Nantes

Nantes is a city in France, the prefecture of the Pays de la Loire region and the Loire-Atlantique department, on the Atlantic Ocean. From the 16th to the 19th centuries, it was the busiest slave trading port in France.^[1] Before 1941, Nantes was part of Brittany. The Gallo and Breton languages are spoken in the city. Jules Verne was a famous writer from Nantes.

Nantes
Prefecture and commune
Top to bottom, left to right: the Loire in central Nantes; the Castle of the Dukes of Brittany; the Pommeraye Arcade, and the Isle of Nantes between the branches of the Loire
Flag Coat of arms
Motto(s):  Latin: Favet Neptunus eunti (Neptune favours the traveller)
Location of Nantes
Nantes Show map of France Nantes Show map of Pays de la Loire
Coordinates: 47°13′05″N 1°33′10″W
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Loire-Atlantique
Arrondissement	Nantes
Canton	7 cantons
Intercommunality	Nantes Métropole
Government
• Mayor (2014–2020)	Johanna Rolland (PS)
Area 1	65.19 km2 (25.17 sq mi)
• Urban  (2008)	537.70 km2 (207.61 sq mi)
• Metro  (2013)	3,302 km2 (1,275 sq mi)
Population  (2016 census)	298,029
• Rank	6th in France
• Density	4,600/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
• Urban  (2013)	612,782
• Urban density	1,100/km2 (3,000/sq mi)
• Metro  (2013)	908,815
• Metro density	280/km2 (710/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	44109 /44000, 44100, 44200 and 44300
Dialling codes	02
Website	nantes.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Nantes has an oceanic climate (Cfb in the Koeppen climate classification).

Education

• Audencia Nantes School of Management
• École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies
• Institut supérieur européen de gestion group
• E-Artsup
• Institut catholique d'arts et métiers
• Institut supérieur européen de formation par l'action

Twin towns

Nantes has town twinning and cooperation agreements with:

Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom since 1964. Saarbrücken, Germany, since 1965. Tbilisi, Georgia, since 1979. Bainbridge Island, Washington, U.S., since 1980. Jacksonville, Florida, U.S., since 1985.

Cluj-Napoca, Romania, since 1991. Rufisque, Senegal, since 1992. Agadir, Morocco, since 1993. Niigata, Japan, since 1999. Cochabamba, Bolivia, since 1999.

Dschang, Cameroon, since 2002. Recife, Brazil, since 2003. Durban, South Africa, since 2004. Qingdao, China, since 2005. Suncheon, South Korea, since 2007.

Friendship relations

The city has friendship relations with:

• Guinea, since 1992.
• St. Martinville, Louisiana, U.S., since 1993.
• Jericho, West Bank, since 2001.
• Desdunes and Petionville, Haiti, since 2005.
• Nantes, Quebec, Canada, since 2009.

Gallery

• 
  The gothic cathedral
• 
  Port
• 
  Another view of the cathedral
• 
  Feydeau island
• 
  Natural History Museum
• 
  La Marie Séraphique, a slave ship that traveled from Nantes