39 Sights in Nantes, France (with Map and Images)
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Welcome to your journey through the most beautiful sights in Nantes, France! Whether you want to discover the city's historical treasures or experience its modern highlights, you'll find everything your heart desires here. Be inspired by our selection and plan your unforgettable adventure in Nantes. Dive into the diversity of this fascinating city and discover everything it has to offer.
Sightseeing Tours in NantesActivities in Nantes
Nantes Cathedral, or the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul of Nantes, is a Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral located in Nantes, Pays de la Loire, France. Construction began in 1434, on the site of a Romanesque cathedral, and took 457 years to finish in 1891. It has been listed since 1862 as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture.
Théâtre Graslin is a theatre and opera house in the city of Nantes, France, built in a new district of the city in the late 18th century by the local architect Mathurin Crucy, and named after the owner of the land, Jean-Louis Graslin. Constructed in the Italian style, the auditorium holds 823 people.
The Basilica of St. Nicolas in Nantes is a Catholic basilica constructed in the neo-Gothic architectural style, situated in the heart of Nantes. It is one of two basilicas in the city, the other being the Basilica of Saint Donatien and Saint Rogatien.
The Jardin des plantes de Nantes is a municipal botanical garden located on Rue Stanislas Baudry, Nantes, Loire-Atlantique, Pays de la Loire, France. It is open daily without charge, but a fee is charged for the greenhouses.
5. La Loire et ses Affluents
The Place Royale, located in the city center of Nantes, France, was designed in 1786 by the Nantes architect Mathurin Crucy. Built in 1790 after the destruction of the medieval ramparts, it is the central element of a homogeneous set of buildings in the classical style built for this occasion. It has a monumental fountain inaugurated in 1865.
6. Fontaine Wallace
Wallace fountains are public drinking fountains named after, financed by and roughly designed by Sir Richard Wallace. The final design and sculpture is by Wallace's friend Charles-Auguste Lebourg. They are large cast-iron sculptures scattered throughout the city of Paris, France, mainly along the most-frequented sidewalks. A great aesthetic success, they are recognized worldwide as one of the symbols of Paris. A Wallace fountain can be seen outside the Wallace Collection in London, the gallery that houses the works of art collected by Sir Richard Wallace and the first four Marquesses of Hertford.
7. Église Sainte-Croix
The Sainte-Croix church is a church in Nantes built in the seventeenth century in the classical style and then modified in the nineteenth century. The building is located in the Bouffay district of which it has been the parish church since 1138.
8. Grue Titan Jaune
The Titan cranes are two now-disused lifting devices located on the western tip of the island of Nantes, preserved as a testimony to the industrial past of the commune of Nantes, in the French department of Loire-Atlantique. The yellow crane, formerly belonging to the Dubigeon shipyards, and the grey crane, at the Autonomous Port of Nantes-Saint-Nazaire, are now the property of the city of Nantes. They are classified as historical monuments.
9. Les Anneaux
The Rings of Buren, also known simply as The Rings, is a work by Daniel Buren and Patrick Bouchain located on the Quai des Antilles on the island of Nantes in the eponymous city. Symbolizing the city's slave past, they were created for the Estuaire 2007 contemporary art festival, with Patrice Coupechoux, founder of IDM Groupe Coupechoux, as patron.
10. Colonne Louis XVI
The Louis-XVI Column is a monument in the city of Nantes in France, installed in the center of the Place Maréchal-Foch. It is a twenty-eight-metre-high column, placed on a pedestal, surmounted by a statue of the King of France Louis XVI.
11. Tombeau de François II et Marguerite de Foix
The tomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany is a monument located in Nantes, in the Cathedral of St. Peter. The project was commissioned by Anne of Brittany, Queen of France, who was the daughter of Francis and his second wife Margaret of Foix, who is also depicted beside Francis. The tomb was originally located in the chapel of the Carmelites in Nantes. Francis II had wished that his body rest there, to join the remains of his first wife Margaret of Brittany. The tomb eventually received the body of Francis and both his wives, though only his second wife is depicted.
12. Statue de la Délivrance
La Délivrance is a 1914 bronze statue by the French sculptor Émile Oscar Guillaume (1867–1942). The statue was created as a celebration of the First Battle of the Marne, when the German army was stopped before capturing Paris in August 1914.
13. Temple protestant
The Protestant Temple of Nantes is a religious building located on Place Édouard-Normand in the Hauts-Pavés - Saint-Félix district of Nantes, and inaugurated in 1956. The parish is a member of the United Protestant Church of France.
14. Hôtel Deurbroucq
The Hotel Deurbroucq is a neo-classical style mansion built in the eighteenth century, located on the Allée de l'Île-Gloriette, in the city center of Nantes, France. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1945.
15. Église Saint-Émilien
The Church of Saint-Émilien is a Roman Catholic church located in Nantes, rue François-Bruneau, in the Hauts-Pavés - Saint-Félix district. It is dedicated to Saint Aemilian, bishop of Nantes in the eighth century. Worship is celebrated according to the Tridentine rite, also called the extraordinary form of the Roman rite. It belongs to the priory of Saint-Louis, dependent on the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX).
Wikipedia: Église Saint-Émilien de Nantes (FR), Website, Youtube
16. Musée Jules Verne
The Musée Jules Verne is a museum dedicated to the French writer Jules Verne. It is located in the city of Nantes, France, and was opened in 1978 to mark the 150th anniversary of Verne's birth. The painter Jean Bruneau, helped by Luce Courville, curator of the municipal library, joined forces to open this museum.
17. Ancien observatoire astronomique de la Marine
The former Astronomical Observatory of the Navy of Nantes is a building located at No. 18 rue Flandres-Dunkerque-40 in Nantes, France. Built at the beginning of the nineteenth century, it is part of the buildings of the former school of hydrography, in operation from 1827 to 1887.
Wikipedia: Ancien observatoire astronomique de la Marine de Nantes (FR)
18. Musée Dobrée
The Musée Dobrée is an archeology museum in Nantes, in the quartier Graslin in the immediate outskirts of the city centre and very close to the city's Natural History Museum. It was given to the city by Thomas Dobrée and now belongs to the Conseil général de la Loire-Atlantique. In January 2010, the Conseil général began a project to restructure and modernise the museum, which is planned for completion in 2023.
19. Manoir de la Hautière
The Manoir de la Hautière is a manor house built towards the end of the fourteenth century, located on rue Claude-Guillon-Verne, in the Bellevue - Chantenay - Sainte-Anne district, in Nantes, France. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1926.
20. Villa de la Chantrerie
Villa de la Chantrerie is a manor house built in the nineteenth century, located in Nantes, on the left bank of the Erdre, route de Gachet, in the Nantes Erdre district, in France. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1997.
21. Hôtel Urvoy de Saint-Bedan
The Hotel Urvoy de Saint-Bedan is a private mansion built in 1840, located at the corner of Rue Tournefort and Rue d'Argentré, in the city center of Nantes, France. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1954.
22. Le Jardin extraordinaire
The Extraordinary Garden is a public park located in Nantes, in the western part of the former Miséry Quarry, located on the right bank of the Loire, in the Bellevue - Chantenay - Sainte-Anne district. Access to the park is on the south side, from Cardiff Boulevard and Marquis-d'Aiguillon Quay.
23. Église Notre-Dame de Bon-Port
Notre-Dame de Bon-Port is a Roman Catholic basilica located in Nantes, France. The church was constructed in 1846 by the architects Seheult and Joseph-Fleury Chenantais. Its official name is Église de Saint-Louis, though it is rarely known by this name.
24. Hôtel Cazenove de Pradines
The Hôtel Cazenove de Pradines or Hôtel de Bouillé is a neo-classical style mansion built at the end of the eighteenth century, located in the rue Georges-Clemenceau, in Nantes, France. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1988. It is built symmetrically with a sister hotel, the Hôtel de la Pilorgerie.
25. Cerf, biche et faon au repos
Family of deer, also called Group of deer or Deer, Doe and Fawn, or Deer, refers to two animal groups sculpted in 1908 by Georges Gardet (1863-1939), of which there are at least three examples: in Buenos Aires in Argentina, in Nantes and in Sceaux in France.
26. Hôtel Garreau
The Hôtel Garreau is a neo-renaissance style mansion built in 1845, located at the corner of rue Dobrée and rue Damrémont, in the city center of Nantes, France. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1975. To the south, the hotel backs onto the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Port.
27. Tour de l'Éraudière
The Eraudière Tower is part of the small heritage of the commune of Nantes, in the French department of Loire-Atlantique. It is located in the Nantes Erdre district, at the corner of Rue Coetquelfen and Chemin de l'Éraudière. Its original function is not certified, it is probably the remains of an old windmill.
28. Hôtel de la Pilorgerie
The Hôtel de la Pilorgerie is a neo-classical style mansion built at the end of the eighteenth century, located in the rue Georges-Clemenceau, in Nantes, France. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1988. It is built symmetrically with a sister hotel, the Hotel Cazenove de Pradines.
29. Hôtel Maës
The Hotel Maës is a private mansion built in 1827, located at 4 Place Général-Mellinet between Boulevard Allard and Rue Richer, in the Dervallières - Zola district of Nantes, France. The building was listed as a historical monument in 2011.
30. Hôtel Philippe
The Hôtel Philippe is a private mansion built in 1828, located at 7 Place Général-Mellinet between Rue Rollin and Boulevard Saint-Aignan, in the Dervallières - Zola district of Nantes, France. The building was listed as a historical monument in 2011.
31. Maison du Chapitre
The building, built in the eighteenth century, is located at No. 3 rue Sully and on the Cours Saint-André in Nantes, France. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1954. The building in its entirety, formed by Nos. 2 and No. 3 of the Rue Sully, constitutes the House of the Chapter.
32. Hôtel Saint-Pern
The Hôtel Saint-Pern is a former private mansion built in the eighteenth century, located in the rue Malherbe, in the Malakoff - Saint-Donatien district of Nantes, France, of which the only vestige is the portal, which was classified as a historical monument in 1952.
33. Hôtel Vauloup
The Hôtel Vauloup is a private mansion built between 1828 and 1856, located at 3 Place Général-Mellinet, in the Dervallières - Zola district of Nantes, France. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1988.
34. Palais de la Bourse
The Palais de la Bourse is a building on place du Commerce in Nantes, France, begun at the end of the 18th century and completed in the 19th century. It was rebuilt at the end of the 20th century to house a branch of Fnac.
35. Hôtel Blon-et-Amouroux
The Hôtel Blon-et-Amouroux is a private mansion built between 1828 and 1856, located at 5 Place Général-Mellinet, in the Dervallières - Zola district of Nantes, France. The building was listed as a historical monument in 1991.
36. Chapelle de l'Oratoire
The Chapelle de l’Oratoire is a former chapel of the Oratorians, dating from the 17th century, in Nantes, France. The chapel is located at Place de l'Oratoire, in the Malakoff-Saint-Donatien district, on the periphery of the city center, with Rue Henri-IV marking the boundary between these two districts. Incorporated into the Hôtel le Lasseur in 1775, the chapel was subsequently classified as a historic monument in 1952. The building is no longer used for religious purposes and has been incorporated into the city's Museum of Fine Arts.
37. C.H.U Saint-Jacques
The Saint-Jacques Hospital is the second oldest of the seven hospitals managed by the University Hospital of the city of Nantes, in France, on whose territory it is located. It is located along the left bank of the Loire, in the Nantes Sud district.
38. Église Saint-Similien
The Church of Saint-Similien is a church in the Hauts-Pavés - Saint-Félix district of Nantes. It is dedicated to Saint Similien of Nantes, 3rd bishop of Nantes in the fourth century, who probably baptized Saint Donatien. Built on his tomb, it has been enlarged and rebuilt several times over the centuries. In its current neo-Gothic form, it dates from the late 19th century, but its façade, which is supposed to have two large twin bell towers, was never completed.
39. Maillé-Brézé
Maillé-Brézé is a T47-class squadron escort of the French Navy. It was named after the famous sailor Jean Armand de Maillé, Marquis de Brézé. This is the third unit to bear this surname. Since 1988, it has been a museum ship docked at the Quai de la Fosse in the port of Nantes. It has been classified as a historical monument since 1991.
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