Bouffes Nantaises

The Théâtre Graslin is the main opera house of Nantes, in the centre of the city, and the neighbourhood around it is one of the most elegant in town.

The Théâtre Graslin stands on the Place Graslin, an elegant square laid out in the late eighteenth century on the initiative of Jean-Joseph-Louis Graslin, a tax official and developer who wanted a new district for the city. The architect Mathurin Crucy designed the theatre in the Neoclassical style, and it opened in 1788. Its facade is a portico of Corinthian columns, with eight statues of Muses standing along the top, representing the arts of music, dance, poetry and drama, and the steps in front lead up to the doors. The interior is an Italian-style auditorium with tiers of galleries, gilded decoration and a painted ceiling, and it has been restored several times, since a fire in the nineteenth century damaged parts of the building. It is the home of the opera and ballet of Nantes and the Pays de la Loire, with productions of operas, operettas, concerts and dance throughout the season.

Visitors can attend a performance, which is the best way to see the interior, or look at the facade and the square from outside. The Place Graslin is a fine place to sit, with cafés on its edge. The Brasserie La Cigale, on the corner, is a famous Art Nouveau restaurant that opened in 1895, with elaborate mosaics, ceramics and painted ceilings, and is a good place for a meal. The Passage Pommeraye, a covered shopping arcade of the 1840s with three levels of galleries and staircases, is a short walk away.

The Bouffay district, to the east, is the old centre of the town, centred on a square where the medieval castle of Bouffay once stood. It is lined with half-timbered houses, and its streets, now full of bars, restaurants and shops, are among the liveliest in Nantes in the evening. The Château des Ducs de Bretagne and the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul are within a few minutes' walk.

The theatre suits opera and ballet lovers, lovers of architecture and anyone who likes to see a historic quarter. Check the programme and book tickets for performances. Nantes is also the birthplace of Jules Verne, born in 1828, and the Machines de l'Île, with its giant mechanical elephant, stands on the Île de Nantes in the Loire, a short tram ride from the theatre.