Flights to Nantes with Air France

Nantes - a rich past and innovative urban planning make Nantes the place to live - and visit

Greater Nantes, located in north-west France, is a 900,000-strong urban area with an ever-growing international profile. The Air France service to Nantes from Hong Kong takes from around 15 hours 30 minutes. Passengers connect in either Amsterdam or Paris.

Being on the Atlantic coastline of France, Nantes has a maritime climate. Winters are mild but damp and the summers are relatively sunny.

As Nantes is very much an 'outdoors' city, with multiple green spaces, the city is usually at its best in spring, summer or autumn. This also makes it a great venue for summer outdoor festivals, such as 'Aux heures d'été' (world music and cinema) and 'les Rendez-vous de l'Erdre' (jazz). Major indoor events include 'Utopiales' (Europe's largest science-fiction festival) and 'La Folle Journée' (classical music).

Nantes has very close historical ties to Brittany and in fact was part of this region during different periods of history. Two very different architectural icons of Nantes bear testament to these links, the massively-fortified château des ducs de Bretagne (the castle of the Dukes of Brittany) and the Brittany Tower. The first building dates from the 13th to 16th centuries and houses the local history museum. The second edifice is a 37-storey skyscraper, the third tallest in France outside of Paris. It boasts a bar and observation deck on the 32nd floor.

Other top architectural sights in the city include:

• the Cathédrale de Saint Pierre et Saint Paul
• the art nouveau LU tower
• the Maison des Apothicaires
• the Passage Pommeraye

Nantes is well-known for its excellent public transport system. This, together with a great many green spaces, has helped cement the city's reputation for eco-friendliness and liveability. The Jardin des Plantes, the Japanese garden on the Ile de Versailles and the Parc Floral de la Beaujoire are just a few of the city's parks. If you'd like something a little more wild, you could book a guided trip of 'la petite amazonie' (the little Amazon), an area of wildlife-rich marsh in the heart of the city.

Nantes - a journey through a fascinating maritime heritage - and a touch of artistic genius

Nantes has long been an important port, and its seafaring heritage is everywhere you look. The Ile de Nantes, a large river island, was once the site of the naval dockyards. This whole area has now been redeveloped, but some reminders of the past remain in the shape of two huge cranes, the very impressive grues titan.

On the other side of the river from the island, you'll see the Maillé Brézé at its moorings. Decommissioned in 1988, this destroyer is now a museum ship. It has also played a starring role on the silver screen, having taken part in Christopher Nolan's 'Dunkirk'.

If it's sails and rigging you're after, rather than radar, you may be lucky enough to find the 'Belem', a three-masted barque, in town. This old cargo ship was launched in 1896 and still travels the world in her role as a training ship. However, she may be visited when back in her home port.

The Machines de l'Ile complex, also on the island, carries on the industrial traditions of its location in a highly-creative way. Inspired by the imagination of the Nantes-born author, Jules Verne, the centre is home to a number of incredible mechanical creations including the Great Elephant (a 12 metre high mechanical walking elephant), the Heron Tree and the Marine Worlds Carousel, a kind of fantastical aquarium.

For more holiday suggestions, why not take a look at the tours bookable via the Air France website?