7 green tips for Nantes: sights, restaurants, and hotels

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Latest update: 1 June 2023

If you live in Nantes, you are never more than 300 meters from a green space. The French city is fully committed to nature and sustainability. As a tourist, you’ll have a very responsible holiday! Quickly discover the tips for green sights, restaurants, and hotels in Nantes.

Nantes: sustainable and green

Nearly 300,000 people live in Nantes. There is 57 m² of green space per inhabitant. This means the city has about a hundred green parks and squares. In 2013, Nantes was the first French city named European Green Capital. Thanks to all those parks, of course. But it doesn’t stop there. What about, for example, eco-friendly accommodation, organic and local cooking, and 500 km of cycle paths? Go green in Nantes!

Tip 1: Jardin des Plantes

The Jardin des Plantes is Nantes’s largest and most beautiful botanical garden. Gardeners and sailors have worked on a diverse garden for three centuries. Sailors? Yes, sailors. These men, especially in the past, ensured a rich growth of new plant and flower species. Lily of the valley, magnolias, and camellias are commonly seen flowers in Nantes. On the 7000+ hectares, there is room for more than 500 flower species. Take a nice walk and then a break at Café de l’Orangerie. A French bistro where you can enjoy a tasty lunch (main course and dessert) for only €19.

Google Maps location

Tip 2: Les Tables de Nantes

I highly recommend the restaurant guide Les Tables de Nantes to choose a restaurant responsibly. Responsible in two ways. Firstly, because all the restaurants have been selected by Le Voyage à Nantes en Interloire (the organization that promotes wines from the Loire region) for their local character, the use of local products, and because regional chefs are in the kitchen.

Secondly, you’ll have great food at these 120 restaurants. For example, Café de l’Orangerie is also in the guide, and the famous La Cigale and the (allegedly) best creperie Heb Ken are in it. I am mainly a fan of the online version of Les Tables de Nantes. The site will help you find the right restaurant by making a few simple choices. Please try to book in advance. I miss out on many restaurants because they are already full.

Tip 3: L’Île de Versailles

L’Île de Versailles (Island of Versailles) is a landscaped island in the city. The Japanese garden I visit is, of course, surrounded by water. Many people rent a boat or a SUP board in the summer. The island is small (you’ll be around the island in no time) and nice and quiet. You’ll find oriental details everywhere: a waterfall, bamboo, a zen garden, and cherry blossoms. This is a lovely place at the beginning of summer, but imagine the cherry blossoms in spring: it must be gorgeous.

There is a small exhibition room with information about the garden and aquariums with fish. Not very special, but I’m there anyway, and it’s free. Near the playground are hollowed-out trees with a few books in them. They function as a book exchange. That is so cute. Too bad all the books are in French.

Google Maps location

Tip 4: Stay responsibly in an eco-hotel

Half of the 9,000 rooms in Nantes and the surrounding area are eco-certified. At the invitation of Le Voyage à Nantes, I stay in the heart of the center in Hôtel Amiral. This hotel is entirely eco-friendly and has also been awarded the European eco-label. The simple rooms may be a bit on the small side, but their eco-efforts make up for that.

For example, the toilets have two flush buttons to limit the amount of water, the shower has a thermostat, there are soap and shampoo dispensers instead of individual packaging, and the cleaning products have eco-labels and are biodegradable. Small effort, big result. Information about water and energy consumption is available in the lobby to make guests aware of the impact of their stay on the environment.

Tip 5: Parc des Oblates

Parc des Oblates is the 100th park in Nantes, depending on where you start counting, obviously. You won’t notice anything of the city here anymore. It is an oasis of peace, despite the many people who have found their way to the park. Few or no tourists are among them because it is a bit further outside the center. It is easily accessible by bicycle. Lots of trees, a play area, open lawns, vegetable gardens, a chapel, a small cemetery, and beautiful granite walls. In the distance, someone is pinging his guitar. Bring a picnic blanket and a book, and you’ll never want to leave.

Google Maps location

Tip 6: rent a bicycle in Nantes

Nantes earned a spot in the top 10 of the most bike-friendly cities in the world in 2015. There are about 500 kilometers of cycle paths in and around the city. In addition, there are self-service bicycles called Bicloo all over the city. You can grab one, and the first half hour is free. So you must figure out where all the parking facilities are to return it in time.

I rent a bike with my Nantes Pass (a discount pass for all kinds of activities in the city). The Nantes Pass includes one day of bike rental. I arranged that at the Commerce tram and bus station within a few minutes. If you also want to do this, please bring your ID and a credit card (for the deposit). Another option is a bike tour. You can try Baja Bikes.

Tip 7: Maurice Schwob Square

Close to the Jules Verne Museum and Parc des Oblates is another lovely park: Maurice Schwob. The park is named after a newspaper publisher. It was built in 1931 above a former granite farm. You look out over the Loire River. Nearby you can now visit the steel construction Arbre aux Hérons, a new initiative by Les Machines de l’Île makers.

Google Maps location

I slept in the hotel by invitation of Le Voyage à Nantes. They also gave me a Nantes Pass. What I wrote about my experience, was entirely up to me.

First published: July 2017. Updated since.