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Golf guide • France • Pays de la Loire (Loire-Atlantique)

Golf in Nantes: fairways beneath the cedars, the Loire and its Machines

Nantes brings together three 18-hole courses within forty minutes of the centre: the Golf Club de Nantes at Vigneux-de-Bretagne, designed by Frank Pennink around the Château du Buron; Nantes-Erdre, north of the city; and the Île d'Or, set on an island in the Loire. Golfers come for quiet parkland golf, a lively city of art and the wines of Muscadet, ideally from April to October.

Plan this tripUpdated

Nantes is not a golf destination in the seaside sense, and that is what makes it a good weekend: three courses of character around a city that is explored on foot, two hours from Paris by TGV. You stay in the centre, between the Château des Ducs de Bretagne and Place Graslin, and reach each first tee in twenty to forty minutes. To the north-west, the cedars of Vigneux; to the north, the lakes of the Erdre; to the east, the sandbanks of the Loire.

Golf here is parkland golf, hilly and wooded, more a matter of precision than power. The Golf Club de Nantes, founded in 1921, is the senior club in the region; its present course, opened in 1969, winds around a château. Nantes-Erdre is the closest and the most accessible, the Île d'Or the most unusual, on sandy soil that plays all year round. On spring mornings, mist from the Loire lingers over the fairways before it lifts.

Three or four nights are enough: a course each morning, then the city in the afternoon. The Île de Nantes and its Machines, the castle ramparts, the 19th-century covered passages and the quays of the Île Feydeau easily fill the rest of the time. In the evening, Nantes cooking is shared between a listed brasserie and a Michelin-starred table looking out over the Loire, with a glass of muscadet, the white wine from the neighbouring slopes.

The courses

Green beside a wide river with sandbanks, weeping willows and a row of golden poplars in the evening

Golf Club de Nantes

  • Architect: Frank Pennink
  • Opened 1969
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

At Vigneux-de-Bretagne, some twenty minutes north-west of the centre, the club founded in 1921 settled in the late 1960s on 57 rolling hectares crossed by the Cens. The English architect Frank Pennink designed a par 72 here that circles the Château du Buron, opened in 1969 and still faithful to its original layout. Well-kept greens, fairways lined with century-old trees, avenues of pines and cedars: precision counts for more than length. An old-school club course for regular golfers who enjoy wooded layouts.

Signature hole. The round opens with a par 3, a rarity that sets the tone: a precise iron from the very first shot, before the wooded holes around the château.

Official website

Golf Bluegreen Nantes-Erdre

  • Architect: Yves Bureau
  • Opened 1990
  • 18 holes
  • Par 71

The closest to the centre, a quarter of an hour north in the Erdre valley, is a par 71 of 5,876 metres designed by Yves Bureau and opened in 1990. The hilly, varied layout winds around three lakes across 50 hectares of hedgerows and fruit trees. It suits every level: balls are easy to find, but the water and the slopes demand thought. A covered 32-bay driving range, two putting greens and a short-game area allow a serious warm-up, and the clubhouse serves lunch every day.

Official website

Golf de l'Île d'Or

  • Architect: Michel Gayon
  • Opened 1988
  • 18 holes
  • Par 72

Half an hour east of Nantes, you reach the course over a wooden bridge at La Varenne: it occupies an island in the Loire, in the commune of Le Cellier. Designed by Michel Gayon and opened in 1988, this par 72 of 6,292 metres is the longest of the three. Its sandy soil drains quickly and keeps it playable all year round, even after winter rain. The river, willows and tall poplars set the scene, and a nine-hole compact course completes the facilities. The ideal choice for a day's golf between Nantes and Anjou.

Official website

Where to stay

Sozo Hotel

A four-star hotel set in the Chapelle Notre-Dame-des-Anges, built in 1883 in the city centre. The lobby fills the former choir, beneath a seventeen-metre vault, between the original stonework and stained glass; twenty-four rooms and suites, a bar-lounge with piano, a sauna and a hammam. Ask for a Tentation room, on the top floor, closest to the vaults. Vigneux and its golf club are some twenty minutes away.

Hôtel La Pérouse

On Allée Duquesne, right in the centre, this four-star hotel built in 1993 by Clotilde and Bernard Barto appears to lean: its bevelled corner answers the neighbouring 18th-century buildings, tilted by the shifting ground. An entrance footbridge designed by the Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard, Jules Verne quotations almost invisible in the stone, furniture drawn by the architects. Look at the façade from Allée d'Erdre; Nantes-Erdre is a quarter of an hour away.

Neo-Gothic chapel with colourful stained glass turned into a lounge, contemporary sofas and a piano beneath the vault

Where to dine

L'Atlantide 1874 – Maison Guého

In an 1874 house on the Butte Sainte-Anne, near the Jules Verne Museum, Jean-Yves Guého runs a Michelin-starred table: precise cooking built around fish from Quiberon and Les Sables. The picture windows look down on the Loire, the old quays and the port's grey crane. Order the mirabelle plum soufflé, the house signature, at the start of the meal. Closed Sunday and Monday; four rooms look onto the river.

La Cigale

Opened on 1 April 1895 opposite the Théâtre Graslin, this Art Nouveau brasserie, with ceramics and gilding by Émile Libaudière, has been a listed historic monument since 1964; Jacques Demy filmed scenes of Lola here. Locals come for oysters opened by the in-house écailler and a glass of muscadet. To see the decor without the crowds, come for breakfast, served from 7.30am, before setting off for Vigneux.

Beyond golf

Les Machines de l'île

In the former shipyards of the Île de Nantes, the Machines blend the world of Jules Verne with the mechanics of Leonardo da Vinci. The twelve-metre Great Elephant carries passengers along the old hangars, the Galerie des Machines shows its moving bestiary and the Carrousel des Mondes Marins turns beside the river. Allow half a day, ideally on a weekday.

The Château des Ducs de Bretagne

Built in the late 15th century by François II and his daughter Anne of Brittany, the castle houses the Nantes history museum. The courtyard and the walkway along the ramparts are free to visit. From there, walk to the Cathedral of Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul, then the Passage Pommeraye and Place Graslin. In summer, Le Voyage à Nantes art trail links the sights with a green line painted on the ground.

The Muscadet vineyards

South-east of the city, the slopes of the Sèvre and the Maine produce muscadet, a dry white aged on its lees that pairs so well with oysters. An afternoon is enough to visit one or two estates, then to wander through Clisson, half an hour from Nantes, with its medieval castle and Italianate houses on the banks of the Sèvre.

Quay lined with pale stone façades, wrought-iron balconies and carved masks, plane trees and cranes at dusk

When to go

From April to October, the oceanic climate brings mild days of 18 to 25 °C and greens in good condition. May, June and September are the most pleasant: long evenings and fewer crowds than in July and August, when Le Voyage à Nantes livens up the city. Winter stays mild but wet; the parkland courses can then be heavy, while the Île d'Or, on sand, remains playable.

Getting there

Nantes Atlantique airport (NTE), at Bouguenais, is about twenty minutes from the centre. The TGV links Paris-Montparnasse with Nantes station in around two hours. A car is useful for the courses: Nantes-Erdre is a quarter of an hour away, Vigneux twenty minutes and the Île d'Or half an hour.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best golf course in Nantes?

The Golf Club de Nantes at Vigneux-de-Bretagne: a wooded par 72 designed by Frank Pennink and opened in 1969 around the Château du Buron, for a club founded in 1921.

How many golf courses are there around Nantes?

Three 18-hole courses open to visitors lie within forty minutes of the centre: the Golf Club de Nantes, Nantes-Erdre and the Île d'Or, on an island in the Loire.

When is the best time to play golf in Nantes?

From April to October, with May, June and September the best months. Winter is mild but damp; the Île d'Or, on sandy soil, then plays better than the others.

How many days do you need for a golf trip to Nantes?

Three to four nights: a course each morning and the afternoons for the Machines de l'île, the castle and the Muscadet vineyards.

How do you get to Nantes for a golf trip?

Via Nantes Atlantique airport (NTE), twenty minutes from the centre, or by TGV from Paris-Montparnasse in around two hours.

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