Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, 50 km (31 mi) from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, while its metropolitan area is the eighth with 804,833 inhabitants at a 2008 estimate.
Nantes is the capital of the Pays de la Loire region, as well as the Loire-Atlantique departement. It is also the most important city of the historic province of Brittany, and culturally still remains strongly identified with it. The city's name derives from the Nemnètes, a Gallic tribe who had settled there before the Romans conquered Gaul.
In 2004, the magazine Time described Nantes as "the most livable city in all of Europe". |
