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There’s more to France than Paris! Nantes is a vibrant French city where a Green Line takes visitors and voyagers on a modern-day treasure hunt to discover treasures around every corner. If you are willing to venture beyond the iconic capital city, you will discover an inviting range of things to do in Nantes. Experience nature, art, cultural heritage, historic and modern architecture, gastronomy and vibrant nightlife in a city hailed as a ‘gateway to Brittany’. In this article, we share highlights from our trip and showcase what to see and experience when visiting Nantes.
Disclosure: Our visit was part of a campaign with Brittany Tourism. HDYTI maintains full editorial control of the content published on this site.
Your Nantes journey begins with the Green Line
Nantes is the French city that invites you to imagine, to wander, to engage and to play.
This became apparent to us as we picked up city maps and visitor brochures and accompanied our brilliant guide for the day, Nadim, to Le Jardin des Plantes from our city centre hotel. Approaching this botanical garden through the entrance along Rue Stanislas Baudry, we came across the first of many colourful doodle characters (Filili Viridi) by Nantes-born French illustrator Jean Jullien.
These oversized paper-like characters blend into the scenery, interacting with the landscape in playful ways while adding layers of fun to the garden’s beautiful flora and aquatic features. This particular character held a piece of green tape in its hand that curled downwards and seamlessly combined with neon green paint on the grass which continued onto the pavement.
Tracing the green line with our eyes, we watched it disappear into the distance, challenging our curiosity and inviting us to follow it, an invitation we did not resist.
The Green Line, a creative tourism concept, allows visitors to follow painted lines on the ground that takes them on a voyage of discovery in Nantes. If you like a good treasure hunt, you’re in for a treat! The Green Line essentially creates a free walking tour that connects you to cultural attractions, key monuments, and captivating art scenes in and around the historic Nantes city centre.
The Green Line is part of a wider project known as Le Voyage à Nantes (A journey to Nantes). Le Voyage à Nantes sees the city unite its art initiatives, heritage attractions, food culture, cultural events and transport infrastructure under one coordinated program to give visitors a seamless experience.
This innovative project picks up the Green Line from the beating heart of the Nantes city centre and links it with attractions along the Loire River estuary, extending out to Saint-Nazaire by the Atlantic Ocean, with detours into the region’s villages and vineyards.
There is a lot to see along the Green Line (we spent two days in the city) and for a truly immersive experience of Nantes, we recommend planning for 3 days.
HDYTI Tip: The Pass Nantes offers discounted 24hr, 48hr, 72hr and 7-day tariffs for public transportation (including buses, trams, boats) and discounts on selected experiences and attractions in Nantes. Visit levoyagenantes.fr for more information.
Walking through Nantes is an immersive experience
We visited Nantes in the spring. This is typically when cities begin to wrap up construction projects in preparation for the summer holiday season. Roadworks were not a problem for us because of the city’s well designed pedestrian and cycling paths and tramways. Instead, they hinted of a city on a mission and eager to welcome more visitors to explore its attractions.
The French city of Nantes, nestled on the banks of the Loire River, is the administrative seat of the Loire-Atlantique department within the Pays de la Loire region. However, Nantes has a long and deep history with Brittany and maintains such a strong cultural connection with that region that it is often regarded as a ‘gateway to Brittany’.
Nantes is France’s 6th-largest city and home to what was once the largest port in France and a key centre of commerce and industrial activity. Starting our visit to the Brittany region here allowed us to become acquainted with a city we knew very little about until that point.
These days, the city of Nantes has adopted a fresh identity, one that acknowledges her history while embracing a vision for the future. This dynamic persona finds expression in its diverse neighbourhoods which have connections to the Green Line. We were soon immersed in its narrative, soaking up distinctive interpretations of the story of Nantes as we delved into the city.
Picking up the trail in the Central Station District, we sauntered with locals in Le Jardin des Plantes, admired the impressive façade of Musée d’arts de Nantes and learned some of the history of the iconic French confectionery brand, LU, whose former biscuit factory is now home to Le Lieu Unique, a thriving melting pot of the city.
The Bouffay District placed us right in the medieval heart of Nantes, with the main attraction being Château des ducs de Bretagne, home to the last Duke of Brittany before the unification between France and Brittany in 1532. We especially loved the fact that access to the castle’s courtyard, fortification walls and moat is free!
One of the many surprises along our Green Line expedition included Jungle Intérieure, a green oasis remarkable for its density, variety and unusual location – a tiny courtyard between buildings. Planted and nurtured by a reclusive gardener/artist, this quiet space allowed us a moment of solitude and reflection.
Nantes is a city that invites you to look UP and play!
You must remember to look up when walking around the city centre!
One reason is that façacdes of shops, bars and restaurants offer some interesting art showcasing the creative collaboration between local artists and businesses. A particular shop sign featured a cow wearing a wig. Turns out, this was the artist’s interpretation of a butcher’s shop sharing a wall with the African hairdresser next door!
Another reason to look up is to spot mascarons (decorative stone ornaments portraying faces) that hint at stories of the city’s shipping past. By the end of the 17th century, Nantes had become a wealthy French global trading port with goods such as sugar, cotton and tobacco and, unfortunately, enslaved people (more on that later) passing through. The decorations, often found on mansions in the Feydeau Quarter owned by slave ship owners, depict key figures from that era and their perspectives of the world.
By far the most engaging district on our walking voyage along the Green Line in Nantes was Île de Nantes. Shipping may have ceased and port operations have since moved further west to Saint Nazaire. However, the industrial heritage birthed by those activities has been reimagined in this district of Nantes.
Relics of that bygone era, such as shipping cranes, dot the landscape, some of which have been repurposed for art. Former naval shipyards now form part of a network of supersized contemporary art installations, modern architecture, art schools, green spaces and quirky projects like Les Machines de l’île.
Urban art that encourages engagement and play was one of the highlights from our visit to Île de Nantes.
For example, the Grand Éléphant – a mechanical beast made up of hydraulics, wood, metal and leather and powered by a hybrid engine – gave us an unusual tour of Parc des Chantiers. A ‘basketball tree’ (L’arbre à basket) with multiple hoops encouraged fun conversations with locals.
Visually stunning buildings like ‘Air’, designed by architects at Tétrarc, challenged us to imagine sound as a building material!
HDYTI Tip: While access to the Parc des Chantiers is free, rides on the Grand Éléphant cost around £10 per adult. Children under 4 years can ride for free.
The memorial to the abolishment of slavery
The Graslin district is where significant wealth was concentrated in Nantes.
The monumental fountain at Place Royale serves as a confluence for streets that lead to elegant shops and gourmet restaurants. A boom period experienced between the 18th and 19th centuries facilitated the construction of monuments such as Théâtre Graslin and the grand Passage Pommeraye, a covered shopping arcade which was an architectural masterpiece for its time.
However, this display of wealth and privilege contrasts sharply with another attraction in the area.
Remember those mascarons (decorative stone ornaments) we mentioned earlier?
Some of them depict enslaved Africans who, in Nantes’ heydey as a global trading port, were regarded as mere commodities in what became known as the ‘triangular trade’ between France and territories in Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean.
Wealthy ship owners commissioned several of such expeditions (of over 4,220 expeditions from French ports, over 1,800 were recorded from the port of Nantes) with an estimate of 555,000 people enslaved for profit.
We experienced a sobering moment at Le Mémorial de l’abolition de l’esclavage, a memorial which, in a bold and commendable move, Nantes has created to acknowledge this darker period in its history. The memorial also brings attention to the evil of slavery (past and present) and human trafficking and the need to protect the human rights of freedom and equality.
It was surreal to look down at our feet and see the names and destinations of slave ships and to imagine the human cargo they carted away from freedom.
Your Nantes journey doesn’t end with the Green Line
On our final day in Nantes, we rented electric bicycles from Paulette Bike Rental and cycled along a section of the Loire estuary. The cycle route took us out of the city where we saw artworks within the Estuaire collection such as La Maison dans la Loire, the floating house that never sinks.
HDYTI Tip: Pack a picnic and plan to spend at least five hours on this cycling sightseeing itinerary. Further info and maps can be found at loireavelo.fr/carte
France’s 6th largest city by population has not always been the first thought for visitors to the country but things are looking up for Nantes. The Green Line, the Voyage à Nantes project (which makes Nantes a year-round destination), and a futuristic green bridge project are among some of the many initiatives by the city to reinvent itself and attract visitors.
We especially love how Nantes brings art to life in public spaces and uses it to inform, provoke imagination and entertain. It was impressive to see how urban art can provide natural opportunities for locals and visitors to engage and connect.
As a base for exploring the surrounding cities of Clisson and Saint Nazaire, the picturesque Muscadet wine region and coastal forays to Le Mont-Saint-Michel, Le Voyage à Nantes tempted us to take several tangents on an endless journey to experience even more. However, we had a few more stops in Brittany to visit and had to say a hurried goodbye to a very enjoyable French city.
Travel information
How to get there
We flew to Nantes Atlantique airport on EasyJet from London Gatwick Airport (1 hour).
Where to stay in Nantes
Stay in the city centre for easy access to everything. We stayed at Hôtel La Pérouse (La Pérouse Hotel).
Where to eat in Nantes
We share our experiences of dining in Nantes in a separate article. However, some recommendations for dinner reservations include Sépia by Lucie Berthier Gembara, Restaurant SAIN by the Huitric brothers and Maison Bagarre by Martin Davy. See restaurant guide Les Tables de Nantes for more information.
Special thanks to the team at Le Voyage à Nantes and especially to Nadim Zein sharing his knowledge of Nantes with us.
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