I have been living in Nantes for the past six months as part of my university Year Abroad, so I thought I might as well write a review on the city itself!
**General Info**
Nantes is situated in western France, on the Loire River. It's the 'prefecture' of the Pays de la Loire region, which is sort of like the 'capital' of the area. It's the eighth largest city in France, and is only a short journey away from the coast.
**The Town Centre**
The city centre of Nantes has a very French feel to it - there are cafes and bars with pavement tables everywhere; old cobbled roads and little narrow streets with traditional French architecture.
The main part of the city centre isn't very big at all; you could take a walking tour of it in one afternoon.
There are several squares, or "places" in the city centre, the biggest being Place Royale, which has a lovely fountain in the middle, and an old man who draws fantastic pictures on the pavement in chalk!
There's the usual mix of shops, bars, cafes etc. and I'll go into detail on these later in the review. The centre of Nantes is also the main public transporthub of the city - you can get to almost anywhere from Commerce!
**Eating Out**
There are tons and tons of places to eat out in Nantes. You'll be spoilt for choice!
A short walk from the Commerce tram stop brings you to the small 'quartier' known as Bouffay, made up of several small cobbled streets and the "Place du Bouffay". Nearly every establishment near Bouffay is a bar, café or restaurant. You'll find creperies, Italian's and Chinese, sandwich shops and lots more. Most of these places also have
tables and chairs out on the pavement, for those sunny days.
Heading back towards Place Royale, and further up to Place Graslin, you'll find Nantes most famed eatery, 'La Cigale'. I've never been there myself, but I have friends who've stopped in for afternoon tea, and they said it was the best cake they've ever had!
**Nightlife**
The French way of life is very different to what you'd see in England. They're more into going out for a few casual drinks, then heading home early. As such, there's not a great deal of clubs in the city centre itself.
There's a very small club called "Tower Bar" near Bouffay, though as it's the only one in the area, it can get very crowded and I often see queues for it right down the road. The music they play is a bit cheesy, too!
There are plenty of bars and pubs, though - a very high conglomeration around Bouffay. It's here you'll find the place where all the English graduate to - John McByrne's Irish pub. The landlord and most of the bar staff are English, so it's always good to go to McByrne's and be able to order in English! Like many of the pubs and bars though, it's very small on the inside.
It's not just Bouffay that you can find a bar - head over to Place du Commerce for some style, such as the chic Noops (or perhaps Spoon!) bar - where the light shades are made from spoons!
Further up towards Place Royale and Place Graslin, you'll find yet more bars and pubs.
Most of the bars have a nice ambience, and the bartenders are usually friendly and eager to serve you.
For those who prefer clubbing and dancing to the laid-back French night out, you could head to Hangar a Bananes - a new development of bars and clubs on the Ile de Nantes.
From the city centre it's a short bus journey away, or you could take a tram and then walk across.
There's one big club here, as well as several smaller bars. The standard of the bars at Hangar a Bananes is more 'upmarket' than in the centre of town, with stylish seating and décor.
If bars and clubs aren't your thing, then there's a big cinema in the centre called the Gaumont - this plays only French films and films dubbed into French, however. But if you head up towards Place Graslin, you'll find the Katorza cinema, which plays films in their original language.
England could learn a thing or two from the transport system in Nantes! It's the one thing that I truly love about the city (having had to commute to school, college and then uni in Birmingham by train for the past eight years!)
The main part of the public transport system are the trams. There are three tramlines run by a company called TAN. All three tramlines converge in the city centre, at a stop called Commerce.
The trams run every three or four minutes during the day, and every half an hour at night. And here's the clincher - at every stop there's a board that tells you when the next departure will be. And it's always right! If it says the next tram will be in two minutes…it will be! It was a shock to the system after putting up with Centro trains for eight years!
Every tram stop is equipped with a ticket machine, and you must buy your ticket before you get on the tram. Once you get on, you have to stamp the ticket in the machine - or risk getting a 40 euro fine. Four of my friends in Nantes have been caught out and fined, so it does happen!
There's also a large network of buses that will get you everywhere the trams don't.
TAN also run the TANAir bus, which is a direct route to and from the airport
Pictures of Nantes, Loire Valley
The huge mechanical elephant at "Les Machines de L'Ile" in Nantes.
- very useful. Along with the trams and buses, there are also…boats! TAN runs a Navibus service on the river, from one side of the city centre up towards the train station.The main train station is the GareSNCF, which is within walking distance from the city centre, or it's just a quick three-station hop on the tram.
Finally - don't rely on being able to get a taxi in Nantes. There are a couple of taxi ranks, but they're often empty. And if you try and phone a cab company late at night, chances are no one will answer. This is an annoyance, because on weekdays trams only run until 12.30am, and on Saturday's the latest is 2.30am. You have to make sure you're back in time for the last tram or risk walking back to your hotel/accommodation!
**Shopping**
Ahh, France - the shopping capital. Not! Perhaps it's because I'm used to Birmingham city centre and the Bull Ring, but the shops in Nantes disappointed me. There's just not very many of them.
On the main shopping street near the Place du Cirque tram stop, you've got some familiar faces: Zara, H&M, Sephora, C&A - as well as some French high street staples. Across the road and towards Bouffay you'll find a huge department store called Galeries Lafayette…and that's about it.
Oh, there are plenty of couture shops - the sort that you'd have to take out a mortgage to be able to afford, but for the average high street shopper there's very little.
I was pleased then to find out that at the end of the line one tramway there was a huge shopping centre. Again, once I got there, it was a huge disappointment. There was H&M, Zara and a load of naff French shops with nothing much to offer. Massive IKEA though!
So, for clothes, shoe and accessory shopping, you're pretty much stuck. If you like books, games and other electronic media, you're in for a treat, because at Place du Commerce there's a huge Fnac - France's equivalent to Borders.
Supermarket shoppers will be happy as well - the French supermarkets are MASSIVE! There are three or four E.Leclerc's and a couple of Carrefour's all within easy access by tram, plus Monoprix in the centre of town.
**Places to Stay**
There are lots and lots of hotels in the city centre, and in the surrounding region. As I'm living in Nantes, I haven't actually experienced any of the hotels, but I see them all the time - so they're there!
If hotels aren't your thing, then there's a campsite on tram line two - Petit Port Camping. They have static caravans, but also allow touring caravans and tents.
There's plenty to do in Nantes whatever your interest. Perhaps Nantes most well-known attraction is "Les Machines de L'Ile" - more commonly known as "the elephant".
This is a selection of mechanical creatures, the biggest and best of which is the Nantes Elephant. It's quite bizarre to see - a huge wood and mechanical elephant trundling up and down, blinking and waving its trunk! You're able to ride on the elephant, and then look round the other attractions. If you want to see a video of the elephant, look here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XX3rLDPwA5I and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67eS2CzwwTY. I've also attached some pictures to the end of the review.
In the centre of town, there's Le Château Ducs de Bretagne, which is a really pretty castle. It's great to walk around (free entry to the grounds), and I imagine in the summer it'd be really nice to sit and have a picnic on the grounds. There's also a museum part to the castle, but you pay for your entry.
The botanical gardens are lovely - though not very big. A good way to spend an hour's walk, though!
Nantes is famous for its connections to Jules Verne, and if you're interested in his work, then there's a museum at his old house. Entrance prices are very cheap, and it's definitely worth a look. Just across the road from the Jules Verne museum is a planetarium - again very cheap for an hour show - and it's very well done (but the commentary is in French!)
There's also an art museum, which if that's your thing is worth a look; and a natural history museum.
Nantes isn't too far from some lovely beaches - you could head to La Baule, which is the largest beach in Europe, or try picturesque Pornic or La Croisic.
**Final Thoughts**
Hopefully this review has given you some insight into the city of Nantes. I'm enjoying living there, though the pace and way of life is very different to that of England. Everything comes to a standstill on a For example, on a Sunday - no shops or supermarkets are open, so there's little to do.
One thing I perhaps haven't mentioned is that Nantes itself is a very pretty city. Lots of greenery, and being right on the banks of the Loire make it very picturesque.
My view might be skewed as I'm living there short term, but I can imagine that it's a very nice place to visit, perhaps for a short city break, or if you wanted a city base to explore the wider Loire region.
Hotel - Lotissement, Centre d'Activities du Pin, Beaucouze, 49070 Angers, Centre d'activité du Pin, 49070 Beaucouzé, Pays de la Loire, France - 2 Stars - 42 Rooms
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