Photo spots to visit in Nantes: Instagrammable places and viewpoints

Ile de Versailles is an artificial island in Nantes that holds a Japanese-style garden. It features stone lanterns, bamboo groves, water features and a tea house. This place works well for photography because of its calm water surfaces, lush plants and traditional structures that feel like stepping into another world.

Passage Pommeraye is a covered shopping gallery from 1843 that offers excellent photographic opportunities with its distinctive architecture. This space spans three levels connected by ornate wooden staircases, glass roofs, and carved decorative elements. The layered layout and natural light filtering through the glass create interesting angles and details for photography.

This residential building designed by Le Corbusier in 1955 in Rezé showcases modernist construction principles. Built from concrete, it contains modular apartments arranged in a functional layout. Inside runs a shopping street that serves the daily life of residents. The architecture offers visual interest for photographers drawn to 20th-century design and building innovation. Its bold geometric forms and clean lines create compelling compositional opportunities.

This former fishing village on the Loire river is full of color and character. The small houses are painted in red, yellow and blue, creating a welcoming scene. Narrow alleys wind between the buildings, and gardens dot the streets. For photographers, Trentemoult offers plenty of opportunities: the colorful facades, the winding lanes and views of the Loire make for compelling images at any time of day.

The Jardin des Fonderies is a modern public garden in Nantes that preserves metal structures and industrial elements recalling its past as a manufacturing site from the 19th century. It offers unique photographic opportunities and shows how former industrial sites in Nantes have been transformed into special spaces for photographers.

The Hangar à Bananes is a former warehouse on the Loire River in Nantes, now converted into an entertainment complex with bars, restaurants, art galleries, and exhibition spaces. This location offers compelling subjects for photography through its industrial architecture and the blend of historical traces with contemporary use. The rooms retain evidence of their past as a port warehouse, creating an interesting setting for capturing images.

The Museum of Jules Verne displays the life of the famous science fiction author who was born in Nantes. Inside a 19th-century building, you can see manuscripts, models of inventions, and personal belongings. The space gives you a sense of Verne's world and imagination. For photographers, the museum offers interesting details: historical objects, old documents, and displays that tell stories of his adventures.

The Jardin des Plantes is a botanical garden in Nantes and a natural location for photography. This seven-hectare garden holds over 10,000 plant and flower species housed in greenhouses, alongside ponds and fountains. The diverse plantings and the garden's quiet character offer changing photo subjects throughout the year, especially when blooms are at their peak.

Le Lieu Unique is a cultural center housed in a former LU biscuit factory in Nantes. The site hosts art exhibitions, performances, and a restaurant within its converted industrial spaces. Its distinctive tower rises above the city and serves as a striking subject for photographers documenting the transformation of former manufacturing sites into cultural venues.

Cours Cambronne is a public garden in central Nantes that serves as a photo spot within this collection of locations for photography. Created in 1791, this space features neoclassical facades arranged around a tree-lined square. Statues sit among the pathways, and cast iron gates frame the entrances. The garden offers opportunities to capture the ordered beauty of 18th-century urban design, with its balanced proportions and architectural details that catch light throughout the day.

Les Machines de l'Île displays large mechanical structures in Nantes' former shipyards, offering distinctive photo opportunities with impressive machines set amid the city's industrial heritage. The mechanical elephants and other creations are popular subjects for photographers exploring the blend of art, engineering, and history in this converted industrial space.

The Parc du Grand Blottereau is a large municipal park in Nantes that offers multiple garden spaces for photography. Its greenhouses display tropical plants, while separate sections feature a Korean garden, bamboo forest, and agricultural demonstration fields. These varied landscapes provide many opportunities to photograph different natural settings and garden designs.

This medieval street from the 14th century offers photographic moments in Nantes with timber houses displaying carved details throughout. Independent shops occupy the ground level, creating a lived-in streetscape. The narrow lane with its old structures provides subjects for photographs that capture the city's layered history.

This restaurant from 1895 is an example of Art Nouveau style with ceramic wall coverings, painted ceilings and decorative mirrors. It offers a perfect spot for photography for visitors exploring Nantes looking for special details. The interior design displays the craftsmanship and attention to detail of that era.

Château des Ducs de Bretagne in Nantes features Renaissance towers and white stone buildings from the 15th century with granite walls. This fortress is part of the diverse photography settings in Nantes, where historical monuments blend with converted spaces. The castle houses a museum about Nantes history and offers photographic opportunities through its architectural details and defensive walls.

This 1905 industrial tower stands 38 meters high with a golden cupola and hosts contemporary art exhibitions. Located in Nantes, it is part of Le Lieu Unique, a cultural center in a former factory. The tower serves as a striking subject for photography and represents the city's industrial heritage transformed into a creative space.

Talensac Market is an excellent location for photography in Nantes, offering a lively market setting since 1937. Its covered structure provides interesting interplay of light and shadow across the approximately 150 vendors selling regional products, meats, fish, and produce. The activity and colors of the merchandise make this market an authentic subject for photographers looking to capture everyday life in Nantes.

Le Chronographe is an archaeological center in Rezé built directly over Gallo-Roman ruins of the ancient city of Ratiatum. The center displays artifacts and exhibits that reveal how people lived in this settlement during the second century. Visitors can see pottery, tools, coins, and other objects that offer a window into daily life under Roman rule. For photographers, the center provides compelling subjects: carefully arranged artifacts in bright galleries, exposed archaeological layers visible through glass floors, and the contrast between ancient remains and modern exhibition design. Walking through Le Chronographe, you move through layers of time, from the original Roman streets to contemporary interpretations of what was lost and found.

The Marine Worlds Carousel is a mechanical carousel in Nantes that offers excellent photo opportunities. Standing 25 meters tall, it spans three levels and features moving sea creatures and underwater machines that visitors can ride. This carousel fits among Nantes' diverse photo spots, which range from historical monuments to converted industrial sites.

Nantes Island is a former shipyard that has become a cultural district worth exploring for photography. Modern buildings, art installations, and outdoor spaces are spread across the site along the Loire River. The Machines de l'Île display their mechanical creations here, which make striking subjects for photos. This location shows how an industrial past has transformed into a place for contemporary art and recreation.

This chapel from the 17th century is a place for photographers seeking to capture religious architecture and contemporary art together. The Chapelle de l'Oratoire displays white stone walls and high vaulted ceilings that create a classical setting for modern art exhibitions held throughout the year.

This urban garden in Nantes serves as a photography spot with stone fountains, wooden benches, and mature trees that provide shade. Located between shopping streets, it offers a place to rest and find natural details for photos in the heart of the city.

This protected wetland area in Nantes serves as a photography spot where dense vegetation, small ponds, and numerous bird species thrive in an urban setting near the railway station. The site shows how nature flourishes within the city.

The Parc de la Gaudinière in Nantes is a garden space for photography featuring walking paths, decorative ponds, and a 19th-century mansion. The grounds contain specimen trees and flowering borders that offer varied compositions for your images.

This public garden is featured in Nantes' photography guide as a distinctive location for images. The Jardin Extraordinaire displays native and foreign plants arranged around the stone walls of a former quarry. A waterfall drops approximately 25 meters, creating a natural focal point for photography within the city.

The Musée Dobrée is a 19th-century building that houses regional artifacts, medieval manuscripts, and decorative arts from the 5th to the 19th century. For visitors seeking photography spots in Nantes, this museum offers interesting angles through its historical architecture and the valuable collections displayed inside.

This art installation in Cordemais offers a striking subject for photographers exploring Nantes. A small house sits on top of a concrete tower near a power plant, creating a surreal composition that stands apart from the city's traditional gardens and converted industrial spaces. Unlike the Renaissance architecture of Château des Ducs de Bretagne or the tree-lined squares of Cours Cambronne, this piece appeals to those seeking unconventional photo opportunities. The work draws visitors looking for bold visual contrasts.

The Parc de Procé is a municipal park in Nantes that spans 12 hectares and offers photographers a mix of settings. Within the park stands a mansion from 1789 with historical architecture that provides interesting subjects for photos. Manicured ornamental gardens wind through the grounds with tree-lined paths. Modern sculptures are scattered throughout the park, creating visual contrasts with the traditional garden spaces. The Parc de Procé works well for capturing nature shots, architectural details, and artworks all in one location.

The Palais de la Bourse in Nantes is a 19th century building with neoclassical architecture. For photographers exploring the city's photo spots, this structure offers impressive stone columns and soaring ceilings that make for compelling images. The interior has been fitted with modern office spaces and meeting rooms.

The Planetarium of Nantes is a scientific facility with digital projection systems that display stars, planets, and celestial events. Regular shows explain space exploration and astronomical discoveries. Within Nantes' collection of photographic locations, this planetarium offers a distinctive setting for capturing images of sky projections and the interior workings of this modern scientific venue.

The reflecting pool in Nantes is a water feature that offers excellent opportunities for photography. Its flat surface with a thin layer of water mirrors the surrounding buildings and sky, creating captivating reflections. At this spot, visitors can capture the city's architecture from a fresh perspective and explore the visual interplay between water and surroundings.

Rue Kervégan is an 18th-century stone street that works well for photography in this collection of Nantes photo spots. Traditional French buildings line the path, creating an authentic backdrop for your camera. Local restaurants and shops occupy the ground floors, adding life and character to the street. You'll find many details worth capturing as you walk along this everyday corner of the city.