Ready or Nantes
Edward Syers discovers Nantes in France, a Rugby World Cup host city
France is a master of seduction with its good food, fine art and storied history. Travelling there, by ferry or flight, can be so quick you barely have time to finish a chapter of your book. When you step out on to French soil it’s easy to get swept along with the nation’s joie de vivre. While many Brits stay put on the historic coast of Normandy, head for the bistros of Paris or the beaches of the Cote d’azur, they miss out on some of the most interesting cities and the prettiest villages. Rather than retracing well-trodden steps, I base myself in a place that offers everything from art and wine to giant mechanical elephants – Nantes.
Located on the banks of the Loire river which flows to the country’s Atlantic coast, Nantes – a host city of the Rugby World Cup this autumn – gave the world Petit-beurre biscuits, Muscadet wine and the famed novelist Jules Verne.
And like Verne, this city tells a colourful story, narrated by a green line that weaves past its most eye-catching historic and artistic sights. Every year, the route is redrawn and a new line, fittingly named Le Voyage a Nantes, is painted on to pavements, to guide curious sightseers past artworks like a bookmark in the city’s constantly-changing story.
It feels wrong to do anything in France on an empty stomach, and luckily Nantes is teeming with gastronomic delights.
My first stop is Le Coin des Crepes, a delightful creperie in the heart of the city. I order a savoury galette with a local cider, a perfect light lunch that leaves me wondering why crepes with fillings of cheese, ham, salmon and mushrooms are