Guérande salt marshes to the Passage du Gois
From Nantes to the thatched villages of the Brière, Guérande’s salt pans and walled town, and south across the Loire to Noirmoutier.
- Distance
- 192 km (119 mi)
- Driving
- 2 h 39 min
- Suggested days
- 3
- Stops
- 9
- Countries
- France
- Updated
- June 30, 2026
At a glance: 3-day road trip of about 192 km (119 mi) with 9 stops, from Nantes to Noirmoutier-en-l'Île. About 2 h 39 min of driving in total.
More road trips in France
Route description
Leave Nantes westwards on the N165 and turn off towards Saint-Lyphard for the Brière regional park, a large marsh of reed beds and canals. Kerhinet is a restored hamlet of thatched cottages with short walking trails; flat-bottomed boat trips leave from landing stages nearby. The drive from Nantes is about 70 km on flat, easy roads.
Guérande is a medieval town with complete ramparts and four gates. Below it, between the town and the sea, lie the salt marshes, where workers still harvest salt and fleur de sel by hand in summer. Buy salt from roadside stalls and take a guided walk. Continue to Le Croisic, a fishing port on a peninsula with a wild rocky coast on its western side.
Drive back east past La Baule’s long beach to Saint-Nazaire. The wartime submarine base has a free roof terrace with views of the shipyards where large cruise ships are built. Then cross the Loire estuary on the Saint-Nazaire bridge, which is free and high above the water, and follow the coast south to Pornic, a small port with a castle and fishermen’s huts on stilts.
Continue south through Bourgneuf-en-Retz to Beauvoir-sur-Mer and the Passage du Gois, a causeway to Noirmoutier that is under water at high tide. Cross only within the times shown on the boards at each end; if the tide is wrong, use the bridge from Fromentine, further south. Noirmoutier has salt pans, woods of holm oak and many beaches; the main town has a castle.
Stop-by-stop itinerary
In driving order. Distances are estimates between consecutive stops.
- 1Start
Nantes
France - 278 km
Kerhinet
HistorySaint-Lyphard, FranceA restored hamlet of thatched cottages in the Brière marshes regional park. Walk the short trails into the reed beds, or take a flat-bottomed boat trip from one of the nearby landing stages.
- 39 km
Guérande
France - 46 km
Guérande salt marshes
FoodGuérande, FranceA patchwork of clay salt pans between Guérande and Le Croisic where salt workers still rake fleur de sel by hand in summer. Buy salt at the roadside and take a guided walk to learn the process.
- 54 km
Le Croisic
France - 629 km
Saint-Nazaire submarine base
HistorySaint-Nazaire, FranceA vast concrete U-boat pen from the Second World War, now housing museums. The roof terrace is free and gives a view of the shipyards and the long Saint-Nazaire bridge.
- 724 km
Pornic
France - 826 km
Passage du Gois
OdditiesBeauvoir-sur-Mer, FranceA 4 km causeway to the island of Noirmoutier that is covered by the sea at high tide. Cross only in the times shown on the tide boards at each end; the bridge from Fromentine, further south, is the safe alternative.
- 916 km
Noirmoutier-en-l'Île
France
FAQs
How long is Guérande salt marshes to the Passage du Gois?
3-day road trip of about 192 km (119 mi) with 9 stops, from Nantes to Noirmoutier-en-l'Île. About 2 h 39 min of driving in total.
How many days do you need for Guérande salt marshes to the Passage du Gois?
We suggest 3 days: about 2 h 39 min of driving, which leaves time for the stops.
Where does Guérande salt marshes to the Passage du Gois start and end?
It starts in Nantes and ends in Noirmoutier-en-l'Île.
Which countries does Guérande salt marshes to the Passage du Gois pass through?
France.
