Self-guided walking tours in Nantes

Nantes' center is compact, flat and largely pedestrianized, and the main sights sit within a walkable loop from the castle to the Loire. The route here strings the old town, the Graslin quarter and the river quays into one day on foot.

Summer is the liveliest window, with long evenings and Le Voyage à Nantes filling the streets with an art trail each year. Late spring and September are calmer and still warm enough for the quays; the château museum and the Machines are quietest on weekday mornings.

Trams, buses and the navibus river boats run on one Naolib network. A single ticket costs 1.80 euros for one hour and a 24-hour ticket costs 6.80 euros, but trams, buses and the navibus are free to everyone on Saturdays and Sundays. The airport shuttle is the exception, at 10 euros every day of the week.

Nantes uses the euro. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, including small cafés, but a few stallholders at the Marché de Talensac and some café terraces prefer cash, so carry a small amount for the market.

The Pass Nantes costs 30 euros for 24 hours and covers the château museum, the Musée d'arts, one Machines activity and unlimited transport, including the airport shuttle both ways. The Grand Éléphant ride is not included. Three paid entries come to about 29 euros on their own, so the pass earns its keep mainly if you arrive on the airport shuttle or fit in more than three. The city also sells a Pass musées at 15 euros for a year of four metropolitan museums.

Nantes is a safe city to walk in, including after dark around the quays and the Hangar à bananes. Take the usual care with phones and wallets on crowded trams and around the Marché de Talensac.