Versailles Island

Versailles Island, a Japanese garden on the Erdre

The Nantes audio-guided tour takes you, along the quays, to Versailles Island, entirely built on the Erdre. This park, one of the most visited in the city, is home to a superb Japanese garden and forms a haven of calm a stone's throw from the centre.

An artificial island born of a canal

Where a marsh once stretched, the spoil from the digging of the canal linking Nantes to Brest was deposited from 1831 onwards. These materials gave birth to an artificial island of nearly one and a half hectares. Occupied at first by laundries, tanneries and boat works, the island nearly became a huge wash-house in the nineteenth century, a project that came to nothing. It was only in 1986 that the municipality decided to transform it into a garden, entrusted to the winners of a competition who imagined a project inspired by Japan.

What there is to see

The Japanese garden unfolds its waterfalls, its bridges, its bamboos and its carefully composed beds, in an atmosphere conducive to serenity. The island also hosts the Maison de l'Erdre, designed as a tea pavilion, and offers the rental of electric boats or canoes. Between water, greenery and Japanese inspiration, it is one of the most peaceful and exotic places in Nantes.

Practical information

Versailles Island is on the Erdre, to the north of central Nantes, reached from the quays. The park and its Japanese garden are freely accessible during opening hours, which may vary with the season. The rental of boats and canoes follows its own conditions.

How was Versailles Island created?

It is an artificial island, formed from 1831 with the spoil from the digging of the canal from Nantes to Brest, on a former marsh.

What can you see on the island?

A Japanese garden with waterfalls and bridges, the Maison de l'Erdre designed as a tea pavilion, and the possibility of renting electric boats and canoes.