Travel information

About Nantes

Nantes is located in Western France, at about 50km from the Atlantic coast. Nantes is the 6th largest city in France. Its urban area accounts for more around 590,000 inhabitants spreading over 24 municipalities.

Nantes is an eco-friendly destination, proud of its natural environment; it was named European Green Capital in 2013. The Loire Valley (Unesco World Heritage), the Erdre and Sèvre rivers make up over 205 km of paths and vineyard strech from the banks of the Loire in the north right down to the Vendée.

From an historical point of view, Nantes benefits from a tremendous heritage: the medieval Castle of the Dukes of Brittany, the old biscuit factory Lu which has become an atypical art centre, the Passage Pommeraye, a shopping arcade built in the late 19th, etc.

Interesting links

• This is what Wikipedia says about the city
• Take a quick glance at Nantes on this video
• Check the weather in Nantes
• Here are some ideas of what to do if you get to spend some extra time in Nantes
• How about cycling the Loire?
• Just in case, here are some emergency numbers

Getting to Nantes

Directly to Nantes

Nantes has an international airport called Nantes-Atlantique (airport code NTE). You can fly in from more than 50 cities in Europe, America, and Africa (see the list of destinations here).

From Nantes-Atlantique you can reach the city center using the TAN air bus - 30min.

Via Paris

An alternative and easy way to reach Nantes is via Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport (airport code CDG). 

• Take a plane to Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport (airport code CDG)
• Take a high speed train (TGV) at CDG's train station to Gare de Nantes train station (timetables and tickets here) - 3h03min

Some airlines such as Airfrance sell the CDG-Nantes leg as one of their flights. The service is called TGVAir. You just need to book a flight from your original destination to Nantes train station (airport code QJZ). We strongly recommend you to take this option if you are flying with an airline providing the TGVAir service. Since the CDG-QJZ leg is part of your trip, in case you miss the train because your plane is delayed, the airline will fix the problem for you. If you are not flying with a company that sells the CDG-QJZ leg, make sure you leave enough slack on your itinerary to catch your train (2-3 hours).

If you are coming through any of the other Paris' airports (e.g., Orly or Beauvais) or by train from your home town, you can reach Nantes from central Paris by TGV.

• Get to Paris' Montparnasse train station
• Take a TGV to Gare de Nantes train station (timetables and tickets here) - 2h10min