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Grand Gouvernement VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
The ducal palace, known
since the 17th century as Practical Information
the Grand Gouvernement 4 Place Marc-Elder. Tel 08 11 46
(Governor’s Great Palace), 46 44. Ramparts and courtyard:
has been restored to its Open daily. Musée d’Histoire:
original splendour. The Open Sep–Jun: Tue–Sun;
double staircase leads up Jul–Aug: daily. 7 0 &
to a single row of steps (museum only; moat ditches,
beneath a porch.
courtyard and sentry walk free).
∑ chateaunantes.fr
. Vieux Donjon
The polygonal keep,
built in the 14th
century on the orders
of Jean IV de Montfort,
is the oldest part of the
castle. It is attached to
the 18th-century
caretaker’s lodge.

. Tour du Fer-à-Cheval
This shield decorates the
keystone of the vaulting
inside the Tour du Fer-à-
Cheval (Horseshoe Tower).
Guarding the northwest
corner of the castle, it is a
fine example of 15th-century
military architecture.

Illustrious Guests
Many famous people have passed through
the gates of the Château des Ducs de Bretagne.
The wedding of François II of Brittany and
Marguerite de Foix took place here in 1471,
and it was also here that their daughter, Anne,
Duchess of Brittany, was married to Louis XII in
1499. In 1532, François I of France came here to
mark the “permanent union of the duchy and
Henri IV country of Brittany with the kingdom of France”,
(1553–1610) as an inscrip tion in the courtyard recalls. Henri II,
then Charles IX, also stayed in the castle. In
1598, Henri IV thrashed out the terms of the Edict de Nantes, which
legalized Protestantism. He may even have signed the edict at the
castle. Louis XIV also stayed here when he came to Nantes in 1661,
during a gathering of the States of Brittany.

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