Gay Guide to Nantes
France decriminalized same-sex relations in 1791 and legalized marriage equality in 2013. Nantes, a creative, liveable city on the Loire in western France, has one of the region's most organized and active LGBTQ+ communities.
The scene centers on the medieval Bouffay quarter, a pedestrian maze of narrow streets where much of the city's bar life gathers, and spreads to the elegant Graslin district and the Kervégan riverside.
The mix is broad, from a community institution running for three decades to a long-standing lesbian bar and one of the best clubs in western France.
Nantes's Marche des Fiertés each June draws tens of thousands, one of the largest Prides in provincial France.