A day in Nantes

Choose from two loops for this trip around Nantes.

Both the short (30 km) and long (56 km) loops start on Place de la Petite Hollande in Nantes. Go along Passerelle Victor-Schœlcher opposite the Law Courts (designed by Jean Nouvel).

Here, the Ile de Nantes machines are waiting to amaze young and old, including the giant Elephant, Carrousel des Mondes Marins and Gallery of Machines.

Continue along Quai des Antilles then follow the signs for La Loire à Vélo on the south bank. A few pedal strokes later, you will arrive in Trentemoult, an old fishing village where you can stop for a coffee facing the Loire.

After your riverside break, continue to Bouguenais where you will find Roche-Ballue, a natural leisure and bathing site (supervised in summer).

Carry on to La Montagne where you can board a ferry and cross the Loire to the small village of Basse-Indre. Don’t miss its famous Sunday morning market!

For the short loop, return to Nantes via the north bank.

For the long loop, continue along your route via the south bank to Pellerin.

After cycling a little further, you will arrive at La Martinière canal where you can peacefully amble through countryside scenery. Return to Pellerin and take the ferry to Couëron to go back to Nantes via the north bank.

Along the way, keep an eye out for the different works of the Estuary art trail:

In the short loop

– De temps en temps by François Morellet (Passerelle Schoelcher, Nantes)
– La Station Prouvé (Parc des Chantiers, Nantes)
– Les Anneaux by Daniel Buren (Quai des Antilles)
– Le Pendule by Roman Signer (Trentemoult)
– The Settlers by Sarah Sze (Bouguenais)
– Serpentine Rouge by Jimmie Durham (Basse-Indre)

In the long loop

– Misconceivable by Erwin Wurm, also called “le bateau mou” (Canal de la Martinière)
– La Maison dans la Loire by Jean-Luc Courcoult (Couëron)