Behold, there is always something new to see in my belle France, One of my best friends in the Morbihan had moved to Nantes and I follow him there to see some World Cup games. As it turn out ,it was not really Nantes but the town of Orvault just on the periphery of the big City, Therefore, let me update this older post (2018) for me and you and hope you enjoy it as I
The games were so so as far as I can tell (and fyi played pro football/soccer in Fl and the Yvelines 78 of France) on the first game Belgium beat Tunisia 5×2 a really lopsided game. The following one was a bit better as Mexico doing an excellent World Cup beat South Korea 2×1, and finally the best matchup of the day saw Germany beat Sweden 2×1 on a last minute free kick from Real Madrid player Toni Kroos , superb shot and kept Germany with chances of continue and avoiding catastrophy at home. All with plenty of pints from Germany, Belgium, and Brittany and munchies food plancha style, and with good company.
The town is Orvault and it is one of 24 comprising the metropole of Nantes as well as the 5th biggest town in it. Of course ,Orvault is today in dept 44 Loire-Atlantique, région of Pays de la Loire ; and was on the historic territory of Bretagne. Dense traffic around here even if on weekends is ok; The national road N165 (known as route de Vannes because it goes my way there) is actually starts here by the beltway or boulevard périphérique of Nantes. This one crosses Orvault,and it has two exits/sorties or call here gates or Portes these are the porte de Rennes at No 37,and porte d’Orvault at no 36. There are no train station because it uses that of Nantes. The tramway is connected on line 2 which goes around the area ,This line has the departure and terminus at Orvault-Grand Val, it goes by Le Cardo, and reaches Nantes city, and line 3 by the districts of Beauséjour , Plaisance, and Petit Chantilly. There is also a bus line 86.
This was a personal visit and to see the World Cup at home and local bar, we will be back eventually for the tourist look, We did load up on groceries on the way back home at the local E Leclerc hypermarket, And the most important the beers, no time to stay ,just came to purchase and take to my friend’s home for the games at the Bistrot Houblon also at walking distance from his house. At the end we stayed on untl 3h or 3am or a very nice party ambiance amongst friends really nice these days,They do have a Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/bistrothoublon/
My fav new rating site RestaurantGuru on the Bistrot Houblon : https://restaurantguru.com/Bistrot-Houblon-Orvault
We really went to see friends as locals, but it has some interesting spots to see as always in these territories worth coming back for the tourist look. Some of these are: The Château de La Tour built in the 12C, and renovated in the 16C and again after 1900. It was done of granite stone in the neo gothic style of the 20C. The Chapel of the castle was built in the 15C ; it has a stained glass showing the founders of it done in the 16C shown also the Calvary and the deposition of the Cross. There is also, the Château de la Morlière a manoir or big mansion house of the 18C. As well as the newer Château de la Gobinière built in 1872. In 1923, the castle was given to a Catholic congregation of the Dominican Sisters of Comptenplacies, that in turn in 1951 left it to another congregation of the Sisters of Retirements. The Diocese of Nantes sold the castle to the city of Orvault in 1976. The Castle is surrounded by a park, named today as parc Michel-Baudry (that was the mayor when it was sold to the city). There is a municipal theater call the théâtre de la Gobinière in the property. There is a Church of Saint-Léger from the end of the 19C.
The city of Orvault on its heritage: https://www.orvault.fr/culture-sport-tourisme/patrimoine-parcs-et-balades/patrimoine-bati
The Nantes Metropole on Orvault : https://metropole.nantes.fr/territoire-institutions/nantes-metropole/communes/orvault
There you go folks, another dandy spot in Orvault to check it out further eventually, For now I hope you enjoy the spot and me glad to have it in my blog for old memories’ sake. And remember, happy travels, good health and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
Leave a Reply