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Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the
Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...
department of France on the
Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...
, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 320,732 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabitants (2020). With
Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...
, a seaport on the Loire estuary, Nantes forms one of the main north-western French metropolitan agglomerations. It is the administrative seat of the
Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...
department and the
Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
, one of 18 regions of France. Nantes belongs historically and culturally to
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
, a former
duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...
and
province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...
, and its omission from the modern administrative region of Brittany is controversial. Nantes was identified during
classical antiquity Classical antiquity, also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity, is the period of cultural History of Europe, European history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the inter ...
as a port on the Loire. It was the seat of a bishopric at the end of the
Roman era In modern historiography, ancient Rome is the Roman people, Roman civilisation from the founding of Rome, founding of the Italian city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Em ...
before it was captured by the
Bretons The Bretons (; or , ) are an ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. Originally, the demonym designated groups of Common Brittonic, Brittonic speakers who emigrated from Dumnonia, southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwal ...
in 851 with the help of
Lambert II of Nantes Lambert II (died 852) was the Frankish Count of Nantes and Prefect of the Breton March between 843 and 851. Lambert ruled the county in opposition to Amaury, the puppet count installed by Charles the Bald, King of West Francia. At his death, the c ...
. Although Nantes was the primary residence of the 15th-century
dukes of Brittany This is a list of rulers of Brittany. In different epochs the rulers of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary right. Hereditary ...
,
Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
became the provincial capital after the 1532
union of Brittany and France The union of the Duchy of Brittany with the Crown of France was the culmination of a political process begun at the end of the 15th century in the wake of the Mad War. It resulted in the Edict of Union of 13 August 1532 and the incorporation of ...
. During the 17th century, after the establishment of the
French colonial empire The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...
, Nantes gradually became the largest port in France and was responsible for nearly half of the 18th-century French
Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...
. The French Revolution resulted in an economic decline, but Nantes developed robust industries after 1850 (chiefly in shipbuilding and food processing).
Deindustrialization Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpr ...
in the second half of the 20th century spurred the city to adopt a
service economy Service economy can refer to one or both of two recent economic developments: * The increased importance of the service sector in industrialized economies. The current list of Fortune 500 companies contains more service companies and fewer m ...
. In 2020, the
Globalization and World Cities Research Network The Globalization and World Cities Research Network (GaWC) is a British think tank that studies the relationships between world cities in the context of globalization. It is based in the geography department of Loughborough University in Leic ...
ranked Nantes as a Gamma world city. It is the third-highest-ranking city in France, after
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
. The Gamma category includes cities such as
Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...
,
Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...
,
Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
,
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
and
Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...
. Nantes has been praised for its
quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...
, and it received the
European Green Capital Award The European Green Capital Award (EGCA) is an award given by the European Commission each year to a European city based on its environmental record. The award was launched on 22 May 2008, with the first award being given to Stockholm for the y ...
in 2013. The
European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
noted the city's efforts to reduce air pollution and CO2 emissions, its high-quality and well-managed public transport system and its
biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
, with of green space and several protected
Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...
areas.


Etymology

Nantes is named after a tribe of
Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...
, the
Namnetes The Namnetes were a Gallic tribe dwelling near the modern city of Nantes during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Namnitō͂n'' (Ναμνιτῶν) by Polybius (2nd c. BC) and Strabo (early 1st c. AD), ''Namnetes' ...
, who established a settlement between the end of the second century and the beginning of the first century BC on the north bank of the Loire near its
confluence In geography, a confluence (also ''conflux'') occurs where two or more watercourses join to form a single channel (geography), channel. A confluence can occur in several configurations: at the point where a tributary joins a larger river (main ...
with the
Erdre The Erdre (; ) is a long river in western France, right tributary to the Loire. Its source is in the Maine-et-Loire '' department'', near La Pouëze. It flows through the ''departments'' Maine-et-Loire and Loire-Atlantique. The Erdre meets the ...
. The origin of the name ''Namnetes'' is uncertain, but is thought to come from the Gaulish root *''nant-'' 'river, stream' (from the pre-Celtic root ''*nanto'' 'valley') or from ''Amnites'', another tribal name possibly meaning 'men of the river'. Its first recorded name was by the Greek writer
Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...
, who referred to the settlement as () and ()—which might be read as ()—in his treatise, ''
Geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...
''. The name was
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
ised during the Gallo-Roman period as (the most common form), , and . Although its origins are unclear, seems to be related to the
Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...
word 'confluence'. The Namnete root of the city's name was introduced at the end of the Roman period, when it became known as "port of the Namnetes" and 'city of the Namnetes'. Like other cities in the region (including
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
), its name was replaced during the fourth century with a
Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...
one:
Lutetia Lutetia, ( , ; ) also known as and ( ; ; ), was a Gallo-Roman culture, Gallo–Roman town and the predecessor of modern-day Paris. Traces of an earlier Neolithic settlement () have been found nearby, and a larger settlement was established ...
became
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
(city of the Parisii), and Darioritum became
Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...
(city of the Veneti). Nantes's name continued to evolve, becoming and during the fifth century and Nantes after the sixth, via syncope (suppression of the middle syllable).


Modern pronunciation and nicknames

''Nantes'' is pronounced , and the city's inhabitants are known as ''Nantais'' . In Gallo, the oïl language traditionally spoken in the region around Nantes, the city is spelled ''Naunnt'' or ''Nantt'' and pronounced identically to French, although northern speakers use a long . In
Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...
, Nantes is known as or , the latter of which is less common and reflects the more-frequent use of articles in Breton
toponyms Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...
than in French ones. Nantes's historical nickname was "Venice of the West" (), a reference to the many quays and river channels in the old town before they were filled in during the 1920s and 1930s. The city is commonly known as "the City of the Dukes f Brittany for its castle and former role as a ducal residence.


History


Prehistory and antiquity

The first inhabitants of what is now Nantes settled during the
Bronze Age The Bronze Age () was a historical period characterised principally by the use of bronze tools and the development of complex urban societies, as well as the adoption of writing in some areas. The Bronze Age is the middle principal period of ...
, later than in the surrounding regions (which have
Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...
monuments absent from Nantes). Its first inhabitants were apparently attracted by small iron and
tin Tin is a chemical element; it has symbol Sn () and atomic number 50. A silvery-colored metal, tin is soft enough to be cut with little force, and a bar of tin can be bent by hand with little effort. When bent, a bar of tin makes a sound, the ...
deposits in the region's subsoil. The area exported tin, mined in
Abbaretz Abbaretz (; Gallo: ''Abarèt'', ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. Geography Abbaretz is located 20 km south-west of Châteaubriant and 20 km north-east of Blain. Acc ...
and Piriac, as far as
Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. After about 1,000 years of trading, local industry appeared around 900 BC; remnants of
smithies Smithies may refer to: * Smithies (surname) * Smithies boiler, a type of steam boiler * Smithies Peak, a mountain in Tasmania, Australia *Smithies, South Yorkshire Smithies is an area of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It lies about two ...
dated to the eighth and seventh centuries BC have been found in the city. Nantes may have been the major Gaulish settlement of Corbilo, on the Loire estuary, which was mentioned by the Greek historians
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...
and
Polybius Polybius (; , ; ) was a Greek historian of the middle Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , a universal history documenting the rise of Rome in the Mediterranean in the third and second centuries BC. It covered the period of 264–146 ...
. Its history from the seventh century to the Roman conquest in the first century BC is poorly documented, and there is no evidence of a city in the area before the reign of
Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus ( ; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was Roman emperor from AD 14 until 37. He succeeded his stepfather Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC to Roman politician Tiberius Cl ...
in the first century AD. During the
Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...
ish period it was the capital of the
Namnetes The Namnetes were a Gallic tribe dwelling near the modern city of Nantes during the Iron Age and the Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Namnitō͂n'' (Ναμνιτῶν) by Polybius (2nd c. BC) and Strabo (early 1st c. AD), ''Namnetes' ...
people, who were allied with the Veneti in a territory extending to the northern bank of the Loire. Rivals in the area included the
Pictones The Pictones were a Gallic tribe dwelling south of the Loire river, in the modern departments of Vendée, Deux-Sèvres and Vienne, during the Iron Age and Roman period. Name They are mentioned as ''Pictonibus'' and ''Pictones'' by Julius Caes ...
, who controlled the area south of the Loire in the city of Ratiatum (present-day
Rezé Rezé (; , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Rezae'') is a Communes of France, commune (municipality) and former bishopric in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It is a southern suburb ...
) until the end of the second century AD. Ratiatum, founded under
Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...
, developed more quickly than Nantes and was a major port in the region. Nantes began to grow when Ratiatum collapsed after the Germanic invasions. Because tradesmen favoured inland roads rather than Atlantic routes, Nantes never became a large city under Roman occupation. Although it lacked amenities such as a
theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
or an
amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...
, the city had sewers,
public baths Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
and a temple dedicated to Mars Mullo. After an attack by German tribes in 275, Nantes's inhabitants built a wall; this defense also became common in surrounding Gaulish towns. The wall in Nantes, enclosing , was one of the largest in Gaul.
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...
was introduced during the third century. The first local
martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...
s (
Donatian and Rogatian Donatian and Rogatian were two brothers, martyred in Nantes during the reign of Roman Emperor Maximian, around 288–290, for refusing to deny their faith. They are also known as ''les enfants nantais''. Their feast day is 24 May. Life The st ...
) were executed in 288–290, and a cathedral was built during the fourth century.


Middle Ages

Like much of the region, Nantes was part of the
Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...
during the early Middle Ages. Although many parts of
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
experienced significant Breton immigration (loosening ties to Rome), Nantes remained allied with the empire until its collapse in the fifth century. Around 490, the
Franks file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
under
Clovis I Clovis (; reconstructed Old Frankish, Frankish: ; – 27 November 511) was the first List of Frankish kings, king of the Franks to unite all of the Franks under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of petty kings to rule by a ...
captured the city (alongside eastern Brittany) from the
Visigoths The Visigoths (; ) were a Germanic people united under the rule of a king and living within the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The Visigoths first appeared in the Balkans, as a Roman-allied Barbarian kingdoms, barbarian military group unite ...
after a sixty-day siege; it was used as a stronghold against the
Bretons The Bretons (; or , ) are an ethnic group native to Brittany, north-western France. Originally, the demonym designated groups of Common Brittonic, Brittonic speakers who emigrated from Dumnonia, southwestern Great Britain, particularly Cornwal ...
. Under
Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
in the eighth century the town was the capital of the
Breton March The Marches of Neustria (; ; Norman: ''Maurches de Neûtrie'') were two marches created in 861 by the Carolingian king of West Francia Charles the Bald. They were ruled by officials appointed by the Monarchy of France (or the Crown), known as w ...
, a buffer zone protecting the
Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–887) was a Franks, Frankish-dominated empire in Western and Central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as List of Frankish kings, kings of the Franks since ...
from Breton invasion. The first governor of the Breton March was
Roland Roland (; ; or ''Rotholandus''; or ''Rolando''; died 15 August 778) was a Frankish military leader under Charlemagne who became one of the principal figures in the literary cycle known as the Matter of France. The historical Roland was mil ...
, whose feats were mythologized in the body of literature known as the
Matter of France The Matter of France (), also known as the Carolingian cycle, is a body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with the history of France, in particular involving Charlemagne and the Paladins. The cycle springs from the Old Fr ...
. After Charlemagne's death in 814, Breton armies invaded the March and fought the Franks.
Nominoe Nominoe or Nomenoe (; ; 763,  7 March 851) was the first Duke of Brittany from 846 to his death. He is the Bretons, Breton ''pater patriae'' and to Breton nationalism, Breton nationalists he is known as ' ("father of the country"). Or ...
(a Breton) became the first duke of Brittany, seizing Nantes in 850. Discord marked the first decades of Breton rule in Nantes as Breton lords fought among themselves, making the city vulnerable to
Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...
incursions. The most spectacular Viking attack in Nantes occurred in 843, when Viking warriors killed the bishop but did not settle in the city at that time. Nantes became part of the Viking realm in 919, but the Norse were expelled from the town in 937 by
Alan II, Duke of Brittany Alan II (c. 900–952), nicknamed Wrybeard or Twistedbeard, Alan Varvek in Breton, was Count of Vannes, Poher and Nantes, and Duke of Brittany from 938 to his death. He was the grandson of King Alan the Great by Alan's daughter and her husba ...
.
Feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...
took hold in France during the 10th and 11th centuries, and Nantes was the seat of a
county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...
founded in the ninth century. Until the beginning of the 13th century, it was the subject of succession crises which saw the town pass several times from the
Dukes of Brittany This is a list of rulers of Brittany. In different epochs the rulers of Brittany were kings, princes, and dukes. The Breton ruler was sometimes elected, sometimes attained the position by conquest or intrigue, or by hereditary right. Hereditary ...
to the counts of
Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France *County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France ** Du ...
(of the
House of Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet (Help:IPA/English, /plænˈtædʒənət/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the Medieval France, French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by mo ...
). During the 14th century, Brittany experienced a
war of succession A war of succession is a war prompted by a succession crisis in which two or more individuals claim to be the Order of succession, rightful successor to a demise of the Crown, deceased or deposition (politics), deposed monarch. The rivals are ...
which ended with the accession of the
House of Montfort The House of Montfort was a medieval French noble house that eventually found its way to the Kingdom of England and originated the famous Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester. However, his father, Simon de Monfort the Elder, who led the F ...
to the ducal throne. The Montforts, seeking emancipation from the
suzerainty A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...
of the French kings, reinforced Breton institutions. They chose Nantes, the largest town in Brittany (with a population of over 10,000), as their main residence and made it the home of their council, their
treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...
and their
chancery Chancery may refer to: Offices and administration * Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873 ** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery ** Courts of e ...
. Port traffic, insignificant during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, became the city's main activity. Nantes began to trade with foreign countries, exporting
salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...
from Bourgneuf, wine, fabrics and hemp (usually to the
British Isles The British Isles are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean off the north-western coast of continental Europe, consisting of the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Outer Hebr ...
). The 15th century is considered Nantes's first golden age. The reign of Francis II saw many improvements to a city in dire need of repair after the wars of succession and a series of storms and fires between 1387 and 1415. Many buildings were built or rebuilt (including the cathedral and the castle), and the
University of Nantes Nantes University () is a public university located in the city of Nantes, France. In addition to the several campuses scattered in the city of Nantes, there are two satellite campuses located in Saint-Nazaire and La Roche-sur-Yon. The university ...
, the first in Brittany, was founded in 1460.


Modern era

The marriage of
Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She was the only woman to have been queen consort of Fran ...
to
Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13. His elder sister Anne acted as regent jointly with her husband Peter II, Du ...
in 1491 began the
unification Unification or unification theory may refer to: Computer science * Unification (computer science), the act of identifying two terms with a suitable substitution * Unification (graph theory), the computation of the most general graph that subs ...
of the duchy of Brittany with the French crown which was ratified by
Francis I of France Francis I (; ; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once removed and father-in-law Louis&nbs ...
in 1532. The union ended a long feudal conflict between France and Brittany, reasserting the king's suzerainty over the Bretons. In return for surrendering its independence, Brittany retained its privileges. Although most Breton institutions were maintained, the unification favoured
Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
(the site of ducal coronations). Rennes received most legal and administrative institutions, and Nantes kept a financial role with its Chamber of Accounts. During the
French Wars of Religion The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...
from 1562 to 1598, the city was a Catholic League stronghold. The
Duke of Mercœur The Seigneurs and Dukes of Mercœur were a line of powerful lords deriving their name from the estate of Mercœur in Auvergne (province), Auvergne, France. The line became extinct in the 14th century, and passed by inheritance to the Dauphin of Auv ...
, governor of Brittany, strongly opposed the succession of the Protestant
Henry IV of France Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...
to the throne of France in 1589. The Duke created an independent government in Nantes, allying with Spain and pressing for independence from France. Despite initial successes with Spanish aid, in 1598 he submitted to Henry IV (who had by then converted to Catholicism); the
Edict of Nantes The Edict of Nantes () was an edict signed in April 1598 by Henry IV of France, King Henry IV and granted the minority Calvinism, Calvinist Protestants of France, also known as Huguenots, substantial rights in the nation, which was predominantl ...
(legalising
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
in France) was signed in the town, concluding the French wars of religion. Nonetheless, the town remained fervently Catholic (by contrast to nearby
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...
), and the local Protestant community did not number more than 1,000. Coastal navigation and the export of locally produced goods (salt, wine and fabrics) dominated the local economy around 1600. During the mid-17th century, the
siltation Siltation is water pollution caused by particulate terrestrial clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the increased accumulation (temporary o ...
of local
saltern A saltern is an area or installation for making salt. Salterns include modern salt-making works (saltworks), as well as hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of Halophile, halophilic microorganisms, primarily haloarchaea but ...
s and a fall in wine exports compelled Nantes to find other activities. Local shipowners began importing sugar from the French West Indies (
Martinique Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
,
Guadeloupe Guadeloupe is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre Island, Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Guadeloupe, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galant ...
and
Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...
) in the 1640s, which became very profitable after
protectionist Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulations. ...
reforms implemented by
Jean-Baptiste Colbert Jean-Baptiste Colbert (; 29 August 1619 – 6 September 1683) was a French statesman who served as First Minister of State from 1661 until his death in 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His lasting impact on the organization of the countr ...
prevented the import of sugar from Spanish colonies (which had dominated the market). In 1664 Nantes was France's eighth-largest port, and it was the largest by 1700. Plantations in the colonies needed labour to produce sugar, rum, tobacco, indigo dye, coffee and cocoa, and Nantes shipowners began trading African slaves in 1706. The port was part of the
triangular trade Triangular trade or triangle trade is trade between three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come. It has been used to offset ...
: ships went to
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
to buy slaves, slaves were sold in the French West Indies, and the ships returned to Nantes with sugar and other exotic goods. From 1707 to 1793, Nantes was responsible for 42 percent of the French slave trade; its merchants sold about 450,000 African slaves in the West Indies. Manufactured goods were more lucrative than raw materials during the 18th century. There were about fifteen sugar refineries in the city around 1750 and nine
cotton mill A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...
s in 1786. Nantes and its surrounding area were the main producers of French printed cotton fabric during the 18th century, and the
Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
was the city's largest client for exotic goods. Although trade brought wealth to Nantes, the city was confined by its walls; their removal during the 18th century allowed it to expand. Neoclassical squares and public buildings were constructed, and wealthy merchants built sumptuous '' hôtels particuliers''.


French Revolution

The French Revolution initially received some support in Nantes, a
bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...
city rooted in private enterprise. On 18 July 1789, locals seized the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany in an imitation of the
storming of the Bastille The Storming of the Bastille ( ), which occurred in Paris, France, on 14 July 1789, was an act of political violence by revolutionary insurgents who attempted to storm and seize control of the medieval armoury, fortress, and political prison k ...
. Rural western France, Catholic and conservative, strongly opposed the abolition of the monarchy and the submission of the
clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
. A rebellion in the neighbouring Vendée began in 1793, quickly spreading to surrounding regions. Nantes was an important Republican garrison on the Loire en route to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. On 29 June 1793, 30,000 Royalist troops from Vendée attacked the city on their way to Normandy (where they hoped to receive British support). Twelve thousand Republican soldiers resisted and the Battle of Nantes resulted in the death of Royalist leader
Jacques Cathelineau Generalissimo Jacques Cathelineau (; 5 January 1759 – 14 July 1793) was a French Vendéan insurrectionist leader during the Revolution. He was known among his followers as the Saint of Anjou. He was a well known peddler in Anjou. When the ...
. Three years later another Royalist leader,
François de Charette François Athanase de Charette de la Contrie (; 2 May 1763 – 29 March 1796) was a French military officer and politician. He served in the French Navy during the American Revolutionary War and was one of the leaders of the War in the Vendée a ...
, was executed in Nantes. After the Battle of Nantes, the
National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...
(which had founded the
First French Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted u ...
) decided to purge the city of its anti-revolutionary elements. Nantes was seen by the convention as a corrupt merchant city; the local elite was less supportive of the French Revolution, since its growing centralisation reduced their influence. From October 1793 to February 1794, deputy
Jean-Baptiste Carrier Jean-Baptiste Carrier (; 16 March 1756 – 16 December 1794) was a French Revolutionary and politician most notable for his actions in the War in the Vendée during the Reign of Terror. While under orders to suppress a Royalist counter-revoluti ...
presided over a revolutionary tribunal notorious for cruelty and ruthlessness. Between 12,000 and 13,000 people (including women and children) were arrested, and 8,000 to 11,000 died of
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...
or were executed by the
guillotine A guillotine ( ) is an apparatus designed for effectively carrying out executions by Decapitation, beheading. The device consists of a tall, upright frame with a weighted and angled blade suspended at the top. The condemned person is secur ...
, shooting or drowning. The
Drownings at Nantes The drownings at Nantes () were a series of mass executions by drowning during the Reign of Terror in Nantes, France, that occurred between November 1793 and February 1794. During this period, anyone arrested and jailed for not consistently sup ...
were intended to kill large numbers of people simultaneously, and Carrier called the Loire "the national bathtub". The French Revolution was disastrous for the local economy. The slave trade nearly disappeared because of the abolition of slavery and the independence of
Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...
, and Napoleon's
Continental Blockade The Continental System or Continental Blockade () was a large-scale embargo by French emperor Napoleon I against the British Empire from 21 November 1806 until 11 April 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree on 21 No ...
decimated trade with other European countries. Nantes never fully recovered its 18th-century wealth; the port handled 43,242 tons of goods in 1807, down from 237,716 tons in 1790.


Industries

Outlawed by the French Revolution, the slave trade re-established itself as Nantes's major source of income in the first decades of the 19th century. It was the last French port to conduct the illegal Atlantic trade, continuing it until about 1827. The 19th-century slave trade may have been as extensive as that of the previous century, with about 400,000 slaves deported to the colonies. Businessmen took advantage of local vegetable production and Breton fishing to develop a
canning Canning is a method of food preservation in which food is processed and sealed in an airtight container (jars like Mason jars, and steel and tin cans). Canning provides a shelf life that typically ranges from one to five years, although under ...
industry during the 1820s, but canning was eclipsed by sugar imported from
Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
in the 1840s and 1850s. Nantes tradesmen received a tax rebate on Réunion sugar, which was lucrative until disease devastated the cane plantations in 1863. By the mid-19th century,
Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
and
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
were the two main French ports; the former traded with
America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and the latter with
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
. They had embraced the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...
, thanks to
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
ian investments; Nantes lagged behind, struggling to find profitable activities. Nostalgic for the pre-revolutionary golden age, the local elite had been suspicious of political and technological progress during the first half of the 19th century. In 1851, after much debate and opposition, Nantes was connected to Paris by the
Tours–Saint-Nazaire railway The railway from Tours to Saint-Nazaire is an important French 282-kilometre long railway line, following the lower course of the river Loire. It is used for passenger (express, regional and suburban) and freight traffic. The railway was opened i ...
. Nantes became a major industrial city during the second half of the 19th century with the aid of several families who invested in successful businesses. In 1900, the city's two main industries were food processing and shipbuilding. The former, primarily the canning industry, included the biscuit manufacturer LU and the latter was represented by three shipyards which were among the largest in France. These industries helped maintain port activity and facilitated agriculture, sugar imports, fertilizer production, machinery and metallurgy, which employed 12,000 people in Nantes and its surrounding area in 1914. Because large, modern ships had increased difficulty traversing the Loire to reach Nantes, a new port in
Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...
had been established at the mouth of the estuary in 1835. Saint-Nazaire, primarily developed for goods to be transhipped before being sent to Nantes, also built rival shipyards. Saint-Nazaire surpassed Nantes in port traffic for the first time in 1868. Reacting to the growth of the rival port, Nantes built a canal parallel to the Loire to remain accessible to large ships. The canal, completed in 1892, was abandoned in 1910 because of the efficient dredging of the Loire between 1903 and 1914.


Land reclamation

At the beginning of the 20th century, the river channels flowing through Nantes were increasingly perceived as hampering the city's comfort and economic development. Sand siltation required dredging, which weakened the quays; one quay collapsed in 1924. Embankments were overcrowded with railways, roads and tramways. Between 1926 and 1946, most of the channels were filled in and their water diverted. Large thoroughfares replaced the channels, altering the urban landscape. Feydeau and Gloriette Islands in the old town were attached to the north bank, and the other islands in the Loire were formed into the Isle of Nantes. When the
land reclamation Land reclamation, often known as reclamation, and also known as land fill (not to be confused with a waste landfill), is the process of creating new Terrestrial ecoregion, land from oceans, list of seas, seas, Stream bed, riverbeds or lake ...
was almost complete, Nantes was shaken by the air raids of the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The city was captured by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
on 18 June 1940, during the
Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...
. Forty-eight civilians were executed in Nantes in 1941 in retaliation for the assassination of German officer
Karl Hotz Karl Hotz (29 April 1877, Wertheim am Main, Germany – 20 October 1941, Nantes, France) was a Lt. Colonel in the German military during World War II. With the occupation of France by Nazi Germany in June 1940, Hotz became the military governor ...
. They are remembered as "the 50 hostages" because the Germans initially planned to kill 50 people. Allied
bombing raids A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechanica ...
first hit the city in August 1941 and May 1942. The main attacks occurred on 16 and 23 September 1943, when most of Nantes's industrial facilities and portions of the city centre and its surrounding area were destroyed by American bombs. About 20,000 people were left homeless by the 1943 raids, and 70,000 subsequently left the city. Allied raids killed 1,732 people and destroyed 2,000 buildings in Nantes, leaving a further 6,000 buildings unusable. The Germans abandoned the city on 12 August 1944, and it was recaptured without a fight by the
French Forces of the Interior The French Forces of the Interior (FFI; ) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation of these groups to FFI occurred as F ...
and the U.S. Army.


Postwar

The postwar years were a period of strikes and protests in Nantes. A strike organised by the city's 17,500 metallurgists during the summer of 1955 to protest salary disparities between
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and the rest of France deeply impacted the French political scene, and their action was echoed in other cities. Nantes saw other large strikes and demonstrations during the May 1968 events, when marches drew about 20,000 people into the streets. The 1970s global recession brought a large wave of
deindustrialisation Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpr ...
to France, and Nantes saw the closure of many factories and the city's shipyards. The 1970s and 1980s were primarily a period of economic stagnation for Nantes. During the 1980s and 1990s its economy became service-oriented and it experienced economic growth under
Jean-Marc Ayrault Jean-Marc Ayrault (; born 25 January 1950) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 15 May 2012 to 31 March 2014. He later was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2016 to 2017. He previously was Mayor of Nantes from 1989 ...
, the city's mayor from 1989 to 2012. Under Ayrault's administration, Nantes used its quality of life to attract service firms. The city developed a rich cultural life, advertising itself as a creative place near the ocean. Institutions and facilities (such as its airport) were re-branded as "Nantes Atlantique" to highlight this proximity. Local authorities have commemorated the legacy of the slave trade, promoting dialogue with other cultures. Nantes has been noted in recent years for its climate of social unrest, marked by frequent and often violent clashes between protesters and police. Tear gas is frequently deployed during protests. The city has a significant
ultra-left In Marxism, ultra-leftism encompasses a broad spectrum of revolutionary Marxist currents that are anti-Leninist in perspective. Ultra-leftism distinguishes itself from other left-wing currents through its rejection of electoralism, trade unioni ...
radical scene, owing in part to the proximity of the
ZAD de Notre-Dame-des-Landes ZAD de Notre-Dame-des-Landes (also known as ZAD NDDL) is the most well-known 'Zone to Defend' in France. Located in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department near to Nantes, it is a very large, mostly agricultural terrain of 1,650 hec ...
. Masked rioters have repeatedly ransacked shops, offices and public transport infrastructure. The death of Steve Maia Caniço in June 2019 has led to accusations of police brutality and cover-ups.


Geography


Location

Nantes is in northwestern France, near the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
and southwest of
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
.
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
, the other major metropolis of western France, is south. Nantes and Bordeaux share positions at the mouth of an estuary, and Nantes is on the
Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône. It rises in the so ...
estuary. The city is at a natural crossroads between the ocean in the west, the centre of France (towards
Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
in the north and
Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...
roofs are north of the Loire, and
Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...
dwellings with low
terracotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based non-vitreous ceramic OED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used for earthenware obj ...
roofs dominate the south bank. The Loire is also the northern limit of grape culture. Land north of Nantes is dominated by
bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of northern France, southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands, northern Spain and northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ' ...
and dedicated to
polyculture In agriculture, polyculture is the practice of growing more than one crop species together in the same place at the same time, in contrast to monoculture, which had become the dominant approach in developed countries by 1950. Traditional example ...
and
animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, animal fiber, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, management, production, nutrition, selective breeding, and the raising ...
, and the south is renowned for its
Muscadet Muscadet ( , , ) is a French white wine. It is made at the western end of the Loire Valley, near the city of Nantes in the Pays de la Loire region. It is made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape, often referred to simply as ''melon''. While m ...
vineyards and market gardens. The city is near the geographical centre of the
land hemisphere The land hemisphere and water hemisphere are the hemispheres of Earth containing the largest possible total areas of land and ocean, respectively. By definition (assuming that the entire surface can be classified as either "land" or "ocean"), t ...
, identified in 1945 by Samuel Boggs as near the main railway station (around ).


Hydrology

The Loire is about long and its estuary, beginning in Nantes, is in length. The river's bed and banks have changed considerably over a period of centuries. In Nantes the Loire had divided into a number of channels, creating a dozen islands and sand ridges. They facilitated crossing the river, contributing to the city's growth. Most of the islands were protected with
levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...
s during the
modern era The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...
, and they disappeared in the 1920s and 1930s when the smallest waterways were filled in. The Loire in Nantes now has only two branches, one on either side of the Isle of Nantes. The river is
tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...
in the city, and tides are observed about further east. The tidal range can reach in Nantes, larger than at the mouth of the estuary. This is the result of 20th-century dredging to make Nantes accessible by large ships; tides were originally much weaker. Nantes was at the point where the river current and the tides cancelled each other out, resulting in siltation and the formation of the original islands. The city is at the confluence of two tributaries. The
Erdre The Erdre (; ) is a long river in western France, right tributary to the Loire. Its source is in the Maine-et-Loire '' department'', near La Pouëze. It flows through the ''departments'' Maine-et-Loire and Loire-Atlantique. The Erdre meets the ...
flows into the Loire from its north bank, and the
Sèvre Nantaise The Sèvre Nantaise () is a river in the Pays de la Loire regions in western France. It is a left-bank tributary of the Loire. Its total length is . Its source is in the Deux-Sèvres department, near Secondigny. It flows from south to north thr ...
flows into the Loire from its south bank. These two rivers initially provided natural links with the hinterland. When the channels of the Loire were filled, the Erdre was diverted in central Nantes and its confluence with the Loire was moved further east. The Erdre includes Versailles Island, which became a Japanese garden during the 1980s. It was created in the 19th century with fill from construction of the Nantes–Brest canal.


Geology

Nantes is built on the
Armorican Massif The Armorican Massif (, ) is a geologic massif that covers a large area in the northwest of France, including Brittany, the western part of Normandy and the Pays de la Loire. It is important because it is connected to Dover on the British side o ...
, a range of weathered mountains which may be considered the backbone of Brittany. The mountains, stretching from the end of the Breton peninsula to the outskirts of the
sedimentary Sedimentary rocks are types of rock formed by the cementation of sediments—i.e. particles made of minerals (geological detritus) or organic matter (biological detritus)—that have been accumulated or deposited at Earth's surface. Sedime ...
Paris Basin, are composed of several parallel ridges of Ordovician and Cadomian Orogeny, Cadomian rocks. Nantes is where one of these ridges, the Sillon de Bretagne, meets the Loire. It passes through the western end of the old town, forming a series of cliffs above the quays. The end of the ridge, the Butte Sainte-Anne, is a natural landmark above sea level; its foothills are at an elevation of . The Sillon de Bretagne is composed of granite; the rest of the region is a series of low plateaus covered with silt and clay, with mica schist and sediments found in lower areas. Much of the old town and all of the Isle of Nantes consist of backfill. Elevations in Nantes are generally higher in the western neighbourhoods on the Sillon, reaching in the north-west. The
Erdre The Erdre (; ) is a long river in western France, right tributary to the Loire. Its source is in the Maine-et-Loire '' department'', near La Pouëze. It flows through the ''departments'' Maine-et-Loire and Loire-Atlantique. The Erdre meets the ...
flows through a slate fault. Eastern Nantes is flatter, with a few hills reaching . The city's lowest points, along the Loire, are above sea level.


Climate

Nantes has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification, Köppen: ''Cfb'') influenced by its proximity to the
Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...
. West winds produced by cyclonic depressions in the Atlantic dominate, and north and north-west winds are also common. Slight variations in elevation make fog common in valleys, and slopes oriented south and south-west have good Solar irradiance, insolation. Winters are cool and rainy, with an average temperature of ; snow is rare. Summers are warm, with an average temperature of . Rain is abundant throughout the year, with an annual average of . The climate in Nantes is suitable for growing a variety of plants, from temperate vegetables to exotic trees and flowers imported during the colonial era.


Urban layout

Nantes's layout is typical of French towns and cities. It has a historical centre with old monuments, administrative buildings and small shops, surrounded by 19th-century faubourgs surrounded by newer suburban houses and Public housing in France, public housing. The city centre has a medieval core (corresponding to the former walled town) and 18th-century extensions running west and east. The northern extension, Marchix, was considered squalid and nearly disappeared during the 20th century. The old town did not extend south before the 19th century, since it would have meant building on the unsteady islands in the Loire. The medieval core has narrow streets and a mixture of half-timbered buildings, more recent sandstone buildings, post-World War II reconstruction and modern redevelopment. It is primarily a student neighbourhood, with many bars and small shops. The eastern extension (behind Nantes Cathedral) was traditionally inhabited by the aristocracy, and the larger western extension along the Loire was built for the bourgeoisie. It is Nantes's most-expensive area, with wide avenues, squares such as the Place Saint-Pierre, Nantes, Place Saint-Pierre and '' hôtels particuliers''. The area was extended towards the Parc de Procé during the 19th century. The other faubourgs were built along the main boulevards and the plateaus, turning the valleys into parks. Outside central Nantes several villages, including Chantenay, Doulon, L'Eraudière and Saint-Joseph-de-Porterie, were absorbed by urbanisation. After World War II, several housing projects were built to accommodate Nantes's growing population. The oldest, Les Dervallières, was developed in 1956 and was followed by Bellevue in 1959 and Le Breil and Malakoff in 1971. Once areas of poverty, they are experiencing regeneration since the 2000s. The northern outskirts of the city, along the
Erdre The Erdre (; ) is a long river in western France, right tributary to the Loire. Its source is in the Maine-et-Loire '' department'', near La Pouëze. It flows through the ''departments'' Maine-et-Loire and Loire-Atlantique. The Erdre meets the ...
, include the main campus of the
University of Nantes Nantes University () is a public university located in the city of Nantes, France. In addition to the several campuses scattered in the city of Nantes, there are two satellite campuses located in Saint-Nazaire and La Roche-sur-Yon. The university ...
and other institutes of higher education. During the second half of the 20th century, Nantes expanded south into the Communes of France, communes of
Rezé Rezé (; , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Rezae'') is a Communes of France, commune (municipality) and former bishopric in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It is a southern suburb ...
, Vertou and Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire (across the Loire but near the city centre) and north-bank communes including Saint-Herblain, Orvault and Sainte-Luce-sur-Loire. The Isle of Nantes is divided between former shipyards on the west, an old faubourg in its centre and modern housing estates on the east. Since the 2000s, it has been subject to the conversion of former industrial areas into office space, housing and leisure facilities. Local authorities intend to make it an extension of the city centre. Further development is also planned on the north bank along an axis linking the train station and the Loire.


Parks and environment

Nantes has 100 public parks, gardens and squares covering . The oldest is the Jardin des plantes de Nantes, Jardin des Plantes, a botanical garden created in 1807. It has a large collection of exotic plants, including a 200-year-old ''Magnolia grandiflora'' and the national collection of ''camellia''. Other large parks include the Parc de Procé, Parc du Grand Blottereau and Parc de la Gaudinière, the former gardens of country houses built outside the old town. Natural areas, an additional , include the Petite Amazonie (a
Natura 2000 Natura 2000 is a network of nature protection areas in the territory of the European Union. It is made up of Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas designated under the Habitats Directive and the Birds Directive, respectiv ...
protected forest) and several woods, meadows and marshes. Green space (public and private) makes up 41 percent of Nantes's area. The city adopted an ecological framework in 2007 to reduce greenhouse gases and promote energy transition. Nantes has three ecodistricts (one on the Isle of Nantes, one near the train station and the third in the north-east of the city), which aim to provide affordable, ecological housing and counter urban sprawl by redeveloping neglected areas of the city.


Governance


Local government

Nantes is the (capital city) of the
Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...
''departments of France, département'' and the
Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...
. It is the residence of a and ''département'' ''prefect'', local representatives of the Government of France, French government. Nantes is also the meeting place of the and ''département'' councils, two elected political bodies. The city is administered by a mayor and a council, elected every six years. The council has 65 councillors. It originated in 1410, when John V, Duke of Brittany created the Burghers's Council. The assembly was controlled by wealthy merchants and the Lord Lieutenant. After the union of Brittany and France, the burghers petitioned the French king to give them a city council which would enhance their freedom; their request was granted by Francis II of France, Francis II in 1559. The new council had a mayor, ten aldermen and a crown prosecutor. The first council was elected in 1565 with Nantes's first mayor, Geoffroy Drouet. The present city council is a result of the French Revolution and a 4 December 1789 act. The current Mayor (France), mayor of Nantes is Johanna Rolland (Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party), who was elected on 4 April 2014. The party has held a majority since 1983, and Nantes has become a Left-wing politics, left-wing stronghold. The city council is based at the Hôtel de Ville, Nantes, Hôtel de Ville (City Hall). Since 1995, Nantes has been divided into 11 neighbourhoods (''quartiers''), each with an advisory committee and administrative agents. City-council members are appointed to each ''quartier'' to consult with the local committees. The neighbourhood committees, existing primarily to facilitate dialogue between citizens and the local government, meet twice a year. Like most communes of France, French municipalities, Nantes is part of an communes in France#Intercommunality, intercommunal structure which combines the city with 24 smaller, neighbouring communes. Called Nantes Métropole, it encompasses the city's metropolitan area and had a population of 609,198 in 2013. Nantes Métropole administers urban planning, transport, public areas, waste disposal, energy, water, housing, higher education, economic development, employment and European topics. As a consequence, the city council's mandates are security, primary and secondary education, early childhood, social aid, culture, sport and health. Nantes Métropole, created in 1999, is administered by a council consisting of the 97 members of the local municipal councils. According to an act passed in 2014, beginning in 2020, the metropolitan council will be elected by the citizens of Nantes Métropole. The council is currently overseen by Rolland.


Heraldry

Local authorities began using official symbols in the 14th century, when the provost commissioned a seal on which the Duke of Brittany stood on a boat and protected Nantes with his sword. The present coat of arms was first used in 1514; its Ermine (heraldry), ermines symbolise
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
, and its green waves suggest the Loire. Nantes's coat of arms had ducal emblems before the French Revolution: the belt cord of the Order of the Ladies of the Cord, Order of the Cord (founded by
Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She was the only woman to have been queen consort of Fran ...
) and the city's coronet. The coronet was replaced by a mural crown during the 18th century, and during the revolution a new emblem with a statue of Liberty (personification), Liberty replaced the coat of arms. During Napoleon's rule the coat of arms returned, with bees (a symbol of his First French Empire, empire) added to the Chief (heraldry), chief. The original coat of arms was readopted in 1816, and the Order of Liberation, Liberation Cross and the Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (France), 1939–45 War Cross were added in 1948. Before the revolution, Nantes's motto was "''Oculi omnium in te sperant, Domine''" ("The eyes of all wait upon thee, O Lord", a line from a grace (prayer), grace). It disappeared during the revolution, and the city adopted its current motto—"''Favet Neptunus eunti''" ("Neptune favours the traveller")—in 1816. Nantes's flag is derived from the naval Jack (flag), jack flown by Breton vessels before the French Revolution. The flag has a white cross on a black one; its Quartering (heraldry), quarters have Breton ermines except for the upper left, which has the city's coat of arms. The black and white crosses are historic symbols of Brittany and France, respectively.


Nantes and Brittany

Nantes and the Loire-Atlantique ''département'' were part of the historic province of
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
, and the city and
Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
were its traditional capitals. In the 1789 replacement of the historic provinces of France, Brittany was divided among five ''départements''. The administrative region of Brittany did not exist during the 19th and early 20th centuries, although its cultural heritage remained. Nantes and Rennes are in Upper Brittany (the Romance languages, Romance-speaking part of the region), and Lower Brittany in the west is traditionally Breton language, Breton-speaking and more Celts, Celtic in culture. As a large port whose outskirts encompassed other provinces, Nantes has been Brittany's economic capital and a cultural crossroads. Breton culture in Nantes is not necessarily characteristic of Lower Brittany's, although the city experienced substantial Lower Breton immigration during the 19th century. In the mid-20th century, several French governments considered creating a new level of local government by combining ''départements'' into larger regions. The regions, established by acts of parliament in 1955 and 1972, loosely follow the pre-revolutionary divisions and Brittany was revived as Brittany (region), Region Brittany. Nantes and the Loire-Atlantique ''département'' were not included, because each new region centred on one metropolis. Region Brittany was created around Rennes, similar in size to Nantes; the Loire-Atlantique ''département'' formed a new region with four other ''départements'', mainly portions of the old provinces of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou, Maine (France), Maine and Poitou. The new region was called
Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...
("Loire Countries") although it does not include most of the Loire Valley. It has often been said that the separation of Nantes from the rest of Brittany was decided by Vichy France during the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Philippe Pétain created a new Brittany without Nantes in 1941, but his region disappeared after the Liberation of France, liberation. Debate continues about Nantes's place in Brittany, with polls indicating a large majority in Loire-Atlantique and throughout the historic province favouring Reunification of Brittany, Breton reunification. In a 2014 poll, 67 percent of Breton people and 77 percent of
Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...
residents favoured reunification. Opponents, primarily Pays de la Loire officials, say that their region could not exist economically without Nantes. Pays de la Loire officials favour a union of Brittany with the Pays de la Loire, but Breton politicians oppose the incorporation of their region into a Greater West region. Nantes's city council has acknowledged the fact that the city is culturally part of Brittany, but its position on reunification is similar to that of the Pays de la Loire. City officials tend to consider Nantes an open metropolis with its own personality, independent of surrounding regions.


Twin towns – sister cities

Nantes is Sister city, twinned with: * Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom (1964) * Cluj-Napoca, Romania (1991) * Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville, United States (1984) * Niigata (city), Niigata, Japan (1999) * Qingdao, China (2005) * Saarbrücken, Germany (1965) * Seattle, United States (1980) * Suncheon, South Korea (2007) * Tbilisi, Georgia (1979)


Cooperation agreements

Partnership agreements have been signed with cities in developing countries, including: * Agadir, Morocco * Dschang, Cameroon * Grand'Anse (department), Grand'Anse, Haiti * Kindia, Guinea * Recife, Brazil * Rufisque, Senegal


Population

Nantes had 320,732 inhabitants in 2020, the largest population in its history. Although it was the largest city in Brittany during the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...
, it was smaller than three other north-western towns: Angers, Tours and Caen. Nantes has experienced consistent growth since the Middle Ages, except during the French Revolution and the reign of Napoleon I (when it experienced depopulation, primarily due to the Continental System). In 1500, the city had a population of around 14,000. Nantes's population increased to 25,000 in 1600 and to 80,000 in 1793. In 1800 it was the sixth-largest French city, behind
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
(550,000),
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
,
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
,
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
and Rouen (all 80,000 to 109,000). Population growth continued through the 19th century; although other European cities experienced increased growth due to industrialisation, in Nantes growth remained at its 18th-century pace. Nantes reached the 100,000 mark about 1850, and 130,000 around 1900. In 1908 it annexed the neighbouring ''communes of France, communes'' of Doulon and Chantenay, gaining almost 30,000 inhabitants. Population growth was slower during the 20th century, remaining under 260,000 from the 1960s to the 2000s primarily because urban growth spread to surrounding ''communes''. Since 2000 the population of Nantes began to rise due to redevelopment, and its urban area has continued to experience population growth. The Nantes metropolitan area had a population of 907,995 in 2013, nearly doubling since the 1960s. Its population is projected to reach one million by 2030, based on the fertility rate. The population of Nantes is younger than the national average, with 44.3 percent under age 29 (France 35.3 percent). People over age 60 account for 18.7 percent of the city's population (France 26.4 percent). Single-person households are 53.1 percent of the total, and 16.4 percent of households are families with children. Young couples with children tend to move outside the city because of high property prices, and most newcomers are students (37 percent) and adults moving for professional reasons (49 percent). Students generally come from within the region, and working people are often from
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. In 2020, the unemployment rate was 10.5 percent of the active population (France 9.5 percent, Loire-Atlantique 7.9 percent).Population active, emploi et chômage au sens du recensement en 2020
INSEE
The poorest public housing in France, council estates had unemployment rates of 22 to 47 percent. Of those employed, 59.5 percent were in intermediate or management positions, 24.1 percent were employees and 11.4 percent were workers in 2020. In 2020, 39.7 percent of the population over 15 had a higher-education degree and 12.9 percent had no diploma.


Ethnicity and languages

Nantes has long had ethnic minorities. Spanish, Portuguese and Italian communities were mentioned during the 16th century, and an Irish Jacobitism, Jacobite community appeared a century later. However, immigration has always been lower in Nantes than in other large French cities. The city's foreign population has been stable since 1990, half the average for other French cities of similar size. France does not have ethnic or religious categories in its census, but counts the number of people born in a foreign country. In 2013 this category had 24,949 people in Nantes, or 8.5 percent of the total population. The majority (60.8 percent) were 25 to 54 years old. Their primary countries of origin were Algeria (13.9 percent), Morocco (11.4 percent) and Tunisia (5.8 percent). Other African countries accounted for 24.9 percent, the European Union 15.6 percent, the rest of Europe 4.8 percent and Turkey 4.3 percent. The city is part of the territory of the langues d'oïl, a dialect continuum which stretches across northern France and includes standard French. The local dialect in Nantes is Gallo, spoken by some in Upper Brittany. Nantes, as a large city, has been a stronghold of standard French. A local dialect (''parler nantais'') is sometimes mentioned by the press, but its existence is dubious and its vocabulary mainly the result of rural emigration. As a result of 19th-century Lower Breton immigration,
Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally **Breton people **Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Gale ...
was once widely spoken in parts of Nantes. Nantes signed the charter of the Ofis Publik ar Brezhoneg, Public Office for the Breton Language in 2013. Since then, the city has supported its six bilingual schools and introduced bilingual signage.


Economy

For centuries, Nantes's economy was linked to the Loire and the Atlantic; the city had France's largest harbour in the 18th century. Food processing predominated during the Industrial Age, with sugar refineries (Beghin-Say), biscuit factories (Lefèvre-Utile, LU and BN (biscuit), BN), canned fish (Saupiquet and Tipiak) and processed vegetables (Bonduelle and Cassegrain); these brands still dominate the French market. The Nantes region is France's largest food producer; the city has recently become a hub of innovation in food security, with laboratories and firms such as Eurofins Scientific. Nantes experienced
deindustrialisation Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpr ...
after port activity in
Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...
largely ceased, culminating in the 1987 closure of the shipyards. At that time, the city attempted to attract service firms. Nantes capitalised on its culture and proximity to the sea to present itself as creative and modern. Capgemini (management consulting), SNCF (rail) and Bouygues Telecom opened large offices in the city, followed by smaller companies. Since 2000 Nantes has developed a business district, Euronantes, with of office space and 10,000 jobs. Although its stock exchange was merged with that of Paris in 1990, Nantes is the third-largest financial centre in France after
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
. The city has one of the best-performing economies in France, producing annually; returns to the local economy. Nantes has over 25,000 businesses with 167,000 jobs, and its metropolitan area has 42,000 firms and 328,000 jobs. The city is one of France's most dynamic in job creation, with 19,000 jobs created in Nantes Métropole between 2007 and 2014 (outperforming larger cities such as
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
,
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
and Nice). The communes of France, communes surrounding Nantes have industrial estates and retail parks, many along the region's ring road. The metropolitan area has ten large shopping centres; the largest, Atlantis in Saint-Herblain, is a mall with 116 shops and several superstores (including IKEA). The shopping centres threaten independent shops in central Nantes, but it remains the region's largest retail area with about 2,000 shops. Tourism is a growing sector and Nantes, with two million visitors annually, is France's seventh-most-visited city. In 2021, 79.8 percent of the city's businesses were involved in trade, transport and services; 12.2 percent in public administration, education and health; 4.4 percent in construction, and 3.6 percent in industry. Although industry is less significant than it was before the 1970s, Nantes is France's second-largest centre for aeronautics. The European company Airbus produces its fleet's wingboxes and radomes in Nantes, employing about 2,000 people. The city's remaining port terminal still handles wood, sugar, fertiliser, metals, sand and cereals, ten percent of the total Nantes–
Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...
harbour traffic (along the Loire estuary). The Atlanpole technopole, in northern Nantes on its border with Carquefou, intends to develop technological and science sectors throughout the
Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...
. With a business incubator, it has 422 companies and 71 research and higher-education facilities and specialises in biopharmaceuticals, information technology, renewable energy, mechanics, food production and naval engineering. Creative industries in Nantes had over 9,000 architectural, design, fashion, media, visual-arts and digital-technology companies in 2016, a 15 percent job-creation rate between 2007 and 2012 and have a hub under construction on the Isle of Nantes.


Architecture

Nantes's cityscape is primarily recent, with more buildings built during the 20th century than in any other era. The city has 127 buildings listed as ''Monument historique, monuments historiques'', the 19th-ranked French city. Most of the old buildings were made of tuffeau stone (a light, easily sculpted sandstone typical of the Loire Valley) and cheaper schist. Because of its sturdiness, granite was often used for foundations. Old buildings on the former Feydeau Island and the neighbouring embankments often lean because they were built on damp soil. Nantes has a few structures dating to Ancient history, antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Remnants of the third-century Roman city wall exist in the old town. The Saint-Étienne chapel, in the Saint-Donatien Cemeteries of Nantes, cemetery outside the city centre, dates to 510 and was originally part of a Roman necropolis. The Roman city walls were largely replaced during the 13th and 15th centuries. Although many of the walls were destroyed in the 18th century, some segments (such as Saint-Pierre gate, Nantes, Porte Saint-Pierre, built in 1478) survived. Several 15th- and 16th-century Half-timbering, half-timbered houses still stand in Le Bouffay, an ancient area corresponding to Nantes's medieval core which is bordered by Nantes Cathedral and the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany. The large, Gothic architecture, Gothic cathedral replaced an earlier Romanesque architecture, Romanesque church. Its construction took 457 years, from 1434 to 1891. The cathedral's tomb of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and his wife is an example of French Renaissance sculpture. The Psallette, built next to the cathedral about 1500, is a late-Gothic mansion. The Gothic castle is one of Nantes's chief landmarks. Begun in 1207, many of its current buildings date to the 15th century. Although the castle had a military role, it was also a residence for the ducal Court (royal), court. Granite towers on the outside hide delicate tuffeau-stone ornaments on its inner facades, designed in Flamboyant style with Renaissance architecture, Italianate influence. The Counter-Reformation inspired two baroque churches: the 1655 Oratory Chapel and Sainte-Croix Church, rebuilt in 1670. A municipal belfry clock (originally on a tower of Bouffay Castle, a prison demolished after the French Revolution) was added to the church in 1860. After the Renaissance, Nantes developed west of its medieval core along new embankments. Trade-derived wealth permitted the construction of many public monuments during the 18th century, most designed by the Neoclassical architecture, neoclassical architects Jean-Baptiste Ceineray and Mathurin Crucy. They include the Chamber of Accounts of Brittany (now the ''préfecture'', 1763–1783); the Théâtre Graslin, Graslin Theatre (1788); Place Foch, with its column and statue of Louis XVI (1790), and the Palais de la Bourse (Nantes), stock exchange (1790–1815). Place Royale was completed in 1790, and the large fountain added in 1865. Its statues represent the city of Nantes, the Loire and its main tributaries. The city's 18th-century heritage is also reflected in the '' hôtels particuliers'' and other private buildings for the wealthy, such as the Cours Cambronne (inspired by Georgian architecture, Georgian terraced house, terraces). Although many of the 18th-century buildings have a neoclassical design, they are adorned with sculpted rococo faces and balconies. This architecture has been called "Nantais baroque". Most of Nantes's churches were rebuilt during the 19th century, a period of population growth and religious revival after the French Revolution. Most were rebuilt in Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival style, including the city's two basilicas: Basilica of St. Nicolas, Nantes, Saint-Nicolas and Saint-Donatien. The first, built between 1844 and 1869, was one of France's first Gothic Revival projects. The latter was built between 1881 and 1901, after the Franco-Prussian War (which triggered another Catholic revival in France). Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Port, near the Loire, is an example of 19th-century neoclassicism. Built in 1852, its dome was inspired by that of Les Invalides in
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. The Passage Pommeraye, built in 1840–1843, is a multi-storey shopping arcade typical of the mid-19th century. Industrial architecture includes several factories converted into leisure and business space, primarily on the Ile de Nantes, Isle of Nantes. The former Lefèvre-Utile factory is known for its Tour Lu, a publicity tower built in 1909. Two cranes in the former harbour, dating to the 1950s and 1960s, have also become landmarks. Recent architecture is dominated by postwar concrete reconstructions, modernist buildings and examples of contemporary architecture such as the courts of justice, designed by Jean Nouvel in 2000.


Culture


Museums

Nantes has several museums. The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Nantes, Fine Art Museum is the city's largest. Opened in 1900, it has an extensive collection ranging from Italian Renaissance paintings to contemporary sculpture. The museum includes works by Tintoretto, Jan Brueghel the Elder, Brueghel, Peter Paul Rubens, Rubens, Georges de La Tour, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Ingres, Claude Monet, Monet, Pablo Picasso, Picasso, Wassily Kandinsky, Kandinsky and Anish Kapoor. The Historical Museum of Nantes, in the château des Ducs de Bretagne, castle, is dedicated to local history and houses the municipal collections. Items include paintings, sculptures, photographs, maps and furniture displayed to illustrate major points of Nantes history such as the
Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...
, industrialisation and the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The Musée Dobrée, Dobrée Museum, closed for repairs , houses the ''département'' archaeological and decorative-arts collections. The building is a Romanesque Revival architecture, Romanesque Revival mansion facing a 15th-century manor. Collections include a golden reliquary made for
Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She was the only woman to have been queen consort of Fran ...
's heart, medieval statues and timber frames, coins, weapons, jewellery, manuscripts and archaeological finds. The Natural History Museum of Nantes is one of the largest of its kind in France. It has more than 1.6 million zoological specimens and several thousand mineral samples. The Machines of the Isle of Nantes, opened in 2007 in the converted shipyards, has automatons, prototypes inspired by deep-sea creatures and a walking elephant. With 620,000 visitors in 2015, the ''Machines'' were the most-visited non-free site in
Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...
. Smaller museums include the Jules Verne Museum (dedicated to the author, who was born in Nantes) and the Planetarium. The HAB Galerie, located in a former banana warehouse on the Loire, is Nantes's largest art gallery. Owned by the city council, it is used for contemporary-art exhibitions. The council manages four other exhibition spaces, and the city has several private galleries.


Venues

''Le Zénith Nantes Métropole'', an indoor arena in Saint-Herblain, has a capacity of 9,000 and is France's largest concert venue outside Paris. Since its opening in 2006, Placebo (band), Placebo, Supertramp, Snoop Dogg and Bob Dylan have performed on its stage. Nantes's largest venue is ''La Cité, Nantes Events Center'', a 2,000-seat auditorium. It hosts concerts, congresses and exhibitions, and is the primary venue of the Orchestre national des Pays de la Loire, Pays de la Loire National Orchestra. The Théâtre Graslin, Graslin Theatre, built in 1788, is home to the Angers-Nantes Opéra. The former LU biscuit factory, facing the castle, has been converted into Le Lieu unique. It includes a Turkish bath, restaurant and bookshop and hosts art exhibits, drama, music and dance performances. The 879-seat Grand T is the
Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...
''département'' theatre, and the Salle Vasse is managed by the city. Other theatres include the ''Théâtre universitaire'' and several private venues. La Fabrique, a cultural entity managed by the city, has three sites which include music studios and concert venues. The largest is Stereolux, specialising in rock concerts, experimental happenings and other contemporary performances. The 140-seat Pannonica specialises in jazz, and the nearby 503-seat Salle Paul-Fort is dedicated to contemporary French singers. Nantes has five cinemas, with others throughout the metropolitan area.


Events and festivals

The Royal de Luxe street theatre company moved to Nantes in 1989, and has produced a number of shows in the city. The company is noted for its large marionettes (including a giraffe, the Little Giant and the Sultan's Elephant), and has also performed in Lisbon, Berlin, London and Santiago. Former Royal de Luxe machine designer François Delarozière created the Machines of the Isle of Nantes and its large walking elephant in 2007. The Machines sponsor theatre, dance, concerts, ice-sculpting shows and performances for children in the spring and fall and at Christmastime. ''Estuaire (biennale), Estuaire'' contemporary-art exhibitions were held along the Loire estuary in 2007, 2009 and 2012. They left several permanent works of art in Nantes and inspired the Voyage à Nantes, a series of contemporary-art exhibitions across the city which has been held every summer since 2012. A route (a green line painted on the pavement) helps visitors make the ''voyage'' between the exhibitions and the city's major landmarks. Some works of art are permanent, and others are used for a summer. Permanent sculptures include Daniel Buren's ''Anneaux'' (a series of 18 rings along the Loire reminiscent of
Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...
shackles) and works by François Morellet and Dan Graham. ''La Folle Journée'' (''The Mad Day'', an alternate title of Pierre Beaumarchais' play ''The Marriage of Figaro (play), The Marriage of Figaro'') is a classical music festival held each winter. The original one-day festival now lasts for five days. Its programme has a main theme (past themes have included exile, nature, Russia and Frédéric Chopin), mixing classics with lesser-known and -performed works. The concept has been exported to Bilbao, Tokyo and Warsaw, and the festival sold a record 154,000 tickets in 2015. The September Rendez-vous de l'Erdre couples a jazz festival with a pleasure-boating show on the Erdre, exposing the public to a musical genre considered elitist; all concerts are free. Annual attendance is about 150,000. The Three Continents Festival is an annual film festival dedicated to
Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...
, Africa and South America, with a Mongolfière d'or (Golden Hot-air Balloon) awarded to the best film. Nantes also hosts ''Univerciné'' (festivals dedicated to films in English language, English, Italian language, Italian, Russian language, Russian and German language, German) and a smaller Spanish film festival. The Scopitone festival is dedicated to digital art, and ''Utopiales'' is an international science fiction festival.


Slavery Memorial

A path along the Loire, Loire river banks, between the Anne of Brittany, Anne-de-Bretagne Bridge and the Victor Schœlcher, Victor-Schoelcher footbridge begins the Nantes slavery memorial. The path is covered in 2,000 spaced glass inserts, with 1,710 of them commemorating the names of slave ships and their port dates in Nantes. The other 290 inserts name ports in Africa, the Americas, and the area around the Indian Ocean. The path and surrounding 1.73-acre park lead to the under-the-docks part of the memorial which opens with a staircase, leading visitors underground closer to the water level of the river, which can be seen through the gaps between the support pillars. Upon entry, visitors are greeted with Universal Declaration of Human Rights, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the word "freedom" written in 47 different languages from areas affected by the slave trade. Other etchings of quotes by figures like Nelson Mandela and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. appear on the slanted frosted glass wall which lined the memorial wall opposite the pillars which open to the river. These quotes come from across the globe, from all four continents affected by the slave trade, and span over five centuries, from the 17th to the 21st. At the end of the hall, toward the exit, is a room with the timeline of slavery as it became abolished in various countries around the world.


In the arts

Nantes has been described as the birthplace of surrealism, since André Breton (leader of the movement) met Jacques Vaché there in 1916. In ''Nadja (novel), Nadja'' (1928), André Breton called Nantes "perhaps with Paris the only city in France where I have the impression that something worthwhile may happen to me". Fellow surrealist Julien Gracq wrote ''The Shape of a City'', published in 1985, about the city. Nantes also inspired Stendhal (in his 1838 ''Mémoires d'un touriste''); Gustave Flaubert (in his 1881 ''Par les champs et par les grèves'', where he describes his journey through
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
); Henry James, in his 1884 ''A Little Tour in France''; André Pieyre de Mandiargues in ''Le Musée noir'' (1946), and Paul-Louis Rossi in ''Nantes'' (1987). The city is the hometown of French New Wave film director Jacques Demy. Two of Demy's films were set and shot in Nantes: ''Lola (1961 film), Lola'' (1964) and ''Une chambre en ville, A Room in Town'' (1982). The Passage Pommeraye appears briefly in ''The Umbrellas of Cherbourg''. Other films set (or filmed) in Nantes include ''God's Thunder'' by Denys de La Patellière (1965), ''The Married Couple of the Year Two'' by Jean-Paul Rappeneau (1971), ''Day Off (film), Day Off'' by Pascal Thomas (2001) and ''Black Venus (2010 film), Black Venus'' by Abdellatif Kechiche (2010). Jean-Luc Godard's ''Keep Your Right Up'' was filmed at its airport in 1987. Nantes appears in a number of songs, the best-known to non-French audiences being 2007's "Nantes" by the American band Beirut (band), Beirut. French-language songs include "Nantes" by Barbara (singer), Barbara (1964) and "Nantes" by Renan Luce (2009). The city is mentioned in about 50 folk songs, making it the most-sung-about city in France after
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
. "Dans les prisons de Nantes" is the most popular, with versions recorded by Édith Piaf, Georges Brassens, Tri Yann and Nolwenn Leroy. Other popular folk songs include "Le pont de Nantes" (recorded by Guy Béart in 1967 and Nana Mouskouri in 1978), "Jean-François de Nantes" (a sea shanty) and the bawdy "De Nantes à Montaigu". British painter J. M. W. Turner visited Nantes in 1826 as part of a journey in the Loire Valley, and later painted a watercolour view of Nantes from Feydeau Island. The painting was bought by the city in 1994, and is on exhibit at the Historical Museum in the castle. An engraving of this work was published in The Keepsake annual for 1831, with an illustrative poem entitled by Letitia Elizabeth Landon. Turner also made two sketches of the city, which are in collections at Tate Britain.


Cuisine

During the 19th century Nantes-born gastronome Charles Monselet praised the "special character" of the local "plebeian" cuisine, which included buckwheat crepes, ''caillebotte'' fermented milk products, fermented milk and ''fouace'' brioche. The Nantes region is renowned in France for market gardens and is a major producer of valerianella locusta, corn salad, leeks, radishes and carrots. Nantes has a wine-growing region, the ''Vignoble nantais'', primarily south of the Loire. It is the largest producer of dry white wines in France, chiefly
Muscadet Muscadet ( , , ) is a French white wine. It is made at the western end of the Loire Valley, near the city of Nantes in the Pays de la Loire region. It is made from the Melon de Bourgogne grape, often referred to simply as ''melon''. While m ...
and ''Gros Plant'' (usually served with fish, langoustines and oysters). Local fishing ports such as La Turballe and Le Croisic mainly offer shrimp and sardines, and eels, lampreys, zander and northern pike are caught in the Loire. Local vegetables and fish are widely available in the city's eighteen markets, including the Talensac covered market (Nantes's largest and best known). Although local restaurants tend to serve simple dishes made with fresh local products, exotic trends have influenced many chefs in recent years. ''Beurre blanc'' is Nantes's most-famous local specialty. Made with Muscadet, it was invented around 1900 in Saint-Julien-de-Concelles (on the south bank of the Loire) and has become a popular accompaniment for fish. Other specialties are the LU and BN biscuits, including the Petit-Beurre (produced since 1886), ' (sweets made with flavoured melted sugar) and similar ' sweets with marmalade filling, ''gâteau nantais'' (a rum cake invented in 1820), ' and ''Mâchecoulais'' cheeses and ''fouace'', a star-shaped brioche served with new wine in autumn.


Education

The
University of Nantes Nantes University () is a public university located in the city of Nantes, France. In addition to the several campuses scattered in the city of Nantes, there are two satellite campuses located in Saint-Nazaire and La Roche-sur-Yon. The university ...
was first founded in 1460 by Francis II, Duke of Brittany, but it failed to become a large institution during the Ancien Régime. It disappeared in 1793 with the abolition of French universities. During the 19th century, when many of the former universities reopened, Nantes was neglected and local students had to go to
Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
and Angers. In 1961 the university was finally recreated, but Nantes has not established itself as a large university city. The university had about 30,000 students during the 2013–2014 academic year, and the metropolitan area had a total student population of 53,000. This was lower than in nearby Rennes (64,000), and Nantes is the ninth-largest commune in France in its percentage of students. The university is part of the EPSCP Bretagne-Loire Université, which joins seven universities in western France to improve the region's academic and research potential. In addition to the university, Nantes has a number of colleges and other institutes of higher education. Audencia Business School, Audencia, a private management school, is ranked as one of the world's best by the ''Financial Times'' and ''The Economist''. The city has five engineering schools: Nantes-Atlantic National College of Veterinary Medicine, Food Science and Engineering, Oniris (veterinary medicine and food safety), (mechanical and civil engineering), École Polytechnique de l'Université de Nantes, Polytech Nantes (digital technology and civil engineering), École des mines de Nantes (now IMT Atlantique) (information technology, nuclear technology, safety and energy) and Institut catholique d'arts et métiers, ICAM (research and logistics). Nantes has three other ''grandes écoles'': the École supérieure du bois (forestry and wood processing), the École de design Nantes Atlantique, School of Design and (computing). Other institutes of higher education include a national merchant navy school, a fine-arts school, a national architectural school and Epitech and Supinfo (computing).


Sport

Nantes has several large sports facilities. The largest is the Stade de la Beaujoire, built for UEFA Euro 1984. The stadium, which also hosted matches during the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2007 Rugby World Cup, has 37,473 seats. The second-largest venue is the Hall XXL, an exhibition hall on the Stade de la Beaujoire grounds. The 10,700-seat stadium was selected as a venue for the 2017 World Men's Handball Championship. Smaller facilities include the 4,700-seat indoor Palais des Sports, a venue for EuroBasket 1983. The nearby Mangin Beaulieu sports complex has 2,500 seats and Pierre Quinon Stadium, an athletics stadium within the University of Nantes, has 790 seats. La Trocardière, an indoor 4,238-seat stadium, is in
Rezé Rezé (; , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Rezae'') is a Communes of France, commune (municipality) and former bishopric in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It is a southern suburb ...
. The Erdre has a marina and a centre for rowing, sailing and canoeing, and the city has six swimming pools. Six teams in Nantes play at a high national or international level. Best known is FC Nantes, which is a member of Ligue 1 for the 2018–19 season. Since its formation in 1943, the club has won eight Championnat titles and three Coupes de France. FC Nantes has several French professional football records, including the most consecutive seasons in the elite division (44), most wins in a season (26), consecutive wins (32) and consecutive home wins (92 games, nearly five years). In handball, volleyball and basketball, Nantes's men's and women's clubs play in the French first division: HBC Nantes and Nantes Loire Atlantique Handball (handball), and (volleyball), Hermine de Nantes Atlantique and (basketball). The men's (futsal) team plays in the Championnat de France de Futsal, and the main athletics team (Nantes Métropole Athlétisme) includes some of France's best athletes.


Transport

The city is linked to Paris by the A11 autoroute, A11 motorway, which passes through Angers, Le Mans and Chartres. Nantes is on the Way of the Estuaries, a network of motorways connecting northern France and the Spanish border in the south-west while bypassing Paris. The network serves Rouen,
Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...
,
Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
,
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...
and
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
. South of Nantes, the road corresponds to the A83 autoroute, A83 motorway; north of the city (towards Rennes) it is the RN137, a free highway. These motorways form a ring road around the city, France's second longest after the ring in Bordeaux. Nantes station, Nantes's central railway station is connected by TGV trains to Paris, Lille,
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
,
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
and Strasbourg. The LGV Atlantique high-speed railway reaches Paris in two hours, ten minutes (compared with four hours by car). With almost 12 million passengers each year, the Nantes station is the sixth-busiest in France outside Paris. In addition to TGV trains, the city is connected by Intercités trains to Rennes,
Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...
, Quimper, Tours,
Orléans Orléans (,"Orleans"
(US) and
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...
and Bordeaux. Local Transport express régional, TER trains serve Pornic, Cholet or Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie. Nantes Atlantique Airport in Bouguenais, south-west of the city centre, serves about 80 destinations in Europe (primarily in France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom and Greece) and connects airports in Africa, the Caribbean and Canada. Air traffic has increased from 2.6 million passengers in 2009 to 4.1 million in 2014, while its capacity has been estimated at 3.5 million passengers per year. A new Aéroport du Grand Ouest in Notre-Dame-des-Landes, north of Nantes, was projected from the 1970s, to create a hub serving north-western France. Its construction was however strongly opposed, primarily by green politics, green and anti-capitalism, anti-capitalist activists. The potential construction site was long occupied and the project became a political topic on the national scale. The French government eventually decided to renounce to the project in 2018. Public transport in Nantes is managed by Semitan, also known as "Tan". One of the world's first horsebus transit systems was developed in the city in 1826. Nantes built its first Mekarski system, compressed-air tram network in 1879, which was electrified in 1911. Like most European tram networks, Nantes's disappeared during the 1950s in the wake of automobiles and buses. However, in 1985 Nantes was the first city in France to reintroduce trams. The city has an extensive public-transport network consisting of trams, buses and river shuttles. The Nantes tramway has three lines and a total of of track. Semitan counted 132.6 million trips in 2015, of which 72.3 million were by tram. Navibus, the Water taxi, river shuttle, has two lines: one on the Erdre and the other on the Loire. The latter has 520,000 passengers annually and succeeds the Roquio service, which operated on the Loire from 1887 to the 1970s. Nantes has also developed a tram-train system, the Nantes tram-train, which would allow suburban trains to run on tram lines; the system already exists in Mulhouse (in eastern France) and Karlsruhe, Germany. The city has two tram-train lines: Nantes-Clisson (southern) and Nantes-Châteaubriant (northern). Neither is yet connected to the existing tram network, and resemble small suburban trains more than tram-trains. The Bicloo bicycle-sharing system has 880 bicycles at 103 stations.


Nantes Public Transportation statistics

The average amount of time people spend commuting with public transit in Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, for example to and from work, on a weekday is 40 minutes. 7.1% of public transit riders, ride for more than 2 hours every day. The average amount of time people wait at a stop or station for public transit is 12 minutes, while 16.8% of riders wait for over 20 minutes on average every day. The average distance people usually ride in a single trip with public transit is 5 km, while 2% travel for over 12 km in a single direction.


Media

The local press is dominated by the Ouest-France group, which owns the area's two major newspapers: ''Ouest-France'' and ''Presse-Océan''. ''Ouest-France'', based in
Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...
, covers north-western France and is the country's best-selling newspaper. ''Presse-Océan'', based in Nantes, covers
Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Louére-Atantique''; ; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', ) is a departments of France, department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. ...
. The Ouest-France group is also a shareholder of the French edition of ''20 minutes (France), 20 Minutes'', one of two free newspapers distributed in the city. The other free paper is ''Direct Matin'', which has no local edition. The news agency ''Médias Côte Ouest'' publishes ''Wik'' and ''Kostar'', two free magazines dedicated to local cultural life. Nantes has a satirical weekly newspaper, ''La Lettre à Lulu'', and several specialised magazines. ''Places publiques'' is dedicated to urbanism in Nantes and
Saint-Nazaire Saint-Nazaire (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in western France, in traditional Brittany. The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Oc ...
; ''Brief'' focuses on public communication; ''Le Journal des Entreprises'' targets managers; ''Nouvel Ouest'' is for decision-makers in western France, and ''Idîle'' provides information on the local creative industry. Nantes is home to ''Millénaire Presse''—the largest French publishing house dedicated to professional entertainers—which publishes several magazines, including ''La Scène''. The city publishes a free monthly magazine, ''Nantes Passion'', and five other free magazines for specific areas: ''Couleur locale'' (Les Dervallières), ''Écrit de Bellevue'', ''Malakocktail'' (Malakoff), ''Mosaïques'' (Nantes-Nord) and ''Zest'' for the eastern neighbourhoods. National radio stations ''FIP (radio station), FIP'' and ''Fun Radio (France), Fun Radio'' have outlets in Nantes. ''Virgin Radio (France), Virgin Radio'' has a local outlet in nearby Basse-Goulaine, and Chérie FM and NRJ have outlets in
Rezé Rezé (; , Gallo language, Gallo: ''Rezae'') is a Communes of France, commune (municipality) and former bishopric in the Loire-Atlantique Departments of France, department in the Pays de la Loire region of western France. It is a southern suburb ...
. Nantes is home to ''France Bleu Loire-Océan'', the local station of the Radio France public network, and several private local stations: ''Alternantes'', dedicated to cultural diversity and tolerance; ''Euradionantes'', a local- and European-news station; ''Fidélité'', a Christian station; ''Hit West'' and ''SUN Radio'', two music stations; ''Prun'', dedicated to students, and ''Radio Atlantis'' (focused on the local economy). Nantes is the headquarters of ''France 3 Pays de la Loire'', one of 24 local stations of the France Télévisions national public broadcaster. ''France 3 Pays de la Loire'' provides local news and programming for the region. The city is also home to ''Télénantes'', a local, private television channel founded in 2004. Primarily a news channel, it is available in Loire-Atlantique and parts of neighbouring
Vendée Vendée () is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She was the only woman to have been queen consort of Fran ...
(1477–1514), twice List of French consorts, queen consort, was born in Nantes * Jacques Cassard (1679–1740), General * Joseph Fouché (1763–1820), statesman, was educated there * Pierre Cambronne (1770–1842), naval officer * Floresca Guépin (1813–1889), feminist, teacher, school founder * Jules Verne (1828–1905), science fiction writer * Jules Vallès (1832–1885), journalist and activist * Athanase-Charles-Marie Charette de la Contrie (1832–1911), a France, French royalist military commander * Georges Clemenceau (1841–1929), statesman * Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau (1846–1904), statesman, 29th Prime Minister of France * Antoinette Van Leer Polk (1847–1919), baroness * Jules-Albert de Dion (1856–1946), automotive pioneer * Aristide Briand (1862–1932), 1926 Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate * Claude Cahun (1894–1954), surrealist * André Breton (1896–1996), writer and poet, studied medicine in the city * Paul Nizan (1905–1940), philosopher and writer * Olivier Messiaen (1908–1992), composer * Julien Gracq (1910–2007), writer * Denys de La Patellière (1921–2013), film director * Robert Badinter (1928–2024), lawyer, politician and author * Jacques Demy (1931–1990), film director * Éric Tabarly (1931–1998), yachtsman * Claire Bretécher (1940–2020), cartoonist * Jean-Paul Corbineau (1948–2022), musician * Jean-Loup Hubert (born 1949), film director * Loïck Peyron (born 1959), yachtsman * François Bégaudeau (born 1971), author * Jeanne Cherhal (born 1978), singer * Christine and the Queens (born 1988), singer, songwriter and record producer, born and raised in Nantes * Madeon (born 1994), disc jockey * Clara Matéo (born 1997), football player for Paris FC (women), Paris FC and the France women's national football team, France national team * C2C (group), C2C, band of DJs


See also

* Timeline of Nantes#Bibliography, Bibliography of Nantes history * Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department * Place Saint-Pierre, Nantes * Chapelle de l'Oratoire, Nantes * Château de la Gaudinière


References

Footnotes Citations


Sources

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External links


Official website of the City and Métropole of Nantes

Nantes tourist office

Web archive of Nantes Métropole (the old website)


from the Eran Laor Collection, The National Library of Israel * An engraving by James Tibbitts Willmore of a painting of a view of Nantes from Feydeau Island by J. M. W. Turner published in The Keepsake annual for 1831, with a poetical illustration entitled by Letitia Elizabeth Landon. {{Authority control Nantes, Populated places established in the 2nd century BC Populated places established in the 1st century BC Cities in France Communes of Loire-Atlantique Companions of the Liberation Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast Prefectures in France Gallia Lugdunensis