Nantes ?

Where is it ?

Nantes is located in the west of France. With almost 300 00 inhabitants, Nantes is one of the most attractive towns in France.

With more than 600 000 inhabitants, the town agglomeration (http://en.nantes.fr/home.html) is the 3rd largest industrial city and 2nd most successful city in terms of employment growth.

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Come to Nantes….

…by plane

The « Aéroport Nantes Atlantique » (Nantes Atlantic Airport, http://www.nantes.aeroport.fr/) is connected with the whole world and specially Europe : Germany, Belgium, Portuagl, Poland, Italy…

 

…by train

The Nantes railway station gives connection with Paris in 2h15 by TGV. You can also use train from Nantes to the Atlantic coast : Saint Nazaire, Pornic, La Baule…

National train company (SNCF) : www.voyages-sncf.com (french version) or https://uk.voyages-sncf.com/en/ (english version)

You’ll find everything to prepare your journey by train in this site.

…by car or bus

If you want to play EVS after a road trip, you’re welcome too !

The highways connect Nantes with Rennes, Angers, Le Mans, Tours, Bordeaux, Orléans and Paris as shown here : http://www.autoroutes.fr/en/Realtime-traffic-information.htm.

 

Transportations

Once in the airport or at the railway station, where to go ? How ?

No stress, we’ve got the answers and you too after rading what follows.

1. Between the airport and the town center

Don’t ask for a taxi, there’s a shuttle !

  • Every 20 mins Monday to Saturday
  • 7 days a week (no service on 1st may)
  • Every 30 minutes on Sundays and public holidays
  • Ticket valid for one hour on the entire Tan network – 9€ (see under for TAN network)

Here are the timetable : https://www.tan.fr/fiche-horaires-navette-aeroport-3517.kjsp

 

2. In the town

The transports company in Nantes is called TAN (Nantes Agglomeration Transport, https://www.tan.fr/welcome-to-nantes-35406.kjsp). So you’ll see TAN or SEMITAN.

There’s an agency at Commerce Station (open : Monday to Friday from 8 am to 7 pm and Saturday from 9.30 am to 5.30 pm). Here are some links to locate the agency :

Bus, tram, navibus, chronobus, busway : what the hell ?

There are several transport modes in Nantes :

  • bus : as everywhere in the world, a bus ! what else ? You’ll find several lines all across Nantes and its agglomeration. The buslines number are over 10. From monday to friday, you’ll find a bus about every 10mn. You have to make a sign to the bus driver for a stop at the station. Onc in the bus, you have to press the stop button to ask for the next stop.
  • tramway or tram : There are 3 tram lines (number 1, 2 and 3). You don’t have to ask for a stop : the trams. You’ll find a tram every 3-5 minutes, except on sundays where you’ll have to wait 5-10mn. The trams have their own place to go. You’ve got to stop with your car for the tram.
  • busway : bus + tramway = busway ! It’s a bus which runs likes a tram (own place on the road and cars have to stop for the busway). There’s only one line : number 4.
  • chronobus : better than a bus, less than a tram or busway. In fact, chronobus are buses that come more frequently than buses and have their own place to go only on a part of the line/
  • navibus : you got 2 boats to pass over the Loire or the Erdre.

You’ll find some plans here :

Tickets and fares

With one ticket, you can ride with tram, bus, busway, navibus or chronobus ! But not the airport shuttle…

Here are some rules :

  • Validate your ticket while boarding the 1st time.
  • Transfers are authorized.
  • Show it to the bus driver during transfers (not in tram or busway).
  • Children under 6 travel free accompanied by an adult.

You got several types of tickets :

  • 1 hour ticket
  • 24 hours ticket
  • 24 hours ticket for 4 people

You can buy at self-service ticket machines, in the bus (not in tram or busway), with mobile app….

More informations on TAN website : https://www.tan.fr/tickets-and-fares-34606.kjsp

 

 What about apps ?

You can download TAN app for Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.semitan.tan) or for IOS (https://itunes.apple.com/fr/app/tan/id502653639?mt=8).

You can use an app based on opendata NaonedBus, but available only in french : https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.naonedbus.

 

Maps and Points of interest

Looking for a map of Nantes ?

Any question about history ? About point of interest ?

Have a look at Nantes Tourisme website : https://www.nantes-tourisme.com/en