You only have one day to visit Nantes and you are wondering which itinerary to take? The city of Nantes is full of treasures (museums, gardens, architecture, animations, restaurants...) and it will be difficult to see everything in 1 day, we will have to make choices!
To guide you and as there is not only one way to discover Nantes, we propose in this article 5 thematic itineraries (must-see, with children, free, cultural and gardens) and some more original ideas.
But we start by giving you some practical advice so that you don't miss this day to discover the beautiful city of Nantes.
This guide is completely independent, based on our experiences. We visited the region anonymously, making our own choices and paying our bills in full.
Practical advice for your day in Nantes
1. Favour public transport
Let's say it frankly, the city of Nantes is a nightmare in car. This is due to the growth of the city in recent years and to the Loire River, the crossing of which is always a headache, the number of bridges being necessarily limited.
But Nantes is one of the French cities with the best public transport facilities. It was one of the first to reinstate the tramway, in 1984, and already offers 3 lines, 83 stations and 44 km of tracks. 3 other lines will be created by 2026.
It was also a pioneer in the development of the"Busway" or exclusive right-of-way bus system, with buses running on lanes that are exclusively reserved for them and with appropriate signage.
Finally, it has deployed a self-service bicycle solution with more than 120 stations and 1,000 bicycles available.
2. Opt for the city-pass
The city of Nantes offers city passes, called Pass Nantes, for 1 day, 2 days, 3 days and even 7 days, which are particularly interesting.
It will give you access to the public transportation network we just mentioned (including the airport shuttle), to the main museums and sites of the city (Dukes of Brittany castle, Art Museum, Elephant of Nantes...) and even to dedicated tours (Voyage à Nantes, Petit Train, CityTour bus)
We strongly recommend that you buy it in advance to avoid wasting time on site and waiting in line. See the conditions and book your City pass.
3. Weather: be prepared
The city of Nantes is very close to the sea and is subject to an Atlantic climate that is quite changeable!
In a few minutes, you can go from great weather to sustained rain that will itself give way to wind. On average, it rains 168 days a year for 89 days of sunshine. But don't imagine a gray city, we can rather say thatit is sunny several times a day in Nantes.
In any case, be prepared to protect yourself from bad weather and stay optimistic!
OUR TIPS FOR RENTING A CAR IN Loire
- Compare prices on our preferred platform: DiscoverCars - one of the best rated sites.
- Choose a fairly compact car (many villages have narrowed the road).
- Think aboutfull insurance (parking in big cities is really tight).
- There is a lot of demand, book it early.
4. Make choices
As you will see in this article, there is no shortage of itinerary ideas in Nantes, with a great diversity and sites that require a minimum of time to visit.
Even if the travel time between each location is limited (either by foot or by public transportation), they will add to an already busy day.
We are really in favor of "less is more" to enjoy your day in Nantes and soak up its special atmosphere.
5. The map of the main monuments and visits of Nantes
A small map that we have made for you to help you find your way around the different places that we suggest you discover through our itineraries in Nantes!
WHERE TO STAY IN Nantes
Downtown
Would you like to sleep in the heart of Nantes and enjoy its invigorating vitality? We liked it:
- Blu Radisson Hotel - see our article - see photos prices and availability
- L'Oceania - hotel de France - see our article - see photos prices and availability
Near the station
A train to catch at dawn, there's a truly magical address just 2 steps from Nantes train station:
- Le Sozo Hotel - see our article - see photos, prices and availability
On the banks of the Erdre
Looking for a bit of peace and quiet, without straying too far from the city of Nantes? 2 addresses on the banks of the Erdre river:
- La Rivière House - see photos, prices and availability
- Le Best Western Plus Hôtel de la Régate - view photos, prices and availability
1. The must-sees of Nantes in 1 day
Do you want toget to the heart of the matter and focus on what makes the city tick? Let's go for our must-see itinerary.
9h-11h: The Elephant of Nantes and the machines of the island
You leave from the island of Nantes, an island in the heart of the city, surrounded by 2 arms of the Loire, a few minutes from the hyper center.
In less than 10 years, the Elephant of Nantes has become theemblem of the city. From an industrial and port city, it is becoming a creative and cultural city, without turning its back on its roots, its know-how and its history.
Located on the site of the former shipyards, this site immerses visitors in the fantastic world of the Nantes-based author Jules Verne, with its bizarre metal and wood machines, including the gigantic 12-meter-high Elephant (a 4-storey building).
The visit takes place in 3 stages:
- The Elephant's walk: several times a day, the Elephant goes out on the esplanade of the old building sites for a long stroll. It carries 52 visitors for each half-hour trip. If you want to go on board, we advise you to make a reservation or to try your luck when you arrive on site, as some tickets are only sold on site.
- The gallery of machines: a surprising visit in the bestiary of Jules Verne between heron, hummingbird and other monarch butterflies, but also a discovery of the know-how of the designers of these fantastic animals.
- The carousel of the marine worlds: find your childlike soul for a ride on the ingenious carousel that will take you 20,000 places under the sea.
Read more
- All our advice and many photos to prepare your visit to the Elephant of Nantes and the machines of the island.
11h30-12h15: Discover the Passage Pommeraye
A short walk, about 15 minutes, will take you to rue de la Fosse in front of one of the 3 entrances of the Passage Pommeraye.
This magnificent covered shopping mall built between 1840 and 1843, is a jewel of neoclassical art that symbolizes the gentrification of the city of Nantes carried by its flourishing port activity in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Inspired by the many Parisian passages, it is unique in Europe because of its sloping plan, with a difference in level of more than 9 meters between its high and low points, which was to be easily climbed by the elegant ladies.
In addition to the magnificent decorations which borrow from the renaissance style but also baroque, we invite you to enjoy the incredible light which reigns in this place. We owe it to the impressive glass roofs and to the lighting, first gas, now led, which illuminate the passage advantageously.
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12h30-14h00: Lunch at La Cigale
If you leave the Passage Pommeraye by the rue de Santeuil, you will only have a few meters left of the rich rue Crebillon to reach the beautiful Place Graslin. This whole district is the work of the economist and high official of Nantes, Jean-Joseph Graslin, who had the theater built in 1788.
On this square, a sign stands out, that of the chic brasserie La Cigale. Inaugurated in 1895, it is a real Nantes institution, as much appreciated for a tea with a small pastry in the middle of a shopping day, as for a dinner after a weekend by the sea.
But, even if its cuisine is of high quality, what makes it really unique is its art nouveau décor entirely created by Nantes artists and which humorously depicts the bourgeois mores of Nantes society at the end of the 19th century. You will notice that the cicada is a bit sulky, wearing a tutu and carrying a mandolin.
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2:00-2:30 pm: Downtown Nantes
To reach the next point, you will cross the city center from west to east, the opportunity to discover some of these treasures:
- The Royal Square: one of the largest squares in the city, with its Haussmannian and neoclassical quarter-circle buildings
- The Feydeau district: formerly an island, it has only been attached to the right bank since 1938 and has an impressive 18th century architectural heritage that we owe to the city's rich shipowners and merchants.
- The medieval district of Bouffay: the historical district of the city, with its narrow streets and remarkable houses.
14h30-16h: the castle of Nantes (Dukes of Brittany)
We have arrived at our next visit, the castle of Nantes and the Dukes of Brittany. Built from the 13th century, it enters the history of France at the end of the 15th century, under the impulse of Anne of Brittany. Through her successive marriages to 2 kings of France (Henry VIII and Louis XII), she ensured the attachment of Brittany to France.
The castle can only be visited from the outside, but there is much to see:
- Thedefensive structures (towers, bastion, old keep (XIIIth century), châtelet and enclosures) to be admired first from the moat and then by walking the covered way.
- From the courtyard, the royal dwelling with its tower of the golden crown and its beautiful loggias very richly sculpted, at the crossroads of Gothic and Renaissance styles.
- The great Government built by Louis XIV in a neoclassical style to replace part of the house destroyed by fire in the 17th century.
- The other buildings of the castle: the conciergerie, the small government and the harnessing building.
The interior houses the very rich and well designed Museum of the History of Nantes, but you will need at least 1h30 to go through its 33 rooms! Keep it for a next stay in Nantes.
You may need a little break after these long walks, and you have the right to be tempted (like us), by a little pancake and / or ice cream to the Strawberry fieldin the courtyard of the castle, an institution for the people of Nantes who enjoy weekends by the sea in Pornic.
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16h30-18h: the garden of plants
Continue your journey through the center of Nantes to reach the beautiful Jardin des Plantes de Nantes. The city of Nantes is nicknamed"the city of 100 parks" and was even elected the green capital of Europe in 2013. It owes this lush nature, both to its very special weather, but also to the explorers who brought many rare species to their home port.
On 7 hectares, the plant garden, one of the largest in France, presents more than 10,000 living species, some of which are preserved in beautiful greenhouses, which can be visited with a city gardener.
You will also come across playful works of art, which we owe to the author and illustrator for young people, Claude Ponti, but also a funny greenhouse designed by the machines of the island.
Note that if you have not succumbed to the Fraiseraie you can opt for a gourmet break at theorangery.
A LITTLE MORE patience
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18h-19h: Lieu Unique
Now that you are in the Jardin des Plantes, you only have to walk a few hundred meters to reach the Lieu Unique and discover what is hidden at the foot of this art deco tower that you must have seen during your day.
Today converted into a cultural place, the unique place was the headquarters of the famous cookie factory LU which closed its doors in 1986. There used to be 2 towers of 38 meters high, but only one survived the bombings of the2nd World War.
In addition to the visit of the tower which will allow you to better know the history of the place, we invite you to have a drink or a coffee at the bar of the unique place, in the hall with the indus decoration or in terrace. You will surely come across those who keep the cultural and bohemian life of Nantes alive.
7:30 pm: Dinner at the restaurant l'Amenité
After this beautiful day, we propose to finish gently, with a dinner at the restaurant l'Amenité. Located in the Bouffay district, not far from the castle, it is for us one of the best restaurants in Nantes.
In the kitchen, the truculent Richard Cornet, also a London trader and psychotherapist, who had the happy idea to reconvert to cooking.
They offer a market cuisine with multiple flavors and a perfect mastery of cooking and textures, all for an unbeatable quality/price ratio in Nantes, in our opinion.
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2. Nantes with children in 1 day
To interest our children during a whole day is not necessarily an easy thing, we will try to take up the challenge!
9h-11h: The Elephant of Nantes and the machines of the island
We start with the easiest one with theElephant and the machines of the island, an activity that fascinates young and old alike and that makes the link between the port past of Nantes and its creative turn.
Even if they haven't yet read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, or even The Steam House (which directly inspired The Elephant), no doubt your children will be captivated by thefairy world of the island's machines and that they will enjoy discovering all these wood and metal animals.
The visit takes place in 3 stages:
- The Elephant Walk: several times a day, the 12-meter high Elephant comes out on the esplanade of the old shipyards for a long walk. Even if you can try to get a seat on board (52 seats and 30 minutes of wandering), it is likely that your children will be more captivated by the view from the ground.
- The gallery of machines: take your children to discover the bestiary of the author from Nantes, Jules Verne, between heron, hummingbird and other monarch butterflies. The machine terraces will allow them to discover the know-how of the designers of these fantastic animals.
- The sea worlds carousel: what could be simpler than a merry-go-round to occupy a child? No pompoms here, but an ingenious ride that will take them 20,000 places under the sea.
Read more
- All our advice and many photos to prepare your visit to the Elephant of Nantes and the machines of the island.
11h-12h: Discovering the city center
By walking to the lunch place, you will be able to make them discover some characteristic elements of the city:
- The new courthouse designed by the star architect Jean Nouvel, just before crossing the Loire by the Victor Schoelcher footbridge.
- The strange leaning houses in the Feydeau district, a vestige of the not so ancient time (before 1938) when it was still an island. The opportunity to talk to them about Nantes' relationship with water and the rich history of the city's shipowners and merchants.
- The beautiful Place Royale, with its arched buildings and architecture borrowing from ancient art.
12h-13h30: Lunch at Sugar Blu
Our favorite canteen in Nantes, where everything is ultra-fresh and the atmosphere is definitely friendly, reminding us of the brown cafés in Amsterdam.
No doubt you'll find something to satisfy their sometimes fussy stomachs, and to please yourself as well! Quiches, salads, burrito... for the main course and a nice collection of desserts, each one more delicious than the other (guaranteed success): brownie, scone, carrot cake...
13h30-15h: Nantes Castle (Duke of Brittany)
Now that their stomachs are well filled, let's go to theimposing castle of Nantes. In one place, you can make them discover more than 6 centuries of architecture and tell them the fascinating story ofAnne de Bretagne. This queen of France married 2 successive kings of France, Charles VIII and Louis XII, thus engaging the attachment of Brittany to France which will be final only on August 7, 1532.
To get them interested in the different aspects of the castle, we recommend that you take them on a tour of the guardhouse, which will give them a good overview of the castle and provide them with a few surprises (covered passageways, the interior of the chatelet, etc.).
You can tell them about the different buildings:
- The defensive structures : towers, bastion, old keep (13th century) and châtelet.
- The royal dwelling with its tower of the golden crown and its beautiful loggias very richly sculpted, at the crossroads of Gothic and Renaissance styles.
- The great Government built by Louis XIV in a neoclassical style to replace part of the house destroyed by fire in the seventeenth century.
- The other buildings of the castle: the conciergerie, the small government and the harnessing building.
Read more
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15h-15h30: Water mirror
The water mirror is a must-see in any large French city and is located at the foot of the castle. They can either admire the beautiful reflections or refresh themselves while exercising.
15h45-16h15: snack break
For the snack break, you have a lot of choices. Our 2 favorites (of which Eugenie knows the map by heart):
- Near the castle, Chez Dinette, a very cosy tea room, with a brocante atmosphere, where you can taste home-made pastries: crumble (that we love...), carrot cake, banana caramel pie.
- Close to the Museum, the CicadaA chic brasserie with an incredible art deco decor opened in 1895 and which offers a tea-time where you will have to face a formidable choice: gourmet ice creams (special mention for the "casse-noisette": caramel and hazelnut ice creams decorated with cookie chips) or the terrible home-made pastries, among which the famous Nantais cake.
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- Discover the story of our dinner at La Cigale restaurant
16h30-18h : Natural History Museum
On foot, or with the help of the tramway, go to the Natural History Museum of Nantes.
In a port city, what could be more logical than to find a richly endowed museum. Adventurers, ship owners and other naturalists have contributed over the last two centuries to make the Natural History Museum of Nantes one of the most important in France.
Among the stuffedvertebrate animal specimens, the vivarium with friendly live snakes and the collection of minerals and rocks, there is bound to be something to interest them.
A LITTLE MORE patience
All the photos, maps, information, good addresses to make your stay in the Loire Valley a success, will soon be gathered in a single ebook!
If you wish to be informed of the publication of our guide on the Loire, register:
6pm-7pm: Passage Pommeraye
On the way to the restaurant, take them through the beautiful Passage Pommeraye.
This magnificent covered shopping mall built between 1840 and 1843, is a jewel of neoclassical art, unique in Europe because of its sloping plan, with a difference in level of more than 9 meters between its high and low points.
In addition to the beauty of the place, you can make them admire the luxury of the decorations From the torchères that once provided gas lighting for the passage, to the statues that represent the different sectors of the economy, to the baroque motifs molded into the ironwork of the staircase or engraved on the stone vaults of the Santeuil gallery. A great introduction to art history!
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7-8:30 pm: Dinner "Pancake Corner
After this long (but beautiful) day, they deserved a good pancake. Even if we are not quite in Brittany, we know how to make beautiful pancakes in Nantes and to marry the pancakes with the greedy tradition of the city (the cookie factories BN and LU testify it...).
So that they don't feel too cramped, we recommend"Le coin des crêpes", Cours des 50 otages, not far from the Passage Pommeraye, where we enjoyed ourselves.
3. Nantes free in 1 day
You want to visit Nantes without breaking the bank. We offer you a nice day in the city with just your meals to pay, everything else is free!
9h-10h: Exploration of the Extraordinary Garden
To get you ready for this beautiful day, head to the Jardin Extraordinaire, installed in an old quarry in the rebellious district of Chantenay.
A few steps away from the house where Jules Verne was born, let yourself be invaded by this dreamlike universe where everything seems offbeat and out of the ordinary.
The program includes a waterfall, cliffs of 25 meters high, tree ferns, banana trees or papyrus and lotus that enjoy the omnipresent water!
A change of scenery guaranteed...
10:00-10:30: The Lookout Walk
To join the next visit, leave from the top of the Jardin Extraordinaire to enjoy some of the 7 viewpoints that give you a beautiful view of the Loire and the city. We particularly like the belvedere of the Hermitage designed by the Japanese artist Tadashi Kawamata, with its wooden overhang above the void.
10:30-11:30: Strolling with the Elephant of Nantes
In less than 10 years, theElephant of Nantes has become the emblem of the city, symbolizing the turn of the century for the city. From an industrial and port city, it is becoming a creative and cultural city, without turning its back on its roots, its know-how and its history.
Directly inspired by the steam elephant, imagined by the author Jules Verne in his work "La Maison à Vapeur", this giant of 12 meters high, 8 meters wide and 21 meters long will impress you.
While strolling along the square of the old shipyards, you will be able to see the mechanism at work which allows the 48.4 tons of the animal to move forward with the help of jacks. An advice, do not stay too much in front of his trunk, it could happen to you of the misadventures...
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11h30-12h30 : Memorial of the abolition of slavery
As you reach the lunch spot, notice the unassuming memorialto the abolition of slavery.
A long gallery of rough concrete, under the riverside of the Loire, takes you into the memory of slavery, but also to the discovery of the enlightened minds that led to its abolition.
A solemn and necessary place, in the heart of one of the main former French slave ports of the not so distant 18th century. Admission is free.
12h30-14h: Sugar Blu
Our favorite canteen in Nantes, where everything is ultra-fresh and the atmosphere is definitely friendly, reminding us of the brown cafés in Amsterdam.
You can taste simple and good dishes (quiches, salads, burrito...) and you can enjoy desserts, each one more delicious than the other (brownie, scones, carrot cake...).
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2pm-3pm: Passage Pommeraye
With a few more grams, you are ready to discover the Passage Pommeraye, a covered shopping mall built between 1840 and 1843. This jewel of neoclassical art symbolizes the gentrification of the city of Nantes driven by its flourishing port activity in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Inspired by the many Parisian passages, the Passage Pommeraye is unique in Europe because of its sloping plan, with a difference in level of more than 9 meters between its high and low points, which should be easily climbed by elegant women. The architects of the project(Jean-Baptiste Buron and Hippolyte Louis Théophile Durand-Gasselin) imagined a monumental staircase with a half floor in oak and cast iron with molded motifs.
In addition to the magnificent decorations which borrow from the renaissance style but also baroque, we invite you to enjoy the incredible light which reigns in this place. We owe it to the impressive glass roofs and to the lighting, first gas, now led, which illuminate the passage advantageously.
Read more
15h-16h30: Castle of Nantes (Dukes of Brittany)
After a ten-minute walk, you will find yourself in front of theimposing Châtelet, which gives access to the castle of Nantes.
But before going inside, we invite you to go around the moat to measure its size and observe its numerous defensive structures (old XIIIth century keep, towers, bastion...).
You can then enter the courtyard free of charge and walk around it on the covered walkway, to observe from the inside the different buildings that have been built there over the centuries:
- The royal dwelling with its tower of the golden crown and its beautiful loggias very richly sculpted, at the crossroads of Gothic and Renaissance styles.
- The great Government built by Louis XIV in a neoclassical style to replace part of the house destroyed by fire in the seventeenth century.
- The other buildings of the castle: the conciergerie, the small government and the harnessing building.
Read more
16h30-17h: Nantes Cathedral
The Cathedral is unfortunately closed following a fire that destroyed the great organ.
You can, without waiting, admire its richly sculpted facade and you should soon be able to discover again the magnificent tomb and the recumbents of François II of Brittany and his wife Marguerite de Foix, a masterpiece of the French renaissance.
A LITTLE MORE patience
All the photos, maps, information, good addresses to make your stay in the Loire Valley a success, will soon be gathered in a single ebook!
If you wish to be informed of the publication of our guide on the Loire, register:
17h-18h30: Park of the island of Versailles
Following the Erdre river, you will come across the very pleasant park of the Ile de Versailles, a Japanese garden with a traditional tea room, rock gardens and mini waterfalls.
19h-20h30: Dinner at Coq Monsieur
To recover from this beautiful day, allow yourself a little return to childhood, with the surprising "Coq Monsieur".
Located in the historical district of Bouffay, this restaurant is exclusively dedicated to the croque-monsieurwhich is declined in 10 greedy recipes.
4. Nantes, city of culture in 1 day
Are you a culture lover, but only have one day? We propose an itinerary to you so that you don't miss anything of what animates the very lively scene of Nantes, without losing you.
9h30-10h : Buren's rings
The French artist Daniel Buren, who made French cultural history by installing his 260 "columns" in the main courtyard of the Palais-royal garden in Paris, needs no introduction.
In Nantes, the Artist invites you to see the city from a new angle in each of the 18 rings that punctuate the Quai des Antilles.
Each ring bears his visual and artistic signature , an alternating white and colored band 8.7 centimeters wide, which he has been carrying around the world since 1965.
10h-11h15: the Elephant of Nantes and Machine of the island
It is difficult today to define the positioning of the Elephant, which has become the emblem of the renewal of the city of Nantes. We have decided to classify it as an Unidentified Cultural Object!
The history of the Elephant of Nantes and the machines of the island is intimately linked to a complicated relationship between the street theater company La Machine, born in 1999, and the iconic company "Royal de Luxe " which has been enchanting the world with its giant puppets for over 30 years.
But, the genius of the designers of these funny animals of wood and metal is undeniable and we invite you to take the time to see the Elephant and the gallery of machines. On themachine deck, you can see (from above) the designers at work!
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11h30-12h15: Museum of Printing and Graphic Arts
Change of discipline, with the very surprising and bewitching museum of printing and book trades. You can discover the machines that preceded our digital presses.
Far from being a dusty museum, the machines are still in working order and make art prints before your eyes! Numerous training courses allow to perpetuate the memory and the know-how of the printing trades: master printer, typesetter...
The icing on the cake is a small exhibition of printed works to conclude the visit. We were lucky enough to come across an exhibition of printed drawings by the talented Doctor Paper who reinterprets the world (almost the same passion as ours!).
12:30-14:00: lunch at the imagine restaurant
Because creativity does not stop at the restaurant door, we invite you to taste the cuisine of theyoung chef Anne Lise GENOUËL who opened, at 28 years old, her restaurant Imagine 2 steps from Place Graslin in 2018.
In addition to the warm atmosphere, we liked this combination of incredible flavors where the spices come to divert our palates for our greatest pleasure.
Proof of the creativity of the chef, the menu changes every week at lunchtime and at least once a month in the evening!
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14h30-15h45: Lieu Unique
Now that you've had your fill, head to another temple of Nantes culture, the Lieu Unique.
Former industrial cookie factory (founded by Louis Lefèvre-Utile at the end of the 19th century) the LU factory, built in 1895, closed its doors for good in 1986, leaving an art deco tower as an orphan, which has become an icon of this past.
The wasteland gradually became a cultural squat and a real crucible of cultural renewal in Nantes. As a symbol, the Lieu Unique was inaugurated on January1, 2000, bringing the city of Nantes resolutely into thenew millennium. Today, it is a space that explores all forms of cultural expression and offers one of the finest cultural programs in the city.
Take the time to have a drink at the Lieu Unique café, to feel the atmosphere of the very lively Nantes cultural scene.
16h-19h: Museum of Arts
Normally, you start to get tired, but you still have an exceptional moment to live, your first visit to the Nantes Museum of Arts.
Created in 1801 and completely reinvented in 2017, it offers one of the most beautiful collections of paintings in France, in a setting that is just exceptional, both architecturally, but also in the quality of the hanging.
The ancient art, carried by the Italian painters and the religious painting, rubs shoulders with the treasures of themodern art, with in particular a very beautiful collection Kandinsky, without forgetting the emblematic painters of the XIXth century (Courbet, Monet, Delacroix).
A great moment for us, it was difficult to leave
A LITTLE MORE patience
All the photos, maps, information, good addresses to make your stay in the Loire Valley a success, will soon be gathered in a single ebook!
If you wish to be informed of the publication of our guide on the Loire, register:
19h15: Dinner at the restaurant l'Amenité.
To cure yourself of all these intellectual emotions, we invite you to recharge your batteries with the truculent Richard Cornet, psychotherapist converted to cooking.
They offer a market cuisine with multiple flavors and a perfect mastery of cooking and textures. We asked him if he hoped to cure us one day by cooking, but he only answered with an enigmatic smile...
In any case, we felt particularly good at the end of the meal!
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5. The gardens of Nantes in 1 day
The city of Nantes is nicknamed"the city of 100 parks" and was even elected the green capital of Europe in 2013. It owes this lush nature, both to its very special weather, but also to the sailors who brought back many essences from their explorations.
It also benefits from the expertise of the region's gardeners, accumulated since the Renaissance in designing and maintaining the exceptional gardens of the Chateaux de la Loire. Today, the region still attracts the greatest landscape designers from all over the world, whether at the Domaine de Courson or the Château de Villandry.
We propose a short selection of 3 gardens that can be visited in the same day.
9h-11h30: Nantes' plant garden
It is in front of the train station that the very beautiful garden of plants of Nantes is located.
On 7 hectares, discover the 10000 living species and some of the 50000 flowers planted annually. Don't miss its remarkable trees: Magnolia of Hectot, plane trees, giant sequoia, Tulipier of Virginia, Wollemi pine...
A true place of preservation of the natural botanical heritage of the Loire, the Nantes plant garden continues to be enriched each year with new varieties acclimatized to the region's climate.
Take the time to visit the 800m2 greenhouses with a gardener from the city of Nante for a really exciting moment.
11h45-12h45: park of the island of Versailles
Leaving the Jardin des Plantes, head for the nearby Erdre River to discover the small park of the Ile de Versailles. On former swamps, a beautiful small Japanese garden, with traditional tea room, rockery composition and mini waterfalls.
The Maison de l'Erdre offers exhibitions on theecosystem of this river which crosses Nantes before flowing into the Loire via the Saint-Félix canal.
1pm-2:30pm: lunch at the restaurant Les Bouteilles
For your lunch, we propose you a Nantes institution, "Les bouteilles" at 2 steps of the food market of Talensac.
In addition to the traditional platters of (very good) charcuterie and/or cheese (why choose?), there are dishes that magnify the good products from the many friends of Michel Ravier, wine merchant turned cook for our greatest happiness.
The wine list of course lives up to the name of the restaurant with some old vintages for the amateurs.
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3pm-6:30pm: grand blottereau park
With 22 hectares, the Grand Blottereau park is the largest in Nantes and also one of the most amazing. Its exotic vocation , inherited from its first patron, the wealthy Nantes merchant Hyppolite Durand-Gasselin, and its pedagogical orientation (headquarters of the horticultural high school of Nantes), make it a place of experimentation and learning about plants in life size.
Throughout your journey, you will discover landscapes of different continents reconstituted, from the American bayou, to the hill of Suncheon (Korea) without forgetting the Mediterranean rock garden.
You can also discover the rich collection of exotic species in the dry greenhouse (jojoba, baobab and other kapok) and in the one reproducing a humid climate (ebony, mahogany, banana trees, cocoa trees...)
A LITTLE MORE patience
All the photos, maps, information, good addresses to make your stay in the Loire Valley a success, will soon be gathered in a single ebook!
If you wish to be informed of the publication of our guide on the Loire, register:
7-10pm: Dinner at the Manoir de la Régate
To close this beautiful day, treat yourself to an exceptional dinner at the Manoir de la Régate. In a protected natural setting, this starred restaurant has been in the hands of the Perou family since 1995.
It is the new generation, barely thirty years old, which offers you a gustatory and gastronomic journey just incredible, between beet bread, pike-perch of the Loire stewed in clay and Bottereau nantais with kiwi and mint!
The chef, Matthieu Pérou, flavors his dishes with wild flowers and herbs picked along the Erdre River. Another way to do botany!
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Other ways to discover the city
Follow the green line
The green line runs over 24 kilometers of sidewalks, stairs and other narrow streets in the city of Nantes.
Every summer since 2012, as part of the voyage to Nantes, she offers tourists an artistic stroll through the city. On the program, about forty places and monuments presenting a particular cultural interest or reinterpreted by artists.
Very innovative when it was launched, the green line is in the middle of an institutionalization phase, which makes it lose some of its vitality. Nevertheless, it remains a nice alternative for those who want to see the urban space through the eyes of artists.
Original tricks
- Private visit according to your expectations with a passionate Nantais - See prices and availability.
- Visit the highlights of the city by Segway: a mode of transport now well known in tourist cities and quite adapted to travel in Nantes, outside the hyper center - See prices and availability.
- Even if the traffic is not easy in Nantes, you can opt for a discovery of the city in a 2CV Citroën, the mythical French deuche - See prices and availability.
- Guided tour of the city with an audioguide directly accessible on your smartphone, to learn all about the history of the city - See the price of the audioguide of Nantes.
- Need to motivate your children to discover the city, opt for an outdoor escape game with the city as a playground - See price and conditions.
The best things to do in Nantes in video
And finally, a short video to inspire you!
PLAN YOUR STAY IN Nantes
Itineraries
Visits
