Nantes, city of France, located in the department of Atlantic Loira and the region Countries of the Loira.
The city is called Naunnt in Gaul and Naoned in bretón. Historically Nantes was within the part of Britain where formerly the britorománico was spoken (or also called Gallic) (mainly in the field). Located to borders of the Loira, Nantes is the center of an agglomeration of more than 500.000 inhabitants. It is considered, with the agglomeration of Saint-Nazaire like the greatest agglomeration of the west of France. The agglomeration of Nantes crosses the rivers Loire, Erdre, Sèvre, Chézine and Cens.
During years 90 she has been between the great French cities the one that more quickly has grown (of 252.029 in 1990 to 277.728 in 1999).
It is the capital of the Pays region of the Loire and the Loire-Atlantique department between the cities Rennes and Poitiers. It is located to 8 M.s of altitude and 50 km of the estuary of the Loire river. Here the novelist was born Julio Verne (1828-1905). The Loire river divides the city in two halves and is well-known like the City of the Dukes.
In the S.XVIII it was the more important French port for the commerce with the Caribbean and Africa, but later a deep water port was constructed in Saint-Nazaire, in the mouth of the Loire river. King Enrique IV signed the Edicto de Nantes in 1598, assuring ample religious and civil liberties for the protestants. Edicto was revoked in 1685.
Their main attractive tourist ones are: The Ducal castle, the cathedral and the Pommeraye Passage.