Has anyone been to Nantes, France?

[supersun23]

Hi,
We are thinking on booking flights to Nantes for a few days (possibly hiring a car). Is Nantes itself worth visiting? We have two children 8 and 11. TIA

Yes it’s worth it! Make sure you see the mechanical elephant as your kids would be the perfect age for it: https://www.lesmachines-nantes.fr/en/discover/the-grand-elephant/

That looks good - thank you!

We went there last year for the Rugby World Cup. I second Les Machines de Nantes - great fun! The castle is lovely, as are the botanical gardens, and there are some great shops - we found one that sold beautiful wooden toys. There are good places to eat and wander around and a stroll along the river is nice. The cathedral was shut when we visited - I think they are rebuilding after a fire. There's a good tram system for getting around which, I think, is free at weekends. It's probably even better without all the Rugby fans

If you hire a car, I can recommend visiting l'ile de Noirmoutier.
Lovely beaches

Yes lovely, Jules Verne, mechanical museum esp elephant!

We loved Nantes, obviously went on the elephant and the other machines, but also the castle was great, and just the general vibe. We also took the train to the beach for the day, it was early October and still warm enough to swim.

Thank you!

Puy Du Fou historical theme park is about an hour away - brilliant day out 👌🏻

You can get a bus fairly easily to Noirmoutier from Nantes airport, although it is a couple of hours away. I have stayed at this hotel in the distant past Noirmoutier Hotel - Hotel Noirmoutier (lavillaenlile.com). I like the idea of the mechanical museum and a Nantes city break though so following for ideas!

We are going in 2 weeks time. Staying at Le Croisic first then 4 nights in Nantes. Will report back ☺️