Since last Saturday, the buildings of Nantes are shining, new sculptures have appeared in the streets and people are wandering from cottage to cottage with cups filled with mulled wineat Place Royale. It’s the beginning of the winter, and most importantly, the beginning of Le Voyage en Hiver (Winter’s journey)! In fact, this colourful and shiny event has come back for its fourth edition, and it will take place until the 4th of January.
But what is it? And what distinguishes it from a regular Christmas market and other Christmas decorations that you could find in any other city? To understand it, we have to take some steps back. Le Voyage en Hiver, in fact, is the winter version of the iconic Le Voyage à Nantes (A journey to Nantes). Le Voyage à Nantes is a huge itinerary made by the tourism office, that explores all the main touristic sites of Nantes and a lot of cultural and artistic places. The tourist can go through this journey by following a shining green line painted in the streets of the city. It is an unusual, funny and efficient way that the city of Nantes has found to indicate all the touristic, artistic and cultural places of Nantes. It is also a great way to promote some places and activities that are less known than the popular ones.
Therefore, Le Voyage en Hiver is the continuity of this exciting trip in Nantes, but it takes place during winter. Created in 2022 by the artistic director Jean Blaise, this is an itinerary through winter-related decorations, events, artworks, and more generally, Nantes heritage. It unites in a unique itinerary history music event, Nantes gastronomy, exhibitions, decorations, Christmas markets, retailers’ animation, children activities, animations at main touristic places like the Château des ducs de Bretagne, and a lot more.
The light decorations from “La nuit je vois” (At night I see) exhibition– Le Voyage en Hiver 2023 © Martin Argyroglo
As the director of Le Voyage à Nantes Sophie Lévy said, the purpose is to create a dialogue between Nantes heritage, history, and contemporary art. This journey is not just about Christmas; it is about exploring how Nantes lives in winter and celebrates it. People can explore that with big things like buildings or sculptures, but also with the smallest and unexpected ones, like gates, or yards. But besides celebrating the past and the traditions, the purpose of Le Voyage en Hiver is also to create new ways to celebrate and live winter, through the variety of its innovative, artistic, and sustainable animations.
Let’s take a deeper look on this magical journey.
The first main animation of Le Voyage en Hiver is the “La nuit je vois” (At night I see) exhibition. Created in 2022 by the artist Vincent Olinet and renewed every year; “La nuit je vois” is a light decorations itinerary running through the streets of the city. This exhibition is made of hundreds of lanterns and luminous statues, creating a magic, shining and colourful panorama of Nantes. You can see a harmony of cyan, yellow, and magenta colours during this period of the year. For the artist, “La nuit je vois” is a luminous portrait of Nantes. In fact, to create these lanterns and these sculptures, Vincent Olinet took inspiration from architectural and design elements of the city, like mouldings, brackets, or mascarons. This itinerary grows year by year and this winter, Vincent Olinet enlightened 66 streets with his decorations. Hence, this year, the artist added 185 “gates” that are currently decorating a lot of buildings fronts. For the aesthetic of these gates, he took inspiration from classical brackets, which are the pillars that sustain old balconies. The idea is to make the buildings look as if they wanted to hold each other’s, by creating them some sorts of arms. Some of the “La nuit je vois” sculptures have become iconic through these four years and keep being installed for every edition of Le Voyage en Hiver. In fact, the most known sculpture of this exhibition is the big deer lantern, which also became the symbol of Le Voyage en Hiver. This is why Vincent Olinet hopes that this exhibition could become a new tradition. He said in an interview that maybe for some children, this exhibition will be impactful and that maybe someday, when they will be older, Christmas will remind them of “La nuit je vois”.
The iconic deer from the “La nuit je vois” itinerary © Martin Argyroglo
The consoles from “La nuit je vois” – Le Voyage en Hiver 2025
Another animation that cannot be missed in Le Voyage en Hiver is the very popular Christmas market. Actually, this market is divided in two sites. The first is at Place du Commerce and the second one is at Place Royale. The market will take place until the 28th of December, and it is open every day from 11 AM to 9 PM. Nantes Christmas market is very popular even outside the city, as it is the biggest Christmas market of the West of France. It hosts more than 140 exhibitors, presenting handcrafts, Nantes gastronomy, local creations and Christmas gifts for everyone. This market promotes the tradition of celebrating Christmas with family and friends, in a convivial and joyful atmosphere, surrounded by red, golden and white decorations. For Carine Martin, president of the retailer’s association “Plein-Centre” (Inner-city), the market of Le Voyage en Hiver permits to reinforce the cultural and retailing identity of Nantes in a joyful and familiar way. For students, it is the perfect occasion to have a good time with friends, while discovering new handcrafts and enjoying foods, and to celebrate Christmas.
Near to the Christmas market, there is L’autre Marché (The Other Market). It will stay on the Esplanade Feydeau until the 23d of December. L’autre Marché is an ethical, sustainable and solidary market. It has been created by Les Ecossolies in 2009 and promote social and solidary local actors. Les Ecossolies is a Nantes association that sustains social and solidary businesses, and more specifically the local ones. The exhibitors of L’autre Marché work with sustainable behaviours, such as zero-waste, local agriculture, international solidarity, social innovation, and so on. This market also gives the opportunity to local entrepreneurs to promote their business and to finance their activities. Therefore, going to L’autre Marché means defending ethical, local and sustainable businesses. If you are looking for gifts that would have a positive impact on our society, then L’autre Marché is definitely the place for you. Furthermore, L’autre Marché gives an opportunity to discover new ways to celebrate Christmas, and especially more sustainable ones.
The Christmas animations – Place Graslin © Philippe Piron
But let’s get back to the streets and the structures of Nantes; and take a look at the work of Dominique Blais, called “À flot d’Airain” (In a Flow of Bronze). This work is a reflection about sounds and rivers, and it can be experienced in various places of the city. More specifically it is a work about the sound of the bells on the churches of Nantes. In fact, with “À flot d’Airain”, Dominique Blais adds movement to the sound of the churches bells and then transforms this sound in a breath that would cross all the city through the rivers. To achieve this complex mechanism, Dominique Blais has installed speakers on the bridges and the cranes that are near the churches. The speakers, in this way, amplificate the bells sounds, and the river, like a mirror, amplifies the sounds and propagate them. The purpose for the artist is to invite people to take a pause in their daily life, gather near the rivers or the churches and listen to the sounds of the city. Like Vincent Olinet, Dominique Blais wishes that this can become a ritual for Nantes families too. If you want to enjoy these aquatic concerts, go to the following places: Place du Change, Douves du Château, Bras de la Madeleine, or the Quai Ceineray. The concerts are scheduled at 1:13 PM, 5:17 PM, or 6:18 PM. There, you will listen to the music of the Saint-Nicolas Basilica and the Sainte-Croix Church bells. You can also discover other Dominique Blais’ works at Place du Change, the Château des Ducs de Bretagne, the Bras de la Madeleine, the Quai Ceineray or the Lieu Unique.
Except these animations, the itinerary still has many sites to explore. For example, there is the Christmas decorations at the very well-known Passage Pommeraye. Other animations include the children fairgrounds at Place Graslin and Carré Feydeau, the “Petite Maman Noël” (Little Mother Christmas) statue at the Esplanade Feydeau, and Christmas exhibitions at the History Museum.
Various events are also going to take place until the end of Le Voyage en hiver. The most important ones are the Christmas and New year ‘s eve celebrations at Les Machines de l’Ile. You can also attend in the city the following Christmas concerts, every Saturday – except the 27th. The place of the concert changes every week, following this order: Place Félix-Fournier, Château des Ducs de Bretagne, Les Machines de l’Ile, Musée des Beaux-Arts.
To conclude, for me Le Voyage en Hiver is a way to include the magic of the Christmas and winter period in every aspect of our lives. For example, while people wander in the public space doing daily things, they are surrounded by the decorations and artworks of amazing exhibitions. There is also a community and convivial dimension in Le Voyage en Hiver. In fact, I feel like we are experiencing this journey altogether through the city. This makes me think that the people in Nantes and more specifically in the public space are probably part of the exhibition too, making it more dynamic and bringing more life to it.
Le Voyage en Hiver is another example of how Nantes keeps traditions and heritage alive while always encouraging innovation and creativity. Here, Le voyage en Hiver perfectly balances between the Christmas traditions of the Market, and innovations such as the sustainable activities of L’autre Marché, the inclusive “Petite Maman Noël” artwork and the renewal of traditional architecture with “La nuit je vois”. Finally, the city of Nantes is great at creating and renewing constantly these itineraries. These guide every kind of people through the discovery of cultural and artistic organizations. I feel like Nantes is a continuous journey that makes us discover new things.
Author and photographer: Lucia Pelos
Sources:
https://metropole.nantes.fr/tout-savoir-sur-le-voyage-en-hiver-2025-et-les-fetes-de-fin-d-annee
https://metropole.nantes.fr/les-sculptures-lumineuses-nantaises-vues-par-leur-createur
https://marche-de-noel-nantes.com
