Nantes

Currency budget France

Euros, and cards everywhere, including the trams’ ticket machines. Nothing here needs cash you would have to change for.

ATMs & cards

Bank machines all over the centre and at the station. Use a bank’s own machine and refuse the offer to convert into your own currency.

Cards are taken everywhere. Refuse any offer to convert.

Wherever you are: if the machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline. That is dynamic currency conversion and the rate is set by the ATM's operator, not your bank.

Safety all of France

Nantes has had a real rise in street crime over the last few years, and the city knows it. For a visitor it means bag and phone theft on the trams and around the Commerce and Bouffay stops, and drunkenness and the odd fight in the Bouffay bar streets late at weekends. Commerce, the tram hub, is where to be most alert after dark. The centre and the Île de Nantes are fine by day and busy into the evening.

Our own assessment, not a sourced index.

Entry & visa France visa rules

Health & emergencies all of France

Required to enter

No vaccinations are required for entry from Europe or North America.

Orientation, not medical advice — entry rules change and what you need depends on your own history. Check with a travel clinic four to six weeks before you go.

Food tip

Beurre blanc was invented on the Loire here and goes on the fish; Muscadet is grown just south of the city and goes with it. LU biscuits were made in Nantes — the old factory is now an arts centre with a bar. Galettes and crêpes, because this is still Brittany at heart, and Berlingots for the sweet.

Nightlife

A young, busy city evening: bars packed into the medieval streets, and clubs and terraces on the old banana docks across the river.

• Bouffay — the old quarter by the château, the densest bar streets in the city
• Hangar à Bananes — bars and clubs on the quay at the tip of the Île de Nantes
• Le Lieu Unique — the arts centre in the old LU factory, with a bar that stays busy
• Graslin — calmer bars and brasseries around the theatre

Closing: Bars mostly 01:00 to 02:00; the clubs on the docks later at weekends.

Getting around

• Tram — three lines through the centre, with the Busway alongside; one ticket covers trams, buses and the river boats
• Navibus — the river shuttles across the Loire, on the same ticket
• On foot — the centre, the château and the Île de Nantes are all walkable, and the green line on the pavement links the sights
• TGV — Paris Montparnasse in about two hours
• Airport: Nantes Atlantique (NTE), about 20 minutes on the airport shuttle

eSIM

A data eSIM for France, installed before you fly and working the moment you land:Works hereWorks hereRevolutIn the app

Must-see

Nearby day trips

Say a few words

French

• HelloBonjourbon-ZHOOR
• PleaseS'il vous plaîtseel voo PLEH
• Thank youMercimer-SEE
• Yes / NoOui / Nonwee / non

Open with bonjour before anything else. Launching straight into a question without it reads as rude, and explains a lot of reputed French coldness.

Religion

Catholic, and strictly secular

Laïcité is a constitutional principle: religion is kept out of public institutions, and conspicuous religious symbols are banned in state schools. Cover shoulders in cathedrals.

Do's and don'ts

Do

• Say bonjour before anything else, every single time you enter a shop
• Keep your voice down in restaurants and on public transport
• Keep both hands visible on the table while eating, wrists on the edge
• Dress a notch smarter than you would at home — it changes how you are treated

Don't

• Do not ask for a doggy bag or substitutions; the dish arrives as the kitchen intends
• Do not start with English without at least attempting bonjour, parlez-vous anglais
• Do not tip more than rounding up — service is included by law
• Do not eat while walking; it reads as slightly uncivilised