (easyJet), Paris (Air France), and Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Lille (HOP!).

To find the cheapest flight to Nantes, use the Compare Skyscanner .

It is also possible to get to Nantes by train.

From Nantes Island in the heart of the city, several neighbourhoods offer you to stay in Nantes. To find a cheap hotel in Nantes, search our website Compare hotels .

Have you visited Nantes?