Groups of friends, works councils, clubs, associations... You are a group of adults and would like to discover the museum's permanent collections or temporary exhibitions?
The museum has designed a range of tours to suit your needs! You can select a guided tour proposed by the museum with your own guide or discover it on your own. Reservations are required for groups of 8 or more.
When should I book?
Visit the permanent collections:
- From July 6 to September 30, 2025: booking from Monday, May 12, 2025
- October1 to December 31, 2025: booking from Wednesday, August 27, 2025
- January1 to March 31, 2026: booking from Wednesday, November 5, 2025
- April1 to July 3, 2026: booking from Wednesday, February 4, 2026
- From July 4 to September 30, 2026: booking from Wednesday, May 20, 2026
Due to the re-hanging of works in the modern and contemporary art collections in 2025, some tours may be unavailable or modified.
Visit the temporary exhibitions:
Under the rain. Painting, living and dreaming November 7, 2025 to March1, 2026: bookings from Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Exhibition by Anne and Patrick Poirier from May 22 to August 30, 2026: booking from Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Information
reservation.museedarts@nantesmetropole.fr
Reservation
For more information on the practicalities of group visits, visit our group FAQ.
With a museum guide
A museum guide welcomes you for a guided tour of the museum's permanent collections and masterpieces, or of a temporary exhibition.
Practical information
Duration of the tour: 1 hour (or 1 hour 30 minutes depending on the tour)
Groups : 8 to 25 people
Opening hours : daily (except Tuesdays and1st Sunday of the month) from 11.15 am. Last tour departs at 5pm.
Prices : full: €220/group - reduced*: €110/group.
Free: Carte Blanche holders, disabled people, social and medico-social groups.
* Groups benefiting from free individual admission, except Carte Blanche holders, disabled people, social and medico-social groups.
Discover the collections
You can explore the Art Museum's rich collections, ranging from the 13th to the 21st century, in a variety of ways.
Discover the museum and its main masterpieces
Tours available in English, French, Spanish and Italian
From Italian primitives to contemporary art
Duration: 1h30
Want to see it all? From the 13th to the 21st century, discover 9 centuries of artistic creation in the museum's collections, from Perugino to Chagall, via La Tour, Delacroix, Monet...
The must-haves
Duration: 1h
Since its creation in 1801, the Musée de Nantes has been one of the few French museums to have enriched its collections with works by living artists.
This curiosity about the art of its time today offers a broad panorama of creation, from ancient art to contemporary art, via the 19th century and modern art!
The museum's collection includes many internationally renowned masterpieces. Discover the must-have works!
Painting in detail
Duration: 1h
Have you ever taken the time to observe a work of art in detail? Often, elements that we don't perceive at first glance reveal a great deal about the work, its theme, its author, its history. Whether it's a question of the work's material, a signature hidden by the artist, a small insect with great symbolism or a few tears discreetly beading on a character's cheeks, these details will enable you to better understand certain essential works and their subtleties, from the master of Bigallo to Monet.
To find out more about a particular aspect of the collections
Tours available in French only
Painting in detail
Duration: 1h
Have you ever taken the time to observe a work of art in detail? Often, elements that we don't perceive at first glance reveal a great deal about the work, its theme, its author, its history. Whether it's a question of the work's material, a signature hidden by the artist, a small insect with great symbolism or a few tears discreetly beading on a character's cheeks, these details will enable you to better understand certain essential works and their subtleties, from the master of Bigallo to Monet.
The Caravaggio painters
Duration: 1h
Clair-obscur, mid-body framing, popular models... At the beginning of the 17th century, in Rome, Caravaggio revolutionized painting by asserting a realistic style. A whole generation of Italian, French and Scandinavian painters fell in love with the Caravaggesque style. Come and discover the museum's Caravaggesque paintings around masterpieces by Georges de La Tour.
Abstractions
Duration: 1h
During the 1910s, a decisive revolution transformed painting: the invention of abstraction. The work of art no longer sought its subject in the representation of nature. Favoring sometimes geometric abstraction, sometimes more expressionist abstraction, many artists had in common the renunciation of the representation of an external reality.
The shock of modernity
Duration: 1h
In painting as in sculpture, the turn of the 20th century was a decisive moment on the road to modernity. Works by Monet, Rodin and many others provide an insight into this evolution at the Musée d'arts de Nantes.
In every color
Tour unavailable until November 22, 2025
Duration: 1h
Why paint exclusively in black? What's behind a monochrome canvas?
A visit to see all the colors on a journey through the history of art!
This tour explores the history of colors, their manufacture and use, and the theories and symbolism associated with them, from the Renaissance to contemporary art, by discovering masterpieces from the collections: from Perugino to Soulages, via Kandinsky.
A place of your own: women artists
Duration: 1h
This tour introduces visitors to some of the women artists exhibited at the museum, from Caravaggesque painter Virginia Da Vezzi to abstract expressionist Joan Mitchell and Sonia Delaunay's decisive contribution to modern art.
At play! Rules and chance in art history
Duration: 1h
Until the end of the 19th century, the Académie des Beaux-Arts set the framework for artistic creation. Modernity and avant-garde artists challenged these principles, seeking to break free from them. Artists then invented new rules of the game, sometimes summoning a new participant in the creative process: chance.
On this tour, you'll discover the playful artists who used the rules of the game to open up new fields of creation.
Le Cube: discover our contemporary art collections
Route unavailable until December 20, 2025
Duration: 1h
This tour allows you to discover the contemporary art collections exhibited in the Cube around 4 themes: the body, territories, painting, time and memory.
To discover the exhibitions
Each year, the Musée d'arts presents a number of temporary exhibitions. Depending on the exhibition theme, works come from public or private collections, from France or around the world. The origin of the artists and the provenance of the loans offer an international exploration of art.
Each summer, a contemporary art installation is featured as part of the Voyage à Nantes itinerary.
The Chapelle de l'Oratoire, the Salle blanche and Salle 22 also feature temporary installations and exhibitions.
For the exhibition Sous la pluie. Peindre, vivre et rêver (until March 1), guided tours are fully booked. The remaining slots for self-guided tours are available from 4:30 p.m.
With your own guide
You can discover the museum, its permanent collections or temporary exhibitions with your own guide.
Practical information
Tour duration: 1h30
Groups : 25 people maximum
Opening hours : daily (except Tuesdays and1st Sunday of the month) from 11.15 am. Last tour departs at 5pm.
Price : €75/group, regardless of the number of people in the group.
Right to speak included.
On your own
You can also explore the 900 paintings, sculptures, photographs, videos and installations on your own. If you come as a group, you benefit from the group rate.
Practical information
Duration of the tour: 1 hour (or 1 hour 30 minutes depending on the tour)
Groups : 8 to 25 people
Opening hours : daily (except Tuesdays and1st Sunday of the month) from 11.15 am. Last tour departs at 5pm.
Price : €50/group, regardless of the number of people in the group.