Musée d'Arts de Nantes

The Musée d'arts de Nantes is one of the major fine arts museums of western France, a large institution that shows nine centuries of art in a setting that combines a grand nineteenth-century palace, a medieval chapel and a bright contemporary extension. It stands in the north-east part of the city centre on the Rue Georges Clemenceau, a few minutes' walk from the cathedral and across from the Jardin des Plantes, and it is one of the places where Nantes shows that it is a city of art as well as of industry and trade.

The museum was founded in 1801, at a time when the French state was establishing collections of paintings in major provincial cities, and it has grown continuously since. The older part of the building, the Palais, was built at the end of the nineteenth century in a rich Italian Renaissance style, with a grand staircase and a long sequence of galleries lit from above, and it is a monument to the civic pride of the city in the period of its prosperity. Beside it stands the Chapelle de l'Oratoire, a seventeenth-century chapel used for exhibitions. In 2017, after a major renovation, the museum reopened with a new wing, a cube of pale stone and glass designed by the British architects Stanton Williams, which contains contemporary galleries and links the old buildings. The combination of historical and modern architecture is a major attraction in itself.

The collection is wide-ranging. Medieval and Renaissance paintings and sculptures open the journey, followed by the great schools of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, among them Georges de La Tour, who is known for his candlelit scenes, and the French and Italian masters. The nineteenth century is well represented, with works by Ingres, Courbet and the Impressionists such as Monet, and the twentieth century brings in Picasso, Kandinsky, Soulages and other modern masters. The museum has one of the best collections of works by Kandinsky in France, with a dedicated room. It is also unusual for its commitment to living artists, with contemporary works by artists such as Anish Kapoor placed in dialogue with older art, including installations, videos and photographs. The route is designed to take visitors through the story of art from the thirteenth century to the present.

Visitors are advised to allow two or three hours. The grand staircase of the Palais is an experience in itself, and the museum's layout encourages you to move between old and new. Temporary exhibitions bring in works from other collections, and there are workshops and activities for families.

The museum is a short walk from the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul and the Château des Ducs de Bretagne, and close to the Passage Pommeraye, a nineteenth-century shopping arcade, and the Place Royale. Across the river, the Île de Nantes has Les Machines de l'île and its giant mechanical elephant. The Parc de Procé, a landscaped garden, lies to the west, and the Jardin des Plantes, with its greenhouses, is right beside the museum. Nantes is the city of Jules Verne, and the museum dedicated to the writer is a short distance away. The museum suits art lovers, families and anyone who enjoys the contrast between historic and modern buildings.