{"id":3535,"date":"2024-09-09T10:52:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-09T08:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rochelets.plune.fr\/what-to-see-and-do-in-saint-nazaire-the-best-activities-and-guided-tours\/"},"modified":"2026-02-16T16:00:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-16T15:00:58","slug":"what-to-see-and-do-in-saint-nazaire-the-best-activities-and-guided-tours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/en\/what-to-see-and-do-in-saint-nazaire-the-best-activities-and-guided-tours\/","title":{"rendered":"What to see and do in Saint-Nazaire: the best activities and guided tours"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Embark on an unexpected journey to Saint-Nazaire, Loire-Atlantique, through five must-see sites that bear witness to its rich historical and industrial heritage.<\/p>\n\n<div style=\"height:15px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/visite-paquebot-st-nazaire.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2750\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/visite-paquebot-st-nazaire.jpg 640w, https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/visite-paquebot-st-nazaire-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/visite-paquebot-st-nazaire-480x320.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/visite-paquebot-st-nazaire-240x160.jpg 240w, https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/visite-paquebot-st-nazaire-120x80.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. The Saint-Nazaire Ecomuseum<\/h2>\n\n<p>Located on the banks of the Loire estuary, opposite the Chantiers de l&#8217;Atlantique shipyard, the Saint-Nazaire Ecomuseum retraces <strong>a century of aeronautical and naval history<\/strong>. Its collections invite you to travel back in time, on the sea and in the air. Among the treasures on display are <strong>models of legendary liners<\/strong>, including the famous <strong>Normandie<\/strong>, as well as paintings, posters, collectors&#8217; items, films and archive photos illustrating the city&#8217;s fascinating industrial history.  <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Address: avenue de Saint-Hubert 44600 Saint-Nazaire. Self-guided tour, duration approx. 45 minutes. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Chantiers de l&#8217;Atlantique<\/h2>\n\n<p>Since the creation of the Saint-Nazaire shipyards in 1862, more than a hundred ocean liners have left this historic site, including the Normandie, the France, the Queen Mary 2 and the Wonder of the Seas. A visit to the shipyards plunges you into the heart of an exceptional adventure, up close and personal with the giants of the seas under construction. Discover<strong> the workshops and assembly holds<\/strong>, where a fascinating and impressive spectacle unfolds. The site covers more than 100 hectares, and its facilities are among the largest and most innovative in the world.   <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>2-hour guided tour, for children aged 4 and over. Reservations required.   <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saint-nazaire-tourisme.com\/les-visites\/les-visites-industrielles\/chantiers-navals\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Consult the schedule of visits and prices.<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Airbus Saint-Nazaire plant<\/h2>\n\n<p>Beneath the immense assembly aisles, plunge into the heart of the construction of the largest aircraft ever built by European aeronautics giant Airbus. Accompanied by a guide, explore the workshops where the <strong>A320, A330 and A350 <\/strong>take shape. Discover the integration of fuselages and aircraft, and the installation of electrical and hydraulic circuits for these cutting-edge aircraft. An impressive experience not to be missed.   <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>2-hour guided tour, including a bus tour with stops and a walking tour. Reservations required. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.saint-nazaire-tourisme.com\/les-visites\/les-visites-industrielles\/airbus\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">See tour calendar and prices<\/a>. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. The Swordfish submarine<\/h2>\n\n<p>Come aboard the &#8220;Espadon&#8221; submarine, the first French submarine to dive under the ice pack on a secret mission to the North Pole in 1964. Commissioned during the Cold War, it is <strong>the only submarine afloat open to visitors in France<\/strong>. At 77 meters long, the submersible could carry a crew of 65 and dive for 5 to 6 days. An audio tour allows you to explore the submariners&#8217; living and working areas, the listening post and the torpedo room on your own.   <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Access: Submarine Espadon, fortified lock, in the harbor. Tour duration: approx. 45 minutes Reservations at<a href=\"https:\/\/www.saint-nazaire-tourisme.com\/les-visites\/les-sites-de-visite\/espadon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> www.saint-nazaire-tourisme.com.<\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">5. Monsieur Hulot&#8217;s beach<\/h2>\n\n<p>In addition to its aeronautical and naval heritage, Saint-Nazaire is also known as &#8220;The city of 20 beaches&#8221;. And there&#8217;s one in particular: <strong>Monsieur Hulot&#8217;s beach<\/strong>! Located in <strong>Saint-Marc-sur-Mer<\/strong>, the city&#8217;s seaside district, this beach was the setting for Jacques Tati&#8217;s 1951 film &#8220;Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot&#8221;. On the esplanade overlooking the beach, the <strong>statue of Monsieur Hulot<\/strong>, with his pipe, hat and too-short pants, watches over the bathers. The H\u00f4tel de la Plage, where the film was shot, still exists. It&#8217;s the starting point for a beautiful walk along the<strong> customs path <\/strong>(GR34).    <\/p>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Monsieur Hulot beach is about 7 km from the center of St-Nazaire. Follow the D92 towards Pornichet. At the Oc\u00e9anis traffic circle, turn left towards St-Marc-sur-Mer.  <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<p><em>photo@Inglesider\/pixabay<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embark on an unexpected journey to Saint-Nazaire, Loire-Atlantique, through five must-see sites that bear witness to its rich historical and industrial heritage. 1. The Saint-Nazaire Ecomuseum Located on the banks of the Loire estuary, opposite the Chantiers de l&#8217;Atlantique shipyard, the Saint-Nazaire Ecomuseum retraces a century of aeronautical and naval history. Its collections invite you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3536,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3535"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3538,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3535\/revisions\/3538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rochelets.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}