Nantes: how to get there and around
Airports, stations, ports, where the hotels are and what the numbers say, from public data rather than a brochure.
Nantes is a city of 325,070 people in France (Pays de la Loire), 19 m (62 ft) above sea level. The nearest large airport is Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE), 8 km (5 mi) from the centre. It has 6 railway stations on record, including Nantes station. It is a port city: Port of Nantes.
Key facts
Daylight in Nantes runs from about 8 h 32 min a day in late December to 16 h in late June (computed for 47.22° latitude), which matters more than the forecast when a day is built around one flight or one crossing.
Getting there
Nantes is served by 2 airports with scheduled flights within 100 km. The closest large one is Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE), 8 km (5 mi) from the centre, with a longest runway of 9,514 ft, which limits it to short and medium-haul aircraft. The alternatives are Rennes-Saint-Jacques Airport (RNS, 96 km).
Flights to Nantes: every airport, routes and times
By rail: stations on record include Nantes station, Chantenay Station, Gare de Doulon, Gare de l'État, Gare de la Bourse, Gare de Saint-Joseph. Trains to Nantes
Buses to Nantes · Driving and car hire · Ferries
What people come for
| Sight | Visitors a year | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Nantes Museum of Arts | 326,296 | 2018 |
| Château des ducs de Bretagne | 308,863 | 2019 |
| Natural History Museum of Nantes | 127,000 | 2019 |
| Navibus Line Loire | 110,000 | 2005 |
| Navibus Line Erdre | 66,000 | 2016 |
| Planetarium of Nantes | 33,000 | — |
| Musée Dobrée | 23,178 | 2019 |
| Departmental archives of Loire-Atlantique | 1,126 | 2021 |
| archives régionales des Pays de la Loire | 25 | 2022 |
The busiest is Nantes Museum of Arts at 326,296 visitors in 2018. Figures are the latest each site has published, so they are not all for the same year.
Tours, tickets and day trips from Nantes
Nearby cities, and how to get between them
- Paris, 342 km — flights · trains · buses · car rental
- Marne La Vallée, 360 km
- Bordeaux, 275 km — trains · buses · car rental · ferries · tours
- Plymouth, 399 km (United Kingdom)
- Paris 15 Vaugirard, 339 km — trains
- Rennes, 100 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Portsmouth, 400 km (United Kingdom)
- Le Havre, 281 km — trains · buses · car rental · tours
- Paris 20 Ménilmontant, 346 km
- Paris 18 Buttes-Montmartre, 344 km
Twin towns and sister cities: Bahía Blanca, Agadir, Saarbrücken, Cardiff, Seattle, Cochabamba, Niigata, Recife, Durban, Dschang, Cluj-Napoca, Jericho, Desdunes, Pétion-Ville.
Common questions
Which airport serves Nantes?
Nantes Atlantique Airport (NTE), 8 km (5 mi) from the centre, plus 1 other airport with scheduled flights within 100 km.
How big is Nantes?
About 325,070 people live in Nantes, across 65 km² (GeoNames and Wikidata).
What time zone is Nantes in?
Europe/Paris, currently UTC+2.
What currency is used in Nantes?
The Euro (EUR). Traffic drives on the right.
Which cities are near Nantes?
Paris (342 km), Marne La Vallée (360 km), Bordeaux (275 km), Plymouth (399 km), Paris 15 Vaugirard (339 km).
Where these facts come from
- GeoNames (CC BY 4.0): population, elevation, time zone, postal codes
- Wikidata (CC0): area, sister cities, visitor numbers, heritage listings, stations and ports
- OurAirports (public domain): airports, runways
- Natural Earth (public domain): map outlines
Data compiled 13 September 2026. Hotel figures are from our booking partner’s catalogue on that date. Journey times on this page are estimates from distance, not timetables; check the operator before you rely on one.