River cruise banquet

The cruise on the river Erdre

 Discover the Erdre River!

The Gala Dinner is organized by the “Bateaux Nantais” (boats of Nantes). It is a dining cruise on the Erdre river.

 You will enjoy the Erdre thanks to the many manors you will observe along its banks. The 2h30 cruise will permit you to discover the architectural heritage of “the most beautiful river of France” (according to Francis the 1st).

The Erdre takes its source in the Maine-et-Loire department, about a hundred kilometers from Nantes. The river used to go through the centre of Nantes but it was transformed. The old outline of the river is today the street of the “Fifty Hostages” (in French “le cours des 50 otages”, with the tramline).

Nowadays, the Erdre takes the St Felix tunnel to get to the canal which carries the same name, then floods into the Loire. St Felix was the bishop of Nantes during the sixth century; he needed to build dams for the numerous mills he possessed. He was the first person to modify the Erdre River; that’s why the city of Nantes gave his name to the tunnel, the canal and the lock which are at the confluence between the Erdre and Loire Rivers.

In 1804, in order to face British embargo, Napoleon decided to create a fluvial network for the principal tributaries of the Loire River, the Erdre River, flowing until the city of Brest. Sometimes blocked by barrages or dams, sometimes lifted by numerous locks, it is by the canal that the Erdre River reached Brest in 1842.

You will have more information at the boarding, for the registered persons.

Meeting point: Quai de la Motte Rouge at 7.45 PM.

From La Cité-Nantes Events Centre, take the tramway line 1 (green) at "Duchesse Anne-Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne" stop, direction "François Mitterand" or "Jamet".

Get off at “Commerce” and commute to line 2 (red), direction “Orvault Grand Val”. Get off at “Motte Rouge” stop.

Then, go upstairs and cross the bridge "Pont Général de la Motte Rouge". The boat station is the glass and green building on your left.

Count about 20 minutes to reach the boat station from the Convention Centre.

River cruise company : Les bateaux nantais (Google translated page)