The holdings run from Italian primitives through to the present — Georges de La Tour, Ingres, Courbet, Monet, Kandinsky — and it is a much better collection than a city this size would suggest, because Nantes was rich early.
A long reconstruction added a translucent white extension, the Cube, and reopened the original top-lit galleries. The building itself is now half the reason to come.
The contemporary holdings are strong, and the museum stages temporary shows that are usually worth checking before you plan the day.
The top-lit nineteenth-century galleries are the best rooms. Do those first, while you are still looking properly.
Musée d'Arts de Nantes in pictures
