Nantes

About Nantes

Nantes is a historic port city on the Loire River in western France with exceptional examples of medieval palaces and castles. The city and its merchants grew rich on income generated by the slave trade, but their prosperity came to an end with the onset of the French Revolution of the late 18th century. Today all that remains of the rules of the Dukes of Brittany are their elaborate homes which stand as monumental testimonies to their existence.

The Loire Valley around Nantes is one of the major wine-growing regions in France and where the grapes used to produce the white wine, Muscadet, are grown. It is one of the most visited spots in the country and famous for its landscapes peppered with impressive chateaus. Nantes is one of the more favored cities for tourists to the Loire to stay.

Along with its diverse history, stunning architecture, and nearby vineyards, Nantes is renowned for the production of cheese and chocolate. Much of the top-quality local produce is displayed at the weekly farmers market held in the city where the jostling of elbows to buy the best routinely occurs between the city's housewives and the restaurant chefs.

Things to do in Nantes

Nantes is a French city with a special ambiance that has frequently been compared with the country's capital, Paris. While it may not have the exact same je nais se quois, ooh la la factor Paris does, there are some incredible things to do in Nantes both indoors and out. No matter what your preference for entertainment or sightseeing is, you'll easily find something to suit whether it's a museum or an adventure park.

• Spend a few hours wandering around the Jules Verne Museum. The museum is a fascinating testimony to the life and works of the famous French author who penned such spellbinding tales as Journey to the Center of the Earth and Around the World in Eighty Days.
• Get a dose of the weird and wonderful by heading down to the riverbank to see Les Machines de I'lle. The amazing moving sculptures are enormous metal machines in animal form and totally mind-boggling to watch. Ride one in the gallery or jump aboard the marine world carousel for a spin into fantasy land.
• If you've not had enough of fantastic beasts after seeing Les Machines de I'lle, go out to the Loire estuary and you'll find another even stranger one. The Loire Estuary Sea Snake is a four hundred foot long, aluminum sculpture of a serpent skeleton that snakes over the shoreline in a glinting twist of shiny silver.
• The Nantes Botanical Gardens are twenty acres of verdant tranquility to the north of the city and a great spot to escape to for some peace and quiet. The gardens contain thousands of native French plant species as well as many from far-flung continents adapted to grow in the cooler climate.
• Explore the legacy left by the dukes of bygone days with a visit to the Château des ducs de Bretagne.

Transit options in Nantes

• Nantes is served by the Nantes Atlantique Airport which is eight kilometers from the city center.
• The main train station in Nantes is the Nantes Train Station located on the Boulevard de Stalingrad.
• Nantes has a rapid bus transit system which operates an efficient service on a network of busways around the city.

Luggage storage in Nantes

Hopping on and off the buses in Nantes is an ideal way of getting around the city, but a total nightmare if you're humping bags with you. You can't ride on carousels or go into museums with large bags with you either. Use a Bounce luggage locker in Nantes to store your suitcase and you'll be able to have fun without worrying about your belongings. Bounce lockers are easy to use, low priced and conveniently located.

Attractions and activities near Nantes

Saint Nazaire: Saint Nazaire is where you'll find the closest beaches to Nantes. Saint Nazaire is situated on the edge of the Loire estuary where the river runs into the Bay of Biscay. Both sides of the river there are lined with extensive stretches of beach reputed to be the best in the region. Take a stroll along any one of the six before heading in the city's port to see inside a submarine or take a world cruise on a digital reconstruction of a classic cruise liner.  

Montretrait: Follow the course of the Erdre River as it meanders inland from Nantes until you reach Montretrait. There you can enter into a world of story by visiting the peculiar Maison de Blanche Neige. The Maison de Blanche Neige, or Snow White's House, is a work of fantasy architecture and life project of Ferdinand Bielle-Bidelot. Around the Disney-style structure is a complete village in miniature with characterful gnome-sized residents, animals, and a burbling stream with a working windmill.

La Chapelle-Launay: La Chapelle-Launay is one of the gateway villages to the Parc naturel regional de Briere. The park contains seventeen thousand acres of wetland and is the second-largest of its kind in France. The park is crisscrossed with canals that can be navigated by boat and peppered with historic hamlets of thatched roofed cottages. Along with the area's abundant birdlife, one of the other main attractions there are the ruins of the Chateau de Ranrouet, a 13th-century castle. Arrive there on the right day and you could find either a medieval reenactment taking place or a farmers market being held.