So ,after writing so much on the monuments of the city of Nantes, need to tell you a bit about its streets all a natural architecture delight for the eyes. This is my departure city with an airport out west and friends there and so much to see , several posts in my blog. Nantes is in the department Loire-Atlantique No 44, and the region of Pays de la Loire , its a wonderful airy and open city.
Driving you know me by now its heavens for the road warrior ,and Nantes is great if at rush hours of work time can be hectic with traffic jams. It has a boulevard periphérique or beltway just like Paris or Bordeaux, but its the second biggest with 43 kms only behind Bordeaux. This is due to the estatuaries of the Loire river which has a huge port and the traffic had to be directed around it. It has given two numbers to this road in the north it is the A844 and on the south portion is the N844, you take autoroute A811 that connects with the bigger autoroute A11 at exit/sortie 22 with the exit/sortie 42 of the linking road A811. It really is lot easier than explained as I always drive around. Plenty of parkings under and over ground, my fav is by the castle of the dukes of Bretagne or Gasclin or the train station. My best rides into the region of Pays de la Loire is to connect with the boulevard periphérique into the countryside, quick and easy.
Nantes is very nice around the Loire river and main sights streets which has an abundance of beautiful architecture on many buildings and a pleasant walk me think. Streets such as the quai de la Fosse, cours Saint Pierre, and Saint André including the Castle, Cathedral area , and the district of Bouffay, the island Ile Feydeau, and the district Graslin. The district of Bouffay is the old quarters around the Cathedral that includes a wonderful Théatre around the Place Graslin; the Place Royale where the fountain represent the Loire river, the palais de la Bourse where it is now the tourist office, at the place St Pierre you will find the Cathedrale Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul, You cannot miss the Passage Pommeraye a commercial gallery of exquisite architecture inside.
The cours Cambronne is wonderful with about 180 meters long by 50 meters wide and many mansions. as is the cours des 50 Otages, with about 800 meters long and 65 meters wide, where you can see the wonderful Hôtel de la Pelouse and the the tour de haut pas ,what’s left of the gate or Porte Sauvetout. And do walk across the Pont Anne de Bretagne a bridge with two piers spanning the arm of the Madeleine, and arm of the Loire separating the city center of Nantes from the island of Nantes. The Anne-de-Bretagne bridge has 4 lanes entirely dedicated to vehicles as well as two bike paths and two sidewalks. There is talk of redoing it with an esplanade.
The rue de la Barillerie around the market ,pedestrian street in the district of Bouffay. The street connects the allées Jean-Bart and Penthièvre to the Place du Change. It is joined by the rue Haute-Casserie and by the rue de la Bléterie. It is rectilinear, paved, and is part of the pedestrian area of Bouffay. It is name Barillerie because coopers have established their activity there. The Rue de la Barillerie resumes the layout of the Gallo-Roman roadway of Antiquity . See the reliefs of the Enfants Nantais at the corner with rue de la Paix.
The rue de Verdun, almost rectilinear, it connects the place de Pilori to the Place St. Pierre and is about 210 meters long, it crosses the rue de Strasbourg half way. See the half-timbered house at No 15. The rue St Denis is a paved road, open to vehicular traffic. Rectilinear, it connects rue de Verdun to Place Dumoustier, a little west of the cathedral. It crosses rue du Général-Leclerc-de-Hauteclocque. The street is cut in two after the opening of the rue de Châteaudun, renamed rue du General-Leclerc-de-Hauteclocque, around 1870.The former church Saint-Denis is probably built in the 7C, and rebuilt in the 18C. It was a 20-by-18-meter on the No. 9 of the current street. The church was sold as national property during the French revolution, and converted into a dwelling and business house. The inner courtyard retains certain elements of the church such as the bedside leaning on three columns, a staircase leaning on another column, and the cellars that are ancient crypts.
The Nantes Tourist office: https://www.levoyageanantes.fr/en/
The Loire Atlantique dept 44 Tourist office on Nantes: https://www.atlantic-loire-valley.com/suggestions/nantes
There you go folks, hope you enjoy the walks, it is a large territory ,but we are used to walking here, you might need to adjust your timing. Nevertheless, it is wonderful to walk Nantes, city of Dukes of Bretagne today in another region but historically and sentimentally still in Bretagne.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 