On the Loire River, Nantes has a gritty industrial heritage softened by a hefty dose of 18th-century finesse in its buildings and an almost tangible offbeat charm. Breathtaking museum collections are offset by unexpected green spaces and splurges of modern architecture, while there is an array of large-scale artworks scattered across the city and beyond.
Nantes also has a great food scene — named by La Liste as its new gastronomic destination for 2025, it has knockout restaurants and an abundance of local produce, including seafood from the Atlantic coast, as well as stonkingly good wines, thanks in part to being in the heart of muscadet country. And all this is just two hours from Paris by rail.
48 hours in Nantes — at a glanceDay one
• Morning: Château des Ducs de Bretagne
• Lunch: L’Atlantide 1874
• Afternoon: Les Machines de l’Île
• Drink at: La Cigale
• Evening: Do the green line walking tour
• Dinner: Les Chants d’Avril
Day two
• Morning: Marché de Talensac
• Lunch: Les Bouteilles or Vacarme
• Afternoon: Musée d’Arts
• Drink at: Le Lieu Unique
• Evening: Musée Dobrée
• Dinner: Pickles
The 39ft-high elephant is the star of Les Machines de l’Île exhibition space
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What to do and see
• In the centre of the Loire-Atlantique region, Nantes was formerly the capital of medieval Brittany and the best place to discover its history is at the grand Château des Ducs de Bretagne. Stout walls give way to elegant gothic spires and gables in the main courtyard, and the museum does an excellent job of explaining the city’s maritime heritage — in the 18th century Nantes was the largest port in France (£8, open Tue-Sun; chateaunantes.fr). Afterwards take a stroll through the streets of the compact old town.
• At the heart of the spectacular revival of the former shipping yards in Nantes, Les Machines de l’Île is a huge exhibition space filled with giant mechanical creatures. The big star is Le Grand Éléphant — 39ft high and disarmingly lifelike; 30-minute rides bookable in advance (£8; exhibition £9; lesmachines-nantes.fr).
• The best way to explore the city is to walk the green line on the pavements that links all the main sights, plus more than 100 permanent artworks. Start at the Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery, which has 2,000 commemorative plaques, then continue through the 18th-century Feydeau neighbourhood, which owed its wealth to the slave trade (free; levoyageanantes.fr).
• Central to the fabulous food scene in Nantes is the city’s main covered market, Marché de Talensac, which has stalls selling everything from local cheeses, charcuterie and seafood to boulangeries and wine merchants (free, open until 1pm Tue-Sun; marche-talensac.fr) It’s also great for street food — try Qrep’ for artisan crêpes and galettes.
• The Musée d’Arts is a superb gallery with more than 13,000 artworks, from the 13th century to the present day. Expect everything from Monet to Picasso, Kandinsky and Kapoor, with the modern and contemporary collections being particularly strong (£8, open Wed-Sun; museedartsdenantes.nantesmetropole.fr).
• Musée Dobrée occupies a stunning 15th-century manor and a neo-Romanesque house. A descendant of a wealthy ship-owning family, Thomas Dobrée donated his sizeable art collection to the city at the end of the 19th century (£6, open Wed-Sun; musee-dobree.fr).
Musée Dobrée has a sizeable art collection to explore
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Where to eat and drinkL’Atlantide 1874
This outstanding Michelin-starred restaurant, near Gare Maritime on tram line 1, is on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Loire and Île de Nantes (an island in the middle of two branches of the river). Dishes include chilled crab meat with radishes and horseradish in a lightly smoked seaweed broth, and buckwheat pancake with smoked eel (set menu from £46, open Tue-Sat; atlantide1874.fr).
L’Atlantide 1874 has a Michelin star
La Cigale
A landmark café-brasserie that opened on Place Graslin in 1895, La Cigale is worth a visit if only to see its stupendous art nouveau interiors, featuring opulent ceramic tiles and painted wooden ceilings (glass of wine from £5; lacigale.com). Don’t miss the nearby Passage Pommeraye, a lavishly decorated 19th-century shopping arcade.
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The striking interior of 19th-century La Cigale
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Les Chants d’Avril
The chef Christophe François and his wife, Véronique, offer a set menu that varies daily, based on the freshest ingredients available from the local market and suppliers. The wine list is vast, with muscadet reigning supreme, and the cuttlefish broth with shiitake mushrooms and fish eggs is one of the most wonderful dishes I’ve ever tasted (four-course menu £40, open Mon-Fri; @restaurant_les_chants-davril).
Les Bouteilles
Across the street from the market, this cave à vins has a huge wine list and a good daily menu (mains from £20, open Tue-Sat; lesbouteillesnantes.fr). Alternatively, ten minutes’ walk away is Vacarme, a cave à manger with a bistronomy menu, a somewhat rock’n’roll atmosphere and wines that are either organic or biodynamic (mains from £17, open Tue-Sat; vacarme-nantes.com).
Les Bouteilles has a vast wine list
Le Lieu Unique
The hip young centre for contemporary arts in Nantes, Le Lieu Unique is an exhibition space and music venue with a restaurant and lively bar, all housed in a former biscuit factory (glass of wine from £2; lelieuunique.com).
Pickles
Welcome to the realm of the British-born chef Dominic Quirke, who has been shaking up the culinary scene in Nantes for more than a decade. He serves excellent food in a relaxed, contemporary restaurant, often with a slight Asian twist — think red mullet with pak choi, spinach, tiger salad in buttermilk and dill oil (five-course menu £54, open Tue-Sat; pickles-restaurant.com).
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Where to stayL’Hôtel
Great mid-range choice
Friendly and welcoming, this is a small, good-value hotel a five-minute walk from the train station and across the road from the Château des Ducs de Bretagne. Breakfasts here are excellent, making the most of local produce and suppliers. Some of the Superior rooms have good views of the château, while the Terrace and Exclusive rooms are quietest, overlooking the garden (room-only doubles from £75; nanteshotel.com).
Oceania Hôtel de France
Grande dame elegance
In a premium location off Place Graslin, a few doors from Passage Pommeraye, the Hôtel de France has been beautifully converted from an 18th-century mansion. The Deluxe and Prestige rooms offer the most space — the latter have bath tubs as well as walk-in showers, while one has a private roof terrace. Or opt for Room 107, designed by the award-winning local artist Justin Weiler using different shades of black (B&B doubles from £131; oceaniahotels.com).
Sozo
Sozo Hotel is located in a converted church
YANN RICHARD
Best for design
In a converted church and with atmosphere in spades, Sozo is a boutique hotel filled with original artworks. The lobby makes a strong first impression — a soaring space (the original choir hall) with contemporary lounge furniture below stained-glass windows. Rooms are adapted to the existing architecture and feature exposed stone walls and vaulted ceilings (see the Tentation and Séduction rooms). Its position on a quiet street beside the city’s botanical garden is peaceful and convenient (B&B doubles from £146; sozohotel.fr).
Getting there and around
Take the Eurostar from London to Paris (from £77 return; eurostar.com), then a train to Nantes. Direct flights to Nantes Atlantique, five miles southwest of the city centre, are available from Gatwick with easyJet (easyjet.com) and from Stansted with Ryanair (ryanair.com). Or make the six-hour ferry journey from Poole to St Malo, which is just over two hour’s drive to Nantes, with Condor (from £242; condorferries.co.uk). Once you’ve arrived in the city buy a two-day Pass Nantes, which includes unlimited use of trams, buses and river ferries and entrance to 50 attractions (£31; (levoyageanantes.fr).
Visit responsibly
Extend your stay in Nantes and explore the Estuary Art Trail — 33 outdoor artworks scattered across nearly 40 miles of the Loire estuary between Nantes and the Atlantic coast — by ebike (naolib.fr).
Rudolf Abraham was a guest of Le Voyage à Nantes (levoyageanantes.fr), Atlantic Loire Valley (atlantic-loire-valley.com) and Eurostar (eurostar.com)
Have you visited Nantes? Share your reflections and recommendations in the comments
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