The museums of Nantes, from the dukes’ château to the elephant
In Nantes you can tour a 15th-century château, climb onto the back of a mechanical elephant and look the city’s slave-trading past squarely in the eye. Most of the places are clustered between the château, the Graslin quarter and the Île de Nantes.
Château des ducs de Bretagne
Built in the late 15th century by François II and his daughter, Anne of Brittany, the château houses the Nantes history museum, from the city’s beginnings to the metropolis it is today. A large part is devoted to the Atlantic slave trade, in which Nantes was France’s leading port. The courtyard and ramparts are free to wander: a good loop before heading into the museum.
4 place Marc-Elder, 44000 Nantes
Coming up here: Gwendal Marimoutou – One-man-show (10 to 11 November), Visite guidée – Nantes durant la Première Guerre mondiale (11 to 15 November), Marvin Clarck en rodage (12 to 14 November)
Musée d’arts de Nantes
Nine centuries of visual art, from the Middle Ages to the present day, in three buildings that talk to one another: the Palais, the Chapelle de l’Oratoire and the Cube, its contemporary extension. More than 14,000 works, almost half of them modern and contemporary. Catch your breath in the great patio of the Palais. Allow two hours.
10 rue Georges-Clemenceau, 44000 Nantes
Coming up here: Un nouvel accrochage du Cube : Temps, mémoire, traces (Thursday 12 Nov, 12:30 pm), Monet, cent ans après : correspondance de Monet et Clemenceau (Thursday 12 Nov, 7:15 pm), Stage de linogravure et encadrement (14 to 15 November)
Musée Dobrée
A surprising set of buildings near Graslin: Thomas Dobrée’s neo-medieval house, a 15th-century manor and two extensions from the 20th and 21st centuries, all around a botanical garden. More than 2,400 works take you through 500,000 years of history and five continents, from Egyptian antiquities to Nantes gold and silverwork. It feels like a collector’s home.
1 place Jean V, 44000 Nantes
Coming up here: Exposition : Izabeau Jousse (10 November to 5 December), Apéro débat (until 18 January), Un café avec un artiste (14 to 28 November)
Musée Jules Verne
In a handsome 19th-century house perched above the Loire, the museum tells the story of the Nantes-born writer and his Extraordinary Voyages: books, manuscripts, posters, models and objects. From the terrace you take in the landscape that fed his imagination. An hour’s visit, easily paired with the Jardin extraordinaire just below.
3 rue de l’Hermitage, 44100 Nantes
Coming up here: Les sports en folie ! (Saturday 14 Nov, 8:30 pm), Loto des Bourderies (Saturday 5 Dec, 1:30 pm to 6:30 pm), Studio Odonymes - Micro ouvert et répétitions (until 29 June)
Les Machines de l’île
Under the great halls of the old shipyards, on the Île de Nantes. In the Galerie, the machinists bring a mechanical menagerie to life before your eyes, and you can even try out some of the creatures. The Grand Éléphant, 12 metres tall, sets off on a walk with 50 passengers on its back, and the Carrousel des Mondes marins rounds off the visit. With children, set aside half a day.
Parc des Chantiers, boulevard Léon Bureau, 44200 Nantes
Coming up here: Ibeyi + Léonie Barbot (Thursday 12 Nov, 8 pm to 11 pm), Le premier artifice (13 to 19 November), Cheveux (Sunday 15 Nov, 4 pm)
Mémorial de l’abolition de l’esclavage
On the Quai de la Fosse, at the foot of the Victor-Schœlcher footbridge, a walkway beneath the quay pays tribute to the victims of the Atlantic slave trade and to the men and women who fought against slavery. Reflections from the river, stones from the old quay, wood and raw concrete: the place is understated and powerful. It is a free public space, closed when the Loire is in flood. Allow half an hour.
Quai de la Fosse, 44000 Nantes
Coming up here: Visites découverte de l’éco-appart (12 November to 15 December), De Lorient à Marioupol : quand l'acier raconte la guerre (10 to 22 November), 10 ans de l'éco-appart (Tuesday 17 Nov, 8:30 am to 12 pm)
Le Chronographe
In Rezé, just across the Loire, this archaeology centre is built on the remains of Ratiatum, a Gallo-Roman town. It takes you back through two thousand years of history around Nantes, with a playful approach that suits families, then on to the archaeological site and the Chapelle Saint-Lupien. Allow an hour to an hour and a half.
21 rue Saint-Lupien, 44400 Rezé
Updated 10 November 2026.