Nantes overflows with shops and boutiques. The principal shopping streets are rue du Calvaire, rue Crébillon, rue Boileau, rue d'Orléans, rue de la Marne, rue de Verdun, and passage Pommeraye. Most of these encompass the shopping districts around place Graslin, place Royale, the château, and the cathedral. One of the prime areas for antiques is around place Aristide-Briand and rue Mercoeur.
Interesting antiques dealers include Ecritoire Antiquités Poidras, 12 rue Jean-Jaurès (tel. 02-40-47-78-18), offering 18th- and 19th-century furniture and decorative pieces such as historic mantels.
For unusual gifts, check out the stores of two master artisans: Maison Devineau, 2 place Ste-Croix (tel. 02-40-47-19-59), which brings the art of waxworking to a new level, "growing" bushels of fruits, flowers, and vegetables from liquid wax; and Georges Gautier, 9 rue de la Fosse (tel. 02-40-48-23-19), a historic boutique established in 1823 with the town's best chocolates.
