Nantes Overview

Welcome to Nantes (nahnt; pop 280,000), city of chatty cafes, bohemian nightclub revelry, and stylish recuperation among manicured gardens. Climb up to the château for a panoramic view of the city’s expansive boulevards. France’s sixth-largest city is more than just sights: between visits to the cutting-edge art museum and impeccably restored cathedral, curious travelers will uncover countless treasures hidden along winding sidestreets.

• Flights: Aéroport Nantes Atlantique (☎02 40 84 80 00; www.nantes.aeroport.fr), 10km south of Nantes. Air France (☎08 20 32 08 20) flies daily to Lyon, Marseille, Nice, Paris, and London. TAN (☎08 10 44 44 44; www.tan.fr) shuttle runs to the airport from pl. du Commerce and the south side of the train station (25min.; every hr. M-Sa 5:30am-9pm, Su 3:30-9pm; tickets €7, carnet of 4 €16). Schedules available at info desk outside the train station, tourist office, or TAN info booth on pl. du Commerce.
• Trains: Gare de Nantes, 27 bd. de Stalingrad. Ticket counters open M-Th 5:30am-9:30pm, F 5:30am-10:30pm, Sa 6am-9:30pm, Su 7am-10pm. Luggage storage at north side of station. Open 6:15am-11pm. Backpack €4, larger luggage €6.50-8.50; 3-day max. To: Angers (40min.; every 30min. 5am-9pm; €14, TGV €17); Bordeaux (4hr., 5 per day, €35-45); La Rochelle (1hr., 5 per day, €25); Paris (2-4hr., every hr., €54-69); Rennes (1hr.; M-F 15 per day, Sa-Su 7 per day; €10-21).
• Public Transportation: TAN, 4/6 allée Brancas (☎08 01 44 44 44), on pl. du Commerce. Office open M-Sa 7:30am-7:30pm. Runs buses and 3 tram lines daily 6am-1:30am. Ticket €1.30, 2-ride ticket €2.30, carnet of 10 €11; day pass €3.40.
• Taxis: Allô Taxis Nantes Atlantique (☎02 40 69 22 22), at the train station. 24hr.
• Car Rental: A row of agencies near the south exit of the train station includes Avis (☎02 40 89 25 50). Open M-F 7am-10:30pm, Sa 8:30am-8:30pm, Su 10:45am-10:15pm. Europcar (☎02 40 47 19 38) is down the street. Open M-F 7:45am-10:15pm, Sa 8:30am-12:30pm and 2-6pm, Su 10:30am-12:30pm and 5-8:30pm.
• Bike Rental: Check at the tourist office or the NGE office, 18 rue Scribe (☎02 40 02 51 84 94 51) for info on Ville à Velo, which rents bikes (“Bicloos”) from the city’s major parking lots (Graslin, Tour Bretagne, Cité des Congrès, Cathédrale, and Commerce), Île de Versailles, and Camping du Petit Port. €1 per 2hr., €4 per day, €10 per week.
• Canoe Rental: Companies on Île de Versailles, including Contre Courant (☎06 62 28 60 48). Take tram line #2 (dir.: Orvault Grand Val) to St-Mihiel and cross the bridge to the island. €5 per hr., €14 per day; students €4/11. Open Apr.-Sept. Tu-F 10am-12:30pm and 2-7:30pm, Sa-Su 10am-7:30pm.

Orientation And Practical Information

Nantes’s centre-ville lies north of cours Franklin Roosevelt, a broad avenue running east-west parallel to place du Commerce, the city’s municipal transportation hub. Cours Franklin Roosevelt passes the château at place de la Duchesse Anne, where it becomes cours John Kennedy and continues to the train station. The wide cours des 50 Otages runs north from pl. du Commerce past the Tour Bretagne, a modest skyscraper; a right onto rue de la Barillerie leads to the city’s lively pedestrian district around place du Pilori.

• Tourist Office: 3 cours Olivier de Clisson (☎08 92 46 40 44 or +33 2 72 64 04 79; www.nantes-tourisme.com). Exit the train station at the north end and turn left onto cours John Kennedy. Continue to pl. du Commerce and turn left. Maps and info in English, French, German, and Spanish. 2hr. city tours in French with a variety of themes. Open M-W and F-Sa 10am-6pm, Th 10:30am-6pm. Branch at 2 pl. St-Pierre, by the cathedral. City and cathedral tours €9, students €6. Open Tu-W and F-Su 10am-1pm and 2-6pm, Th 10:30am-1pm and 2-6pm.
• English-Language Bookstore: Librairie L. Durance, 4 allée d’Orléans (☎02 40 48 09 14; www.librariedurance.fr). Open M 2-7pm, Tu-Sa 9:30am-7pm. MC/V.
• Youth Center: Centre Régional d’Information Jeunesse (CRIJ; ☎02 51 72 94 50; www.infojeunesse-paysdelaloire.fr), on the ground floor of the Tour de Bretagne. Free Internet access (30min. max.). Info on youth discounts, housing, and volunteer and employment opportunities. Open from mid-July to mid-Aug. Tu-Th 10am-5:30pm, F 2-5:30pm; from mid-Aug. to mid-July Tu-Th 10am-6:30pm, F-Sa 2-6:30pm.
• Laundromats: 7 rue de l’Hôtel de Ville. Open daily 8:30am-8:30pm. Also at 11 rue Chaussée de la Madeleine. Open M 2:30-8pm, Tu-F 11am-8pm, Sa 3-7pm.
• Police: 6 pl. Waldeck-Rousseau (☎02 40 37 21 21). Branch on cours Olivier Clossin, next to the tourist office.
• Pharmacy: Pharmacie de la Gare, 2 allée du Commandant Charcot (☎02 40 74 14 04). Open M-F 9am-7:30pm, Sa 9am-1pm.
• Hospital: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire, 1 pl. Alexis-Ricordeau (☎02 40 08 33 33; www.chu-nantes.fr).
• Internet Access: Free at CRIJ (above). K Point Com, 15 allée Duguay Trouin (☎02 51 82 27 71), near the tourist office. €0.80 per 15min., €2.50 per hr. Open M-Th and Sa 9:30am-9:30pm, F 9:30am-12:30pm and 2:30-9:30pm, Su noon-9:30pm.
• Post Office: Pl. Bretagne (☎02 51 10 57 25). From pl. du Cirque, take the stairs or the elevator at the end of rue de l’Abreuvoir to pl. Bretagne. Currency exchange available. Open M-F 8:30am-6:45pm, Sa 8:30am-12:30pm. Postal Code: 44000.

Accommodations And Camping

Though the most budget-friendly options lie a few blocks from the centre-ville, if you look hard enough, a surprisingly agreeable deal might pop up in a side street off the busy squares along cours des 50 Otages.

• Hôtel St-Daniel, 4 rue du Bouffay (☎02 40 47 41 25; www.hotel-saintdaniel.com), off pl. du Bouffay, in the heart of the pedestrian district. Clean rooms, all with bath, TVs, and phones; some overlook a garden. Breakfast €3.50. Reception M-Sa 7:30am-10pm, Su 7:30am-2pm and 7-10pm. Singles and doubles €33-41, with 2 beds €46; triples and quads with bath €51. AmEx/MC/V.
• Hôtel d’Orléans, 12 rue du Marais (☎02 40 47 69 32), a block from pl. de L’Écluse in the centre-ville. Modest rooms have phone, TV, and excellent views. Breakfast €5. Parking €2. Singles €26-37; doubles and triples €42-55; family suites €88. MC/V.
• Hôtel Renova, 11 rue Beauregard (☎02 40 47 57 03; www.hotel-renova.com), off cours des 50 Otages. Behind a mosaic-adorned facade. Enthusiastic host greets guests at this centrally located hotel. Satellite TV. Breakfast €5. Free Internet. Reception M-Th 7am-10pm, F-Su 7am-11pm. Reserve 1 week ahead. Singles with shower €40, with bath €45; doubles with bath €43-48; triples and quads €55. AmEx/MC/V.
• Auberge de Jeunesse “La Manu” (HI), 2 pl. de la Manu (☎02 40 29 29 20; nanteslamanu@fuaj.org). From the north exit of the station, go right down bd. de Stalingrad and left at rue de Manille (15min.); the hostel is in a courtyard on the left. Housed in a former tobacco factory. Industrial feel overshadowed by attentive staff and adorable children in the preschool next door. Clean bathrooms. Accepts Pass Bretagne . Kitchen, TV room, ping-pong, and foosball. Breakfast included. Luggage storage €1.50. Internet €0.50 per 20min. Wi-Fi €3 per 24hr. Reception July-Aug. 8am-noon and 4-11pm; Sept.-June 8am-noon and 5-11pm. Lockout July-Aug. 10am-4pm; Sept.-June 10am-5pm. Closed last 2 weeks of Dec. 3- to 6-bed dorms €17. MC/V.
• Camping du Petit Port, 21 bd. du Petit Port (☎02 40 74 47 94; www.nge-nantes.fr). From pl. du Commerce, take tram #2 (dir.: Orvault Grand Val) to Morrhonnière. Cross the street and walk downhill to the right (15min.). Shaded, well-tended campground with plenty of park space. Reception has info on nearby canoeing, bowling, billiards, and in-line skating. Snack bar, minigolf, and access to the nearby municipal swimming pool. Laundry. Free showers and Wi-Fi. Reception July-Aug. 8am-9pm; Sept.-June 9am-7pm. Gates closed 11pm-7am. June-Sept. €3.50 per person, under 10 €2.30; €4.40 per tent; €6.40 per tent and car; €8.60 per camping-car or caravan; €2.30 per extra car. Oct.-May €2.70 per person; under 10 €1.70; €3.60 per tent; €5.20 per tent and car; €6.80 per camping-car or caravan; €1.90 per extra car. Electricity €3. MC/V.

Food

Local specialties include poisson au beurre blanc (fish in butter sauce), Muscadet wine, muscadines (chocolates filled with grapes and Muscadet wine), and the trademark Le Petit Beurre cookies. There are plenty of reasonably priced eateries in the area between place du Bouffay and place du Pilori, from crêpe stands to sit-down spots. The city’s biggest market is the indoor Marché de Talensac, north of the city (Tu-Su mornings). There’s also a market on rue de la Petite Hollande Saturday mornings and an organic market Wednesday mornings on place du Bouffay. There’s a Monoprix supermarket at rue de Calvaire, west of cours des 50 Otages. (Open M-Sa 9am-9pm.)

• Chez l’Huître, 5 rue des Petites Écuries (☎02 51 82 02 02). Inviting bistro offers fresh huîtres (oysters; bucket €3.50-14)—slurp them down with the château’s towering balconies in view. 3-course menu €8-12. Open daily noon-3pm and 6-10pm. MC/V.
• La Cigale, 4 pl. Graslin (☎02 51 84 94 94; www.lacigale.com), in an historic monument fashioned in 1895 by nantais ceramist Émile Libaudière. Painted ceramic tiles, giant mirrors, and amusing sculptures. Exquisite food with seafood peeled before your eyes. Breakfast €11. Plats €10-25. Desserts €6.50-10. Lunch menus €14 and €25. Dinner menus €19 and €28. Open daily 7:30am-12:30am. AmEx/MC/V.
• La Boulangerie d’Antan, 5/7 rue des Carmes (☎02 40 47 59 46). Rustic half-timbered bakery offers sandwiches (€2.45-4), pastries (€1.50-2.50), and tasty, generous quiches (€2.50) to go. Open M-Sa 7am-8pm. AmEx/MC/V over €15.
• Chez Maman, 2 rue de la Juiverie (☎02 51 72 20 63). Nearly all the decor—ranging from giant Playmobil® figures to plastic lobsters and a large yellow dinosaur, all illuminated by funky lamps—in this restaurant-antique shop, is for sale. Generous salads. Meat and fish plats €13-20. Lunch menu €11. Open Tu-Sa noon-2pm and 7-10:30pm.
• L’Île Verte, 3 rue Foucault (☎02 40 48 01 26). Combined cafe and bookstore is a vegetarian’s dream. Small selection of market-fresh organic salads (€4.20-8.80) and tarts. Takeout available. Plats €9.30. Desserts €4.40-5.30. Open Sept.-July M-Tu and Th-Sa 11:45am-2pm. Tea room open 2:30-6:30pm. MC/V over €20.

Sights

Château Des Ducs De Bretagne. François II, the last duke of Brittany, built this 15th-century fortress as an imposing ducal residence and a safeguard for the independence of the Breton duchy. It was subsequently used as a prison, an arsenal, and German barracks during WWII. Today, picnickers take advantage of trimmed lawns sunken beside the castle moat, tourists wander the ramparts, and the massive walls guard only the Musée d’Histoire de Nantes, whose extensive collection and multimedia exhibits fill 32 rooms. The rooms are themselves historical treasures; many contain elaborate graffiti carved by former prisoners. An interactive virtual balloon tour of the city allows you to travel back in time to 1752 and sail over Nantes to check out several of its neighborhoods. The Harnachement, across the château courtyard from the museum, holds excellent temporary exhibits on the history of Brittany. (4 pl. Marc-Elder. ☎08 11 46 46 44; www.château-nantes.fr. Château grounds open daily from mid-May to mid-Sept. 9am-8pm; from mid-Sept. to mid-May 10am-7pm. Guided tours July-Aug. daily; Sept.-June on weekends and occasional weekdays. Free baggage check required. Free admission to grounds. Museum and exhibitions open from mid-May to mid-Sept. daily 9:30am-7pm; from mid-Sept. to mid-May M and W-Su 10am-6pm. Last entry 1hr. before closing. Museum and exhibitions each €5, ages 18-26 €3; both €8/4.80. Audio tours in Breton, English, and French; €3. Tours €4, ages 7-17 €2.40.)

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre. Built between 1434 and 1891, St-Pierre has survived Revolutionary pillagers, WWII bombs, and a 1972 fire. Post-fire restoration gave it a clean, bright interior with soaring Gothic vaults and 20th-century stained glass. Bombs destroyed all but one of the original windows; this lone survivor stands in the right transept above the tomb of François II. The tomb itself is an early 16th-century sculpted masterpiece. (Cathedral open daily Apr.-Oct. 8am-7pm; Nov.-Mar. 8am-6pm. Crypt open Sa 10am-11:30pm and 3-5pm, Su 3-5pm; entry every 30min. Welcome desk open daily 10am-6pm. Free guided visits daily; check at welcome desk for times. Guided visits also provided by tourist office twice weekly in summer. €7, students €4.)

Musée Des Beaux-Arts. Nantes’s art museum features a good collection of works by European masters from 13th-century Italian panels to Monet’s water lilies. Temporary installations of modern works are housed on the first floor and in the Chapelle de l’Oratoire, around the corner from the museum off rue Henri IV. (10 rue Georges Clemenceau. ☎02 51 17 45 00. Open M, W, F-Su 10am-6pm, Th 10am-8pm. Tours of temporary exhibitions or museum collections July-Aug. W-Th and Su 3pm; Sept.-June W and Su 3pm. Museum €3.50, students €2, under 18 free; after 4:30pm €2; Th 6-8pm and the 1st Su of each month free. Chapelle de l’Oratoire free. Tours €6, students €3.60.)

Other Sights. Outside the centre-ville on a hill overlooking the Loire, the small Musée Jules Verne honors the science fiction author’s life through sketches and artifacts as well as first editions of his novels and posters from the movies they inspired. (3 rue de l’Hermitage. Take tram #1, dir.: Mitterrand, to Gare Maritime. Cross the tram tracks and take a right at the roundabout onto quai E. Renaud. Bear right and uphill on rue de l’Hermitage; the museum will be on your left. ☎02 40 69 72 52; www.julesverne.nantes.fr. Open M and W-Sa 10am-noon and 2-6pm, Su 2-6pm. Free tours in French July-Aug. daily 3:30pm; Sept.-June Su 3:30pm. €3, ages 18-26 €1.50, under 18 and 4th Su of month free.) The Jardin des Plantes, across from the train station’s north entrance, is a relaxing public garden with fountains and fishponds, many species of trees, and a playground with free lawn chairs. North of the city, the Île de Versailles contains a park with Japanese-inspired gardens and a small children’s play area. Bridges connect the island to both banks of the Erdre. (Jardin des Plantes and Île de Versailles open daily from mid-Mar. to mid.-Oct. 8:30am-7:45pm; from mid-Oct. to mid-Mar. 11:30am-5:45pm.)

Nightlife And Festivals

Nantes plays host to the annual La Folle Journée, a classical music festival with short, reasonably priced concerts (☎02 51 88 20 00). Pick up the guide Aux Heures d’Été at the tourist office for a listing of summer events from mid-July to mid-August (☎02 51 82 37 70; www.auxheuresete.com). International filmmakers and photographers from Asia, Africa, and South America walk the red carpet at the increasingly popular   Festival des Trois Continents (info ☎02 40 69 74 14) in late November and early December.

Katorza, 3 rue Corneille (☎08 92 68 06 60; www.katorza.fr), shows lesser-known international films in their original language (€9, students €5). Nearby rue Scribe is full of late-night bars and cafes. A funky favorite, quartier Saint-Croix, near pl. du Bouffay, has bars and cafes on every block. Discos await adventurous travelers farther from the vieille ville.

• La Maison, 4 rue Lebrun (☎02 40 37 04 12; www.lamaisonet.com), off rue Maréchal Joffre. Hidden at the back of an alley. Unique decor draws all ages of laid-back hipster. 4 rooms, each furnished like part of a house—from the orange “kitchen” area, complete with dishwasher, to the blue-tiled “bathroom.” Free Wi-Fi. Beer €2.50-5.90. Mixed drinks €6. Open daily 3pm-2am. AmEx/MC/V.
• John McByrne, 21 rue des Petites Écuries (☎02 40 89 64 46). Irish pub with a festive red-and-green facade and a fittingly jolly crowd. Popular among expats. Packed on weekends; gear up for a noisy drink. Pints €4.60-6. Guinness €6. Irish coffee €6.50. Live Irish music Su 10pm. Open M-Sa 2pm-2am, Su 3pm-2am. AmEx/MC/V.
• La Comédie des Vins, 4 rue Suffren (☎02 40 73 11 68). Good-humored bar on a quiet street staffed by wine gurus. Low-key and intimate deck; rustic bar inside heats up at night. Over 40 vintages (€2-4).Open daily noon-midnight. MC/V.
• Le Temps d’Aimer, 14 rue Alexandre Fourny (☎02 40 89 48 60; www.letandem.com). Nantes’s favorite gay discothèque. From the tourist office, take a left on cours Clossin across the river, where it becomes bd. des Martyrs. Take a right onto rue de la Porte Gelée, which becomes rue Fourny. Alternatively, take tram #2 from pl. du Commerce to “Wattignies.” Walk up the street toward pl. du Commerce and turn left on rue de la Porte Gelée. Exercise caution in this neighborhood after dark. Beer €7. Liquor €10. Mixed drinks €12. Cover €2; mandatory coat check €2. Open daily midnight-7am.
• Le Loft, 9 rue Franklin (☎02 40 48 29 00; www.leloft.net). Multicolored lights, an eclectic mix of dance music, and a crowd that’s dressed to impress liven up this chic hot-pink-and-black nightclub. Mixed drinks €6.50. Open W 10pm-4am, Th-Sa 10pm-6am.