Nantes – The Castle

Built: 1207
Status: Museum
Visitable?: Yes
Notable: former quarters of the Duke of Brittany
Web: Chateau Nantes

The castle in Nantes is the former quarters of the Duke of Brittany. The castle, more a fortress, is enormous and can be visited.

The Duke’s “hunting” lodge in Sarzeau, Brittany is nicer to visit (it’s called the Suscino Castle – click here to read our review ) but this one if not so shabby and definitely worth a visit. The good news is that castle walls and courtyard are free to visit, you only need to pay if you want to visit the insides and exhibitions.

The building of the castle started in the 13th century, however, the majority of the works were done in the 15th century and finished one century later.

Towers

There used to be 8 towers, but today there are “only” 6 left.

Some of the towers are enormous, but don’t have stairs, since they are incorporated in the building and the floors from within the building extend into the tower.

Moat

There used to be a rather big moat, and in fact there still is one, but it’s rather small nowadays. The water comes directly from the Loire river.

You can see from the two photos above that there used to be a lot more water in the moat.

The Courtyard

Once you pass through the main gates by crossing the drawbridge, you enter the courtyard (remember, access to the courtyard and the walls is free).

Four buildings can be seen, one of them is by far the biggest (that’s where you’ll find the exhibitions). Here’s a closer look at the buildings from the courtyard:

In the first photo (the Conciergerie) you can see the dungeon tower on the left. The 2nd photo of the ‘Harnachement’ (Harness) was built to store arms and ammunition. It was built after France came to aid of the Americans during their revolution, and the French were wary of an English reprisal attack. The 3rd and 4th photo show on the left of the building the private quarters of the Duke and his family, the ‘Couronne d’Or’ tower and the Big Government portion of the building.

The Walls

The walls of the Nantes castle can be visited for free. You can walk all around the castle, which at times include portions that are inside the castle (in order to get to the next wall).

The walk around the castle is worth a visit since they can be pretty spectacular. The views are very pretty, and you can see the Nantes cathedral, the LU Tower and much more.

The Museum

The museum, located in the main building (Duke’s quarters and ‘Big Government’ building) and is definitely worth a visit.

The building

The first part of the museum to see is the actual building. You can see the rooms they lived in, even their toilets.

The Exhibitions

Throughout the museum you will see several exhibitions, mostly about the life in the castle in those days, but also modern times including several large portions dedicated to WWII.

The “In” place to stay

Since the Dukes of Brittany had an enormous political influence, many heads of state stayed in the castle, including the likes of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland, Catherine de Medicis, Louis XIII and his wife, Marie de’ Medici, the famous Cardinal Richelieu (from the 3 musketeers novel) , James II, King of England and many others.

Conclusion

The Nantes castle is worth a visit. Even if it’s just for the free parts (courtyard and walls), you can spend a few interesting hours.

Click here to access the castle’s website.

NOTE: You may have read or heard about the French Yellow Vest (Gilet Jaunes) protests in France…….:

…. well…… it’s nothing new. Here’s a painting you can find in the Nantes castle museum:

Related Posts