Nantes is a city in western France, near the Atlantic coast. Nantes is the capital of the Pays de la Loire région, as well as the capital of the Loire-Atlantique département. It is also the most important city of Brittany.

FACTS AND FIGURES

• Population: 245,000
• Originally founded as a town by the Celtic tribe named Namneti around 70 BC, it was conquered by Julius Caesar in 56 BC and named Portus Namnetus
• Major Atlantic seaport at mouth of Loire River
• Edict of Nantes (1598) granted civil and religious rights to Protestants

SIGHTS AND ATTRACTIONS

• Cathédrale de Saint-Pierre et Saint-Paul (Gothic cathedral has high nave and several tombs, including that of François II)
• Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne
• Passage Pommeraye, a narrow passage covered with a glass ceiling consisting of three levels of shopping galleries.
• Musee Jules Verne de Nantes, a museum housing artifacts and replicas of inventions designed by futuristic author Jules Verne.