Self-guided tour
The museum invites you to discover its collections on your own (without a mediator), with tours adapted to kindergarten classes and national education programs. Visits can last from 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the level and theme.
Self-guided tours for Cycle 1 enable visitors to encounter original works of art from different types and periods, and contribute to children's artistic and cultural education.
The way these visits are conducted in small groups encourages ongoing exchange. Children can express what they see, feel and think.
For each theme (shapes, primary colors, the 5 senses, a museum to discover), you'll find teaching packs and kits. You can adapt the content to suit the level of your pupils.
Educational packs are available to download. The educational packs will be given to you at the museum reception desk on the day of your visit. You can consult them before your visit, free of charge, on presentation of a reservation contract.
Suggested routes
Exposition temporaire : Anne et Patric Poirier. Odyssée de l’oubli
May 22 to August 30, 2026
Duration: 1 hour
Anne et Patrick Poirier investissent les espaces du Patio et de la Chapelle de l’Oratoire. Leurs œuvres, nourries par l’architecture, l’archéologie, la psychanalyse ou encore les grands mythes et utopies, se déploient sous forme d’installation monumentales, de dessins et de peintures. Elles questionnent la fragilité des civilisations, de la nature et de la mémoire, individuelle ou collective, face aux catastrophes ou au temps qui s’écoule.
À noter : de la musique à forte intensité est diffusée dans les deux espaces de l’exposition, en continu dans la Chapelle et par intermittence dans le Patio. Elle est susceptible de troubler l’attention.
Exposition temporaire : Plants and People
January 30, 2026 to January 3, 2027 – Room 21
Duration: 1 hour
Born out of a collaboration between the Nantes Museum of Art and the Pays de la Loire Regional Contemporary Art Fund, Plants and Peopleaddresses the question of the place of living things in our relationship with the world. With a selection of historical and contemporary works from both institutions, the exhibition explores the notions of conservation and preservation through the metaphor of plants.
The shapes
Duration: 1h
How do artists play with shapes? Take your class on an exploration of three abstract works from the museum, constructed with free or geometric shapes, varied or repeated.
Primary colors
Duration: 1h
How do artists play with blue, yellow and red? Do the colors used always correspond to those observed in nature?
By observing three paintings, students will be able to express themselves, name colors, discover and appropriate the notions of nuance, gradation, contrast...
The 5 senses
Duration: 1h
What do the paintings give us to see? To hear? To smell and feel?
Discovering the 5 senses, this tour offers a sensory immersion in a selection of works from the museum. Students can express their feelings, manipulate, look, listen...
A museum to discover
Duration: 45 min to 1h
What is a museum? What can you see there? What is a work of art? This self-guided tour introduces students to the Musée d'arts de Nantes and its collections. Students will discover and observe a selection of three works, and become familiar with the museum's spaces.
Free tour of the permanent collections
Durée : 1h à 1h30
À partir de 11h15
Would you like to take your own free tour of the Musée d'arts de Nantes? This is possible every day from 11.15 am, subject to availability.
To make your visit as comfortable as possible, we simply ask you to indicate on the New Window pre-booking form the works you wish to stop in front of.
Guided tours
The museum will help you discover its collections with themed guided tours adapted to kindergarten classes, lasting from 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Accompanied tours for Cycle 1 classes are part of every child's artistic and cultural education program, with visits to a cultural institution and encounters with works of art.
Visits take place in small groups accompanied by museum mediators, encouraging a sensitive approach and individual expression.
The body: movement
Duration: 45min (PS/MS) or 1h (GS)
An outstretched index finger, a balancing dancer, or lines that tangle like the flight of a bird... Gather dance gestures from the museum's paintings and sculptures to create your own group composition. From the movement depicted to the gesture used by the artist to create his painting, this tour gives the body its rightful place in the museum.
From head to toe
Duration: 1h (MS & GS only)
What elements of the body are hidden beneath this drape? What parts of the face can be seen in this portrait? Using a selection of three works from the museum, children can observe and name the different parts of the body, from head to toe!
