PANORAMA TOUR OF NANTES by electric bike

Jet-ski session near Nantes

Visit to Saline - Guérande Salt Marshes

One hour quad ride between Nantes and La Baule

Hot Air Balloon Flight over the castle of Chenonceau / France

The Océâmes Treasure in La Rochelle

Morning - Loire Valley Wine Tour in Vouvray and Montlouis

Mont-Saint-Michel bay walk

Freia

This greenhouse with timber arches devoted to the goddess Freia is perched on top of a contemporary building. It is the perfect place to grow a garden of aromatic herbs and berries and to admire the panoramic view of Nantes. After the success of Vacarme, Sarah Mainguy crafts poetic and creative cuisine, mainly plant based and scattered with Scandinavian and Asian touches. Each dish is a treasure trove of brainwaves and delicious sauces – cases in point being the white asparagus with a vegetable seaweed XO sauce, or periwinkles with crisp green peas, topped with a glazed gwell snow. Reservations can be made online only.

Bairoz

Just a stone's throw from the River Loire, this charming, modern restaurant sports a striking decor: pendant lights, wood panelling and exposed stonework. At the helm are chef Estelle Méheust and pastry chef Jérôme Berdelou, both of whom are active in the kitchen as well as the dining room: one starts the service while the starters and main courses are being served, the other taking over when it comes to the desserts. This charming, discreet couple won us over with their market-fresh fare at lunchtime, and their more high-level cuisine at dinner. The jus are particularly tasty, eg the mushroom emulsion on the raviolo filled with brousse soft cheese, or the creamy bisque on the hake, saffron purple top turnips and fondant potatoes.

Vacarme

Chef Sarah Mainguy, who won French TV's Top Chef, has set up shop with her partner in this Nantes bistro with a cool, laid-back atmosphere and where everyone seems to be in a good mood. Renewed on a weekly basis, the bistronomy menu alone is enough to bring a smile to the face of any foodie: leek ravioli, anchovy cream; home-made sausage, rutabaga purée, citrus jus; cabbage stuffed with octopus and pork. Good list of natural, organic and biodynamic wines.

Sain

This restaurant is a café, canteen and grocery shop all in one, combining a relaxed atmosphere with a philosophy of serving food that respects produce and the planet: a stall for organic vegetables from the family farm in Guérande, a shelf of natural wines (to take away) and laid-back service provided by Samuel Huitric. His brother Josselin cooks tasty market cuisine that is on point without too much fuss: œuf parfait, cream of courgette, mint, pistachio, ham crisps; pork polpette, tomato, cumin, puréed potato.

ICI

Chef Xavier Rambaud, a real globetrotter, travelled quite a bit before dropping anchor here. The dining area is done out in an "industrial bistro" style (parquet flooring, wooden tables, exposed stonework and cast-iron pipes). The chef concocts multi-layered creative cuisine, such as stingray wing, rice and black garlic; scallops, asparagus and rhubarb; or pork belly, carrot and apple: well-rounded dishes replete with winning flavour combinations.

Le Lion et l’Agneau

A lion and a lamb adorn the coat of arms of Auch – a lovely town in the southwest of France and birthplace of chef Thierry Lebé (Drouant, Coq Rico alongside Antoine Westermann). This explains the many references to the region in his cooking, which here ranges from "bistronomy" dishes to meats cooked on the rotisserie or à la plancha (duck breast cooked on the bone, rib of beef with Béarnaise sauce, whole pigeon). A great hit with customers (and not so hard on their wallets). The lunchtime menu offers unbeatable value for money.

Pickles

This bright, industrial-style restaurant run by British chef Dominic Quirke is all about indulgence and bold flavours. He likes to come out of his kitchen and chat with diners (in English!) as the pop/rock soundtrack plays. Based in Nantes for the last 10 years, his delicious modern cuisine is inspired by his travels in Asia and his excursions into the surrounding countryside to visit organic market gardeners. His dishes include tourte de volaille au vin jaune (puff pastry chicken pie); Vendée pork with beetroot, kale and chard; and cauliflower, seaweed and kasha coulibiac with shiitake mushrooms. There's no shortage of vegetarian options either.

Omija

At the helm of his own restaurant since 2019 and with a splendid starred experience under his belt, Romain Bonnet crafts a creative surprise menu of Asian inspiration: the ‘omija’ is a Korean berry known to feature the five ‘flavours’ in perfect harmony. Romain is unswerving in his dedication to taste: radish and seaweed gnocchi brilliantly play on acidic notes as shrimp adds a well-judged spicy edge. Flawlessly cooked, gutsy stocks and irresistible big-boned sauces. The produce, mostly organic, is painstakingly sourced (common shrimp from la Cotinière, Oléron Island, line-caught pollack, Vendée squab). An infectiously cosy eatery with unstarched, yet seamless service.