What to do around Nantes
Weekend ideas in and around Nantes
Organise a weekend in and around Nantes
A weekend to discover the Loire-Atlantique
Très easily accessible by train or car, Nantes and the surrounding area are très great weekend destinations. Whether you're looking for an urban and cultural destination or more of a green and fresh air escape, you'll find what you're looking for in Nantes and the surrounding area.
Nantes and the surrounding area are great weekend destinations.
How to get here
With a TGV station and an international airport, Nantes is an easily accessible city, no matter where you are in France. It takes 2 hours by train from Paris to reach Nantes, compared with 4 by car. From the south of France, a direct train will take you from Bordeaux or Lyon.
However, if you're planning to get out of the city to explore the Nantes countryside or the Atlantic coast, it will be easier to get around by car.
Where to stay?
It all depends on what you want to visit; on a short break, favour bed and breakfast packages, which will mean you don't have to worry about breakfast and shopping even though you only have two days to visit.For a weekend by the sea, resorts that are easily accessible and within easy walking distance are ideal, such as La Baule or Saint-Brévin-les-Pins. To explore Nantes and its city centre, opt for a City-Break format, with tastefully decorated flats in the heart of the Cité des Ducs: from your accommodation, you can explore the whole city using public transport. Finally, for weekends in the heart of the countryside, discover our gîtes and guest rooms available at weekends, and choose according to the atmosphere you want to give à your weekend.
What to do in a weekend around Nantes
If you're organising a short break in Nantes and the Loire-Atlantique region, you need to optimise your time to make the most of the riches of the city and its surroundings. According to your desires, we will guide you on the tourist sites and landscapes for your weekend around Nantes.
To visit for a cultural weekend à Nantes
The city of Nantes is very dynamic in terms of cultural activities: museums, shows, historical heritage… Classed as a city of art and history since 2000, Nantes is full of heritage attractions and cultural sites. History buffs will love the famous Chateau of the Dukes of Brittany and its history museum, the Mée d’histoire, the Mémorial de l’abolition de l’esclavage or the Passage Pommeraye, a masterpiece of 19th century architecture.
In Nantes, the best way to discover unusual cultural works while strolling freely is of course Le Voyage Nantes. A genuine introduction to the city, Le Voyage Nantes is characterised by a green line on the ground that you simply follow on foot, taking you all over the city, past urban works of art and remarkable sites of Nantes' heritage. Covering 12 km, the Voyage Nantes invites you to let yourself be guided throughout the year through the must-see sights of the destination, as well as historic alleyways and breathtaking viewpoints over the city.
Nantes is the perfect place to discover the city's heritage.
Don't miss during your stay in Nantes: Every year, the Voyage Nantes itinerary is enriched and updated; to present new works and offer a fresh look at the destination. If you want to get out of Nantes on your cultural weekend, wander through the Musée à Ciel ouvert de l’estuaire Nantes – Saint-Nazaire. In fact, along the 60km of the Loire estuary, 30 works by major artists are on display to reveal the natural, maritime and industrial heritage of this part of the department. You'll see, among other things: a 15-metre-high perched villa, a 7-metre pendulum installed on a former power station, a 120-metre-long snake, a boat that looks like it's going soft, a house that looks like it's sinking but won't sink… ». During a weekend in Nantes, opt for our City-break accommodation in the heart of the city: quality accommodation and a guaranteed warm welcome, Gîtes de France's City-Break package has everything to seduce lovers of urban escapades. Do you fancy a weekend in the countryside, away from the crowds and hustle and bustle of the city ? Opt for the area around Nantes, which is full of contemplative walks and verdant landscapes. The variety of bucolic panoramas in the region invites you to take the time to live in harmony with nature and broaden your horizons for a weekend of sightseeing.
The département was formed around water in all its forms lakes, etacute;tangs and rivers, freshwater marshes and wet meadows, the Loire, its estuaries and îles, and finally of course the Océan Atlantique and its coastline. The Loire-Atlantique region is France's 2nd biggest wetland department: whether you're an avid swimmer or a keen fisherman, the area around Nantes offers plenty of spots for a weekend at the water's edge. The department's 133km of coastline are waiting to welcome you to your weekends and holidays by the sea: the beaches of major seaside resorts such as La Baule follow on from the coves and narrow streets of the small fishing villages of Pornic and Pays de Retz. Discover Gueacute;rande and the ancestral know-how of the salt marsh workers, or the world-famous shipyards of Saint-Nazaire. The department's Atlantic coast is rich and varied, and the diversity of its beaches attracts locals and visitors alike. The emblematic river of Nantes, but also the longest river in France, the Loire winds its way through the département to offer spectators incredible scenery before flowing into the estuary between Saint-Nazaire and Saint-Brévin-les-Pins. For a zen and relaxing weekend, the Loire invites you to discover one of its bastions,the Estuaire et Sillon territory; far from the hustle and bustle of the big seaside resorts;aires, this part of the département is a temple to nature observation, an ideal place for peaceful walks and family activities based around the local flora and fauna. To discover on site: Cover our gîtes à proximité de l’estuaire. For a quiet stroll, away from the main roads and along the water, opt for the Canal de Nantes à Brest : in 1804, Napoléon decided to link Nantes à Brest by a canal inland, in order to avoid the English fleets. In the Loire-Atlantique region, 95km of walks await you, punctuated by the canal's 18 working cluuses; you'll also be able to see the clusier houses, architectural reminders of the department's fluvial past. Big positive point of the Canal de Nantes à Brest during a weekend in the green : on this path, you will not find any car : the stroll is done only à foot, à vélo or à horse to take full advantage of the surrounding nature and the ambient calm. The Nantes-Brest canal represents a real natural treasure trove for the department: marshes, hedged farmland, forests, plains… The areas crossed are well served and offer visitors a variety of viewpoints along the way, in the heart of the Pays de Redon. Take the opportunity to contemplate the local flora and fauna (coypu, fish, insects) and have fun identifying the different species of tree you come across on your way. Borrowing the passage of the Vélodyssée, the canal is an ideal stroll for a dayélo in Loire-Atlantique :the various routes are accessible to cyclists, the towpath is easy to use and the gradient is low. You'll only have to push your calves a little to get through some of the bridges. Lastly, there are a host of activities available along the Nantes-Brest canal, depending on your interests: pêche, nature observation, canoë, paddle and pédalos, à horse riding, initiation to the techniques of ’éclusage… There is something for every taste along the canal ! The department is covered by 9% woodland, making it a very pleasant destination for walking in the shade of the trees: Around 900 hectares of woodland are managed by the Loire-Atlantique region, and more than 20 forest, hedgerow and woodland walks have been identified. Lovers of leisurely walks or Nordic walking will find plenty of opportunities for walks in the heart of the verdant countryside close to Nantes. This is a great place to explore the Loire Atlantique.
As you will have gathered, the Loire-Atlantique is a region of rich natural beauty, ideal for a weekend of contemplation and wildlife watching.
A nature weekend around Nantes
A weekend around gastronomy and œnology
While it may not be the first French department that springs to mind when you think of gastronomy, the Loire-Atlantique region remains a land of gourmet traditions and knows how to welcome the épicuriens as they should.
Local expertise in the region's gastronomy dates back a long way: Winegrowing in the south-east of the department dates back to the 9th century AD, and the winegrowers of the Vignoble nantais region have also developed their mastery of grapes into an AOC, Muscadet. Clisson (the Italian town) and the surrounding area are excellent starting points in the department for discovering the know-how of the winegrowers and criss-crossing the well-aligned rows of vine stocks. The unique heritage of the Nantes vineyards, the fruit of centuries of winemaking tradition, can be found in the vicinity of Nantes, Lake Grand-Lieu and as far afield as the Ocans. Many wine estates and cellars will be delighted to welcome you for a privileged tour of their winery or for a tasting of their finest vintages.
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One of the department's exceptional estates is of course the Cave du Domaine des Génaudières, labellisé Gîtes de France. Their farm is located on the heights of Le Cellier, on the hillside and has been offering visitors a superb view of the Loire since 1635 : yes, wine here is an ancestral and family tradition !
The Athimon family welcomes you to an old, detached winegrowers' house, in the heart of nature and just a stone's throw from hiking trails for sports enthusiasts. The setting, the quality of the welcome provided by the Athimon family and the proximity of the Loire guarantee you a delightful stay in the heart of the Nantes vineyards. |
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A weekend in Loire-Atlantique is also an opportunity to visit the Cité Médiévale de Guérande, and its famous salt marshes. An ancestral practice of the département, the collection of Fleur de Sel in the œillets of the salt pans is an incredible spectacle : huge colourful mosaïques, the salt pans are adorned with multiple colours ranging from silver to pink, through green and blue to the delight of visitors' eyes. Contemporary salt workers carry on the same tradition as their ancestors: making pyramids of salt and collecting the Fleur de sel by hand before storing them in wooden sheds.Our partner, Terre de Sel, welcomes you from June to September to visit the salt marshes and discover the know-how of the salt workers. |
Other gourmet specialities well known to the French are born in Loire-Atlantique.
On the banks of the ocean, take advantage of your holiday by the sea to visit Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef. In the narrow streets of the village, a sweet smell entices gourmets and big kids alike: at Café Saint-Michel come and discover the incredible history of the Galette Saint-Michel, over 100 years old. Treat yourself to a moment of sweetness and discovery around this traditional cake.
It was on the banks of the Loire, in Saint-Julien-de-Concelles, that the classic Nantes cheese, Curé Nantais, made from cow's milk, was born around 100 years ago. This cheese, made from milk from the Pays de Retz region, has earned its reputation as one of the jewels in the crown of Nantes gastronomy. The cheese dairy, located in the small fishing village of Pornic, can still be visited: you can watch the milk being turned into cheese and learn about the history of the oldest cheese in the Nantes region.
Cover Pornic and the surrounding area.
Did you know thatLU's Petit-Beurre biscuits represent a real calendar? Yes, this traditional biscuit from Nantes, with its jagged edges and four ears, has a hidden meaning: in the 19th century, its founders (the Lefèvre-Utile family) wanted to subtly explain to their customers that the biscuit could be eaten all year round. To do this, they imagined the shape of their cake like a calendar:
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This anecdote to introduce you to one of France’s favourite biscuits, always made à côté de Nantes : to discover the heritage of this company and the history of the biscuit, visit the Château de Goulaine where an exhibition is dedicated to it.
If for you holidays rhyme with sport, you will find around Nantes a wide range of possible physical activities as well as quality facilities to relax you.
Sailing and surfing on the coast or paddle and paddle boats in the lakes and rivers of the department. Around the water, quality service providers welcome you to use their facilities; during your stay in Gîtes de France in Loire-Atlantique, the Holiday Passport will give you access to a wide range of water sports; It gives you access to discounts at activity providers, so you can enjoy water-based leisure activities with friends or family around Nantes.
The riverbanks of the department also lend themselves very well to fishing. The characteristic fish of the aquatic species present in the area is the pike, found in calm waters. The department's waters are also home to populations of pike-perch and carp, as well as Atlantic salmon and migrating eels! Some fishing spots in Loire-Atlantique:
- L’étang du Clos in the Erdre basin (night Carp course)
- La Chère around Derval (casting pêche)
- Le bassin de la Loire à Ancenis (pêche en bateau)
- Les étangs du Paradis à Légé (family fishing, perch, pike or zander)
- Le Grand Etang à Machecoul (pêche au coup)
- Le Divatte à Barbechat (perch and chub)
- La Maine en aval d’Aigrefeuille, pour pêcheurs sportifs (pêche à la mouche)
To be able to fish, keep yourself informed of the opening dates of the fishing season according to the fish you are interested in, and the measures in force.
Finally, the department's flagship sporting activity remains cycling. With over 1,500km of cycle paths and three major motorways, the area around Nantes is an ideal destination for a cycling holiday. Admire the seaside and the Atlantic Ocean on the Vélocéan, cycle through the vineyards or cross the countryside along the Nantes-Brest Canal: there's no shortage of itineraries to take you to the heart of nature in Loire-Atlantique.
Cover all our idées de sortie vélo en Loire-Atlantique.
