Nantes

LE VOYAGE A NANTES

Is a unique cultural and tourist offer in France all year round.

Located in the south of Brittany, the historic capital of Brittany, Nantes is only 30 minutes from the Atlantic Ocean. The city enjoys an exceptional geographical location close to the beaches, the Nantes vineyards (including Muscadet) and the Loire Valley. Today, Nantes is the sixth largest city in France and is constantly developing and attracting attention. From the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany to the Passage Pommeraye, from the Museum of Fine Arts to the Machines de l'Ile, Nantes reveals its historical, architectural and artistic heritage with a public collection of more than 120 works of art. All year round, Nantes l'effervescente surprises and enchants. It is at once a city with history, a city on the move, a city to play in, a sustainable city and a city that feels good. *The best way to discover the city throughout the seasons is to follow the 20 kilometres of permanent green line marked out on the ground between the unmissable monuments and works of art in public spaces. Follow the green line!

With the Pass Nantes 24h/48h/72h/7 days, you can take the time to discover the most creative city in France and the surrounding area through cultural, urban and outdoor experiences: access to around thirty venues, public transport, airport shuttle, guided tours, cruises, tastings and sporting activities. Pass Nantes

The Voyage à Nantes summer event
The Voyage à Nantes summer event takes place every year from the beginning of July to the beginning of September. Every summer, the Voyage à Nantes puts the city centre stage by bringing together various free cultural events. For two months, art can be seen everywhere in the city. Artists, architects, designers and gardeners enliven and spice up the green line on the ground. The doors of the cultural venues open wide to welcome a wide audience seven days a week. At the end of each summer edition, several works are permanently installed along the green line. The Voyage à Nantes route thus becomes a permanent route with around 100 works. Follow the green line all year round! Stages and map of the Green Line in Nantes | Le Voyage à Nantes

Les Machines de l'île
From the Great Elephant to the Sea Worlds, an art project that has been enhancing the city's tourist offer since 2007 - for adults and children. Les Machines de l'île is an original tourist and artistic project. These monumental mechanical structures in motion fit perfectly into the urban fabric. They come from the imagination of François Delarozière and Pierre Orefice and are inspired by the invented worlds of Jules Verne, the mechanical universe of Leonardo da Vinci and the industrial history of Nantes. This living, fantastic bestiary is located on the site of the former shipyards in the west of the Île de Nantes. The Great Elephant: Since 2007, it has been impossible to miss the Great Elephant walking along the banks of the Loire! The animal bars, sprays water from its trunk and looks very much like a live animal. Other special features are that it is 12 metres tall and weighs 48.4 tonnes. Even more amazing is that it takes 49 people in its belly and on its back for an unusual 30-minute ride. The Carousel of the Sea Worlds: A huge carousel (25 metres high and 22 metres in diameter). It is populated with underwater creatures and consists of around 30 moving elements in three rides: seabed, abyss and sea surface. Adults and children are spectators to a choreography of aquatic animals and sea creatures. The Gallery of Machines: Designed as a laboratory and venue for live performances, the gallery features a veritable bestiary of machines, from which you may be able to control a giant ant, a sloth, a calamæon or a caterpillar...

Discover Nantes and its metropolitan area by bike
At the crossroads of La Vélodyssée (EuroVelo 1) and La Loire à Vélo (EuroVelo 6), two major cycle tourism routes, Nantes offers 586 km of cycling facilities. The "Le Voyage permanent à vélo" guide provides suggestions for inspiring outings: cycle loops from 10 to 35 km in the city centre and around Nantes on the banks of the Loire and Erdre rivers, right up to the gateway to the Muscadet vineyards. Follow the Voyage à Nantes green line, marked out on the ground! You won't want to miss a thing: the Machines de l'Ile, the Château des Ducs de Bretagne with its history museum, and the open-air collection of over 120 works by international artists in public spaces...

Where to eat in Nantes
Les Tables de Nantes : There's no doubt that Nantes, with its port tradition, is a crossroads of influences. The chefs of Nantes sublimate this singularity thanks to the wide variety of local produce. The Nantes region boasts an extensive network of high-quality producers, market gardeners, fishermen, livestock farmers, ripeners and winemakers. The Tables de Nantes guide highlights the addresses of restaurants that promote local produce and creativity. Muscadet is the perfect accompaniment to this locavore cuisine.
Nantes specialities: Don't forget to take home a few souvenirs typical of Nantes and the surrounding region: a bottle of Muscadet, Nantes rigolettes (sweets made from fruit marmalade (lemon, blackcurrant, raspberry, mandarin, pineapple) coated in a sugar shell), Guérande salt, salted butter caramels, Nantes cake (which can be kept for up to 12 days thanks to the rum it contains! ), LU biscuits (the famous petit-beurre).

La Cantine du Voyage
La Cantine du Voyage, aptly placed just opposite Daniel Buren and Patrick Bouchain's Anneaux, is a convivial ephemeral space, designed from agricultural greenhouses, which has become an essential stage of the Voyage à Nantes from April to September. The Nantes collective "Appelle moi Papa" has added its own personal touch to make La Cantine even more attractive, revitalising its colour codes and aesthetics with a hill for children to climb. Le Potager de La Cantine has been reinventing market gardening in an urban environment since 2016. This pioneering urban agriculture site in France is experimenting with growing vegetables and other edible plants on a former tarmac car park. The 3-metre-high pair of boots (2 left feet), the work of artist Lilian Bourgeat, Invendus - Bottes, is open to the public.