Nantes - Do & See

All Travel Guides

Do & See

Nantes

Provided by: Belvédère de l'Hermitage, T. Kawamata © M. Argyroglo

Our travel guides are free to read and explore online. If you want to get your own copy, the full travel guide for this destination is available to you offline* to bring along anywhere or print for your trip.

*this will be downloaded as a PDF.

Price

€4,95

Purchase

Europe France Nantes Do & See

In collaboration with Le Voyage à Nantes

Overview

Do & See The guide was updated: 2023-10-27

The green line painted on the ground will take you to the heart of downtown and make sure you won’t miss out on any of Le Voyage à Nantes itinerary of the city’s best cultural stops, major monuments and must-visit sites.
Each year, this trail is revived and filled with contemporary installations, street furniture where you can sit down with friends, and even more surprising shop signs throughout the city.

Machines de l’Ile

Machines de l’Ile

The Machines de l’Ile is an artistic, touristic and cultural site in Nantes since 2007. Three major artworks, the Great Elephant (2007), the Merry Go Round of the Marine Worlds (2012), and the next project of the Heron Tree symbolise doors to the world of dreams and magical journeys. A mixture between the invented worlds of Jules Verne and the mechanical universe of Leonardo da Vinci.

Château des ducs de Bretagne

Château des ducs de Bretagne

The Castle of the dukes of Brittany houses the Nantes History Museum. This former ducal palace also holds temporary exhibitions and cultural events all year round. A free-access rampart offers many viewpoints of the fortress and of the city.

Musée d'arts

Musée d'arts

Renovated and extended in June 2017, the Fine Arts Museum has been renamed the Musée d’arts . Steered by the Stanton-Williams Agency (Royal National Theatre, Tower of London, Belgrade Theatre, etc…), it houses a total of 17,000 m2, several exhibition halls and an auditorium. A key change is a 30% increase in exhibition space for one of the only ‘generalist’ museums in France. It is the only one outside of Paris able to present such an extensive and broad panorama of art stretching from the thirteenth to the twenty-first century. It has 10,000 works of art (paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints and contemporary installations), and several hundred masterpieces painted by De la Tour, Ingres, Courbet, Chagall, Kandinsky, Picasso…

Memorial to the abolition of slavery

Memorial to the abolition of slavery

Nantes was the capital of the slave trade in France: it organised 43% of the French slave trade shipments in the XVIII century. The City wants to assume its past and give shape to the memory via a powerful political gesture. The Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery in Nantes is the biggest in Europe. Located on the Quai de la Fosse, a symbolic place in the city that has seen many slave ships to Africa, the Memorial has been open to the public since March 2012. Following an international competition, the city of Nantes has entrusted the design of the Memorial to Krzysztof Wodiczko, a Polish artist and Julian Bonder, an Argentinian architect.

Jardin des Plantes

Jardin des Plantes

Visit the botanical garden, a priceless collection of exotic plants. Trees from America, Asia and Africa.Nantes boasts 1,000 hectares of green areas open to the public, with some 1 million plants produced every year.

Saint-Pierre Saint-Paul Cathedral

Saint-Pierre Saint-Paul Cathedral

Cathedral closed following a fire in July 2020. This impressive cathedral is home to the tombs of Francois II, the last Duke of Brittany, and his second wife Marguerite de Foix. Construction of the Gothic building started in 1434 and lasted for four centuries.

Lieu Unique

Lieu Unique

Located alongside the Canal Saint-Felix, the old biscuit factory LU revamped by the architect Patrick Bouchain lives to the rhythm of an atypical art centre: the Lieu Unique. Here, you will find a bar, a shop, a theatre, a hammam, a day nursery and the picturesque tower of the old LU biscuit factory.

Ile de Nantes

Ile de Nantes

Formerly occupied by the shipyards (closed in 1987) and by industries, this area is in complete rehabilitation and finds some harmony between the conservation of industrial heritage and the development of a new modern space. The Isle of Nantes is a perpetually changing area with contemporary architecture. On both sides of this territory perched on the Loire river are standing resolutely original and innovative buildings built by the greatest international architects: Jean Nouvel, Alexandre Chemetoff, Christian de Portzamparc, Marcel Smets…

Estuaire Nantes <> Saint-Nazaire

Estuaire Nantes <> Saint-Nazaire

All year long, from Nantes to Saint Nazaire it's an open air art collection. Each creation, signed by an internationally renowned artist leads you to an atypical place or to a remarkable site of the estuary of the Loire river. Since 2007, over 33 artworks have now been the stones of a monument scattered along 60 km. This artistic trail will make you discover a fascinating territory, its heritage and its natural resources.

Théâtre Graslin

Théâtre Graslin

Built in 1788, the Graslin Theater is an impressive building with an entrance boasting eight Corinthian columns and marble, gold and royal blue velvet inside. It is home to the Opera of Nantes and marks the focal point of the Place Graslin. The famous brasserie La Cigale is in front of it.

Musée Jules Verne

Musée Jules Verne

The museum inside this great bourgeois mansion depicts the life and works of writer Jules Verne (born in Nantes in 1828), one of Nantes’ most famous citizens.

Planétarium

Planétarium

Embark on a voyage through space as the planetarium brings our universe to life. Located near the Jules Verne museum.

Discover the Nantes vineyard

Discover the Nantes vineyard

The Muscadet vineyards are just a stone-throw away and are easily accessible from Nantes. A special itinerary has been put in place to make the most of what this authentic region can offer: visit of Clisson, a lovely city with Italian-style architecture, wine tasting and specific viewpoints. Discover the new belvedere in Chateau Thebaud!

Cruise on the Loire river "Estuaire Nantes-Saint Nazaire"

Cruise on the Loire river "Estuaire Nantes-Saint Nazaire"

Take advantage of a river cruise to reach the point where the Loire runs into the ocean and see the estuary from the unique viewpoint of… the river: working docks, remarkable natural areas, and the Estuaire art installations communicating with their surroundings. Embark on a colourful rhythmic night time river cruise from July to October.

Guided Tours

Guided Tours

Pre-recorded audio-guide all year long Possibility for 4 different trails translated in 5 langages (French, English, German, Spanish, Italian) to discover Nantes. Strolling Nantes Nantes in the middle ages Nantes from history to memory The isle of Nantes Western tip

Shop Signs

Shop Signs

Since 2014, artists have been commissioned to imagine the signs for a series of shops in Nantes. Along the green line, discover this collection of shop signs. Like unexpected apparitions, these artists' works disturb the continuum of signs in the downtown streets of Nantes.

Next section

Next Section