City guide
What to do around Nantes: 10 day trips
Clisson, the Muscadet vineyards, Trentemoult, Pornic, Guérande, the Brière and Saint-Nazaire: ten day trips less than an hour from Nantes.
6 min read
Around Nantes, in an hour you go from the vineyard slopes to the Brière marshes and the Atlantic beaches. Here are our ten favourite day trips.
Clisson and the vineyards
Half an hour to the south east, Clisson has an Italian air with its tiled roofs and its ruined castle above the Sèvre. The Muscadet vineyards surround it, and the Château de Goulaine is on the way.
Trentemoult and the Loire
The Navibus crosses the Loire to Trentemoult and its colourful houses. Upriver, Oudon keeps its medieval tower by the water.
The coast and the Brière
Pornic and its coves are fifty minutes away, Guérande and La Baule an hour. On the way, the Brière marsh can be explored by boat, and the village of Kerhinet has kept its thatched cottages.
The ten day trips
VillageClissonClisson · Half a day minimum, ideally a full day with La Garenne LemotWhere the Sèvre and the Moine meet, Clisson combines a medieval castle, old market halls, stone bridges, Italian-style facades and the Romantic park of La Garenne Lemot.
CastleChâteau de ClissonClisson · 1 to 1 h 30Overlooking the Sèvre Nantaise, the Château de Clisson is a mighty medieval fortress whose ruins inspired the town’s Romantic look.
CastleChâteau de GoulaineHaute-Goulaine · 1 h 30 to 2 hoursOn the edge of Nantes, Goulaine combines a family home, early Renaissance architecture, marshes and decorative collections.
VillageTrentemoultRezé · 1 h 30 to 3 hours, half a day with lunch or combined with NantesFacing Nantes, Trentemoult unfolds a maze of colourful houses, narrow lanes, little gardens and terraces on the banks of the Loire, a few minutes away by Navibus.
VillageOudonOudon · 2 hours to half a dayOudon clusters around a mighty octagonal keep built from 1392, with a spectacular view over the Loire valley and walking routes along the river.
VillagePornicPornic · Half a day minimum, a full day with the coastal path and the beachPornic curls around an old harbour overlooked by its castle, among villas, coves, the customs officers’ path, fishing huts and famous treats such as La Fraiseraie.
VillageGuérande Old TownGuérande · 2 h 30 to half a day, a full day with the salt marshesBehind its almost entirely preserved ramparts, Guérande unfolds monumental gates, a collegiate church, granite houses, shops and lanes that open directly onto the salt marshes.
VillageKerhinetSaint-Lyphard · 1 hour 30 to 3 hours, a full day with a punt trip, cycling or a walkKerhinet brings together eighteen fully restored thatched cottages, a bread oven, a well, a wash house, craftspeople and interpretation trails in a car-free village in the heart of the Brière.
ViewpointSaint-Nazaire seafrontSaint-Nazaire · 30 minutes to 1 h 30, depending on the walk.A great urban sea balcony, perfect for walking facing the ocean, looking at the horizon, the beaches and the town open to the sea.
BeachLa Baule BeachLa Baule-Escoublac · 3 hours to a full day, longer to walk the whole bayFrom Pornichet to Le Pouliguen, the bay of La Baule stretches about 9 km of fine sand, with lifeguarded sections, beach clubs, water sports, walks, facilities for disabled visitors and water quality monitored all summer.
Where to stay in Nantes
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Going further
Nantes, in the journal
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