Place Royale

Place Royale is the main ceremonial square of central Nantes and one of the clearest examples of the city's eighteenth-century expansion. It was laid out in the 1780s, during a period when Nantes was one of the richest ports in France, with trade connected to the Atlantic, and the town's merchants and shipowners paid for new streets and buildings in the fashionable neoclassical style. The architect Mathurin Crucy, who was also responsible for much of the Nantes waterfront and for the Théâtre Graslin district, drew up the plans, and work started in 1784. The square was built as a place of elegant houses with uniform stone façades, arranged around an open space, and it sat at the centre of the new quarter.

The name of the square reflects the royal period, as it was intended to carry a monument to Louis XVI, which was never completed because of the Revolution. In the nineteenth century the town decided to put a fountain in the centre, and the monumental fountain that stands today was inaugurated in 1865. It is a tall composition of stone and bronze, with a basin and allegorical figures that stand for the Loire and its tributaries, a reminder of the river that made Nantes prosperous. The sculptures are worth a close look, as each figure represents a river and carries symbols of the countryside through which it flows. Water flows in tiers from the upper bowls down to the pool.

The square was damaged by bombing during the Second World War, and it was rebuilt in the following years, so many of the buildings around it are postwar reconstructions in a style that respects the original design. It is now a pedestrian area, closed to cars, and a broad flight of steps and benches around the fountain makes a good meeting point. The surrounding streets are lined with shops, and the lively Rue Crébillon, which leads uphill to Place Graslin and the opera house, begins here. The Passage Pommeraye, a famous nineteenth-century shopping arcade on several levels, is a few minutes away and well worth seeing.

The square is free to enter at all times, and it is a good place to start exploring. From here you can walk to the Château des Ducs de Bretagne, the old castle of the dukes of Brittany, and to the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul, both within ten to fifteen minutes. On the Île de Nantes, the Machines de l'île, including the Grand Éléphant, are a short tram ride away and a highlight for families. The Musée d'Arts de Nantes lies on the other side of the centre.

The square is best in the evening, when the fountain is lit, and it suits anyone who enjoys urban architecture and wants a sense of the city's merchant past.