Self-guided tour
The museum invites you to discover its collections on your own (without a mediator), with tours adapted to each school level and to the French national education curriculum. Visits can last between 1h and 1h30, depending on the level and theme.
The self-guided tours offered to Cycle 2 and Cycle 3 classes are part of each child's artistic and cultural education program, with the discovery of a museum institution and encounters with works of art from a variety of periods.
Visits are organized in small groups, encouraging a sensitive approach and individual expression. Students are invited to describe, question, observe, compare... In an active, sensitive approach, they can express their personal point of view, express their emotions and compare their perceptions with those of others.
For each theme, we provide accompanying files. You can adapt the content to suit the level of your students. You can organize your visit in advance, free of charge, on presentation of a booking contract.
Suggested routes
Exposition temporaire : Anne et Patrick 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.
Additional information: Artistic and cultural education programs based on the exhibition will be offered during the 2026–2027 school year.
Explore the museum!
Duration: 1h
What is a museum? A collection? Discover the Musée d'arts de Nantes with your students.
An accompanying booklet with activities based on a selection of works and architectural elements has been specially designed for this visit. You can download it from the link below, print it out and distribute it to your students.
The portrait
Duration: 1h
What is a portrait?
Through the observation of works from various periods, come and discover the different types of portraits in the museum.
Still life and garnished tables
Duration: 1h
What is a still life in painting?
By observing a selection of works from the 17th century to the present day, you will discover the evolution of this genre and the different ways in which artists have seized upon it.
The landscape, the seasons
Duration: 1h
What is a landscape in painting?
Discover the evolution of this theme by observing works from different periods. The study of composition, color and workmanship will reveal to students the variety of ways in which this subject is represented.
Mythology
Cycle 3 only
Duration: 1h
Who are Diana, Aeneas or Hyacinth? This tour explores the great mythological figures through paintings and sculptures created between the 17th and 19th centuries.
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 tours adapted to each school level, lasting from 1h to 1h30!
Guided tours for Cycle 2 and Cycle 3 classes are part of each child's artistic and cultural education program, providing an opportunity to discover a cultural institution and encounter works of art from a variety of periods.
Visits take place in small groups, accompanied by the museum's mediator-lecturer or the teacher, and encourage a sensitive approach and individual expression.
Guided tours of the permanent collections
Back to the museum!
Durée : 1h
À partir de 11h15
Retour à la case musée est un jeu de l’oie qui se déroule dans les salles du musée pour une découverte ludique du lieu et de ses collections. Idéal pour un premier contact avec le musée.
Divisez la classe en 3 ou 4 petits groupes selon l’effectif total (7 élèves maximum par groupe). Il faut prévoir autant d’accompagnateurs que de groupes.
Design tour
Duration: 1h
Discover the collections, pencils in hand. After observing the works, students draw and sketch shapes and lines, giving shape to their imaginations.
The movement
Duration: 1h
Are works of art condemned to immobility? This tour proves otherwise! From the movement depicted to the artist's gesture, via the viewer's place in front of the work, this tour leads students to experience their own bodies in front of the works: a balance on tiptoe or a dance step!
Sculpture: techniques and materials
Cycle 3 only
Duration: 1h
What are the different materials used in sculpture? What techniques are involved? Sculptures in terracotta, plaster, marble, bronze... allow you to explore this diversity at the Musée d'arts.
Abstraction/Figuration
Cycle 2 only
Duration: 1h
Is the sole purpose of painting to imitate reality? What is abstraction? Figuration? This visit will enable students to differentiate between these two notions, and to question the purpose of painting.
It's best not to broach the notions of figuration and abstraction before visiting the museum. The definitions of these two terms are easier to explain as they are discovered in the works.
What is abstraction?
Cycle 3 only
Duration: 1h
Rhythm, repetition, control or spontaneity... From geometric abstraction to gestural art, this tour explores abstraction and its various forms.
Read a painting
Cycle 3 only
Duration: 1h30
Reading a painting is easy!
All you have to do is define your first impression of a painting, then look at its format, dimensions, composition, colors, light and craftsmanship, and that's it!
Try your hand at works in the museum.
Discover the museum in Breton!
Duration: 1 hour
FULL for the 2025-2026 school year
Discover the Musée d'arts de Nantes with a Breton-speaking guide.
Ergerzhout ar rmirdi
Petra eo ur Mirdi arzoù ? Peseurt oberennoù a c'heller gwelout ennañ? Kit da zizoleiñ Mirdi an arzoù, e istor e disavouriezh ha liesseurted e zastumadegoù. Eus an henarz d'an arz a-vremañ, eus pales an arzoù 1900 d'ar C'hub an XXIvet kantved e roio deoc'h an hentad-se ur sell kentañ Mirdi arzoù Naoned.
Workshop
Painting from A to Z
Durée : 1h30
Départs des ateliers à 10h ou 14h
En découvrant les différents outils et matériaux de la peinture, il s’agira de fabriquer de la peinture à partir de pigments et d’expérimenter des gestes courants, l’aplat, le dégradé et la touche.
