French quality of life

Highest ranked among best places to live

First for the economy and jobs, leader when it comes to quality of life for families, Nantes routinely tops the rankings of French cities. Everyone agrees, Nantes Saint-Nazaire is a great place to live. A dynamic cultural scene, strong employment and many family-friendly offerings: two hours from Paris by high speed train and not far from the ocean, the capital of Western France has countless advantages.

The quality of life is due to the environment of course, but also the hospitality of the residents. The metro area is a melting pot, intentionally open to the world and supportive of projects. Local luminaries include the visionary writer Jules Verne, the architect of the peace Aristide Briand, and the poet André Breton, all of whom sang the praises of the city. André Breton said of Nantes: "perhaps the only town in France where I got the feeling that something worthwhile might happen to me, where a spirit of adventure still lives on..."

Greater Nantes, where the living is easy

Considered to be the city where anything is possible by the Surrealists, Nantes has a wonderfully poetic quality. Each of its neighbourhoods - Trentemoult or the banks of the Erdre, the medieval city centre or the new "creative arts district" on the Ile de Nantes - offers a village atmosphere where neighbours become friends.

Beyond the objective characteristics - an excellent living environment, efficient public transit, hundreds of urban parks, a top-quality healthcare offering, rich cultural life - even beyond the international awards and rankings - Green Capital of Europe 2013 -, Greater Nantes is a place where people can live out their dreams, attracting several thousand new residents each year.

There is a wide and diverse selection of apartments and houses for rent or purchase, at affordable prices.

A tour of Nantes neighbourhoods

The historic centre of Nantes is made up of multiple sites. Between the renovated medieval centre of Le Bouffay and Graslin, the "golden triangle" of lovely bourgeois neighbourhoods from St. Felix to Procé, and the family-oriented "bourgeois-bohemian" area of Chantenay/Sainte-Anne, there is something for everyone. Further away from the Erdre, most beautiful river in France according to King François I, there are the new neighbourhoods near the train station and the Ile de Nantes, and a little further out, the city takes on a countryside feel.

A tour of Nantes neighbourhoods

The municipalities of Greater Nantes

The 24 towns that make up Nantes Métropole offer a diverse range of places where life is great. Along the Loire, you can choose a fishing village in Rezé or the aptly named Boulevard des Pas Enchantés in Saint-Sébastien. Or you may prefer the stately homes of La Chapelle-sur-Erdre and Sautron, village life in Orvault or Saint-Léger-les-Vignes or the wooded countryside in Le Pellerin or Vertou.

Nantes Tourist Office

Greater Saint-Nazaire boasts distinctive qualities

Saint-Nazaire is a city of potential. Marked by history - built in the second half of the nineteenth century, almost entirely razed in 1945 and rebuilt since - this young city is looking to the future.

Although industry is still very present, with a focus on shipbuilding and aerospace, the city is carrying out ambitious cultural and retail projects. Its neighbourhoods bathed by the ocean are opening up to visitors, especially Saint-Marc where the filmmaker Jacques Tati is commemorated with a statute of Mr. Hulot, and Gavy, a university extension that could be mistaken for a California campus. The traditional neighbourhoods of Petit Maroc and Méan-Penhoët are opening up to newcomers, and the town laid out on a grid plan in 1945 is now learning to step off the beaten track. The renovation projects Ville-Port and Ville-Gare are changing the cityscape, with an excellent cultural offering and local services and shops. A new business district is now taking shape around the TGV train station.

The other cities of Greater Saint-Nazaire are no less attractive, with their own distinctive qualities: Grande Brière for example, or the towns bordering the Loire River.

For anyone who wants to move to the Atlantic coast, there is no more beautiful place than Saint-Nazaire: a small town featuring all the amenities - educational opportunities from primary school to university, shops and a hospital, a wealth of employment possibilities - all no more than 10 minutes from the beach.

Tourist Office of Saint-Nazaire