History of Trentemoult, a former fishing village in Rezé

Trentemoult is a former fishing and seafaring village on the left bank of the Loire, in the commune of Rezé, south of Nantes (Loire-Atlantique). Its residents are called Trentemousins. Today you reach it on foot through narrow lanes, by Navibus from Nantes, or by bus. It is not a gated attraction. It is a lived-in neighbourhood, with houses, cats, a marina and café terraces on the quay.

An island among islands

Trentemoult belonged to a former group of islands, the islands of Rezé, held between the Loire to the north and the Seil to the south. Filling in the Seil ended that insularity. From upstream to downstream the islands were the Île des Chevaliers (Haute-Île and Basse-Île), the hamlet of North House, known locally as Norkiouse, then the island of Trentemoult. A small stream, the Courtil-Brisset, cut Trentemoult off from the others. The village held most of the people, so its name was often used for all the islands of Rezé, lived in for centuries by the same families.

The name most likely comes from "trente moux", thirty mounds. That is the form on Cassini's maps in the 18th century. A map of 1778 and the 1827 cadastre write "isle de trentemoux". A legendary alternative ties the name to the Viking siege of Nantes in the 9th century: thirty "moult", thirty brave men, are said to have fought. Nothing makes that story more likely than the mounds.

Fishermen

Until the early 19th century the Trentemousins lived almost entirely by fishing. In 1397 Duke John IV granted a monopoly on seine fishing in the Loire to the people of the islands of Rezé, Bouguenais and Sainte-Croix: Trentemoult was one of them. The Trentemousins sailed barges, flat-bottomed boats: two people for the river, three for the sea. They went as far as La Rochelle and Lorient, and in autumn to the bay of Mesquer for herring. The years 1756 and 1757 are said to have been exceptional for the community.

The fishermen's houses are built for floods. They usually have three levels. The lowest, which floods, is a cellar. People live above it. The attic can open into the neighbour's attic, so visits were possible without a boat when the Loire was high. The stair is often outside, so the living room can be reached even when the ground floor is under water. A hook on the roof was used to hoist furniture. Those tall, tight houses still shape the lanes.

The quays later reduced the floods: quai Surcouf from 1850, quai Marcel-Boissard between 1860 and 1888. The last great floods still remembered are those of 1910 and 1935.

Captains and Cape Horners

In the 19th century the sailors slowly left fishing for trade: first coastal shipping, then deep-sea voyages. For the whole century Trentemoult was one of the main sources of merchant officers for the port of Nantes. Among them were Julien Chauvelon, who commanded the Belem for thirteen years, and Georges Aubin, who wrote travel accounts.

Shipyards grew up in the islands to serve these captains, first in Trentemoult, then at Norkiouse when space ran out. Chauvelon and Lemerle are named in the first half of the century, Boju, Clergeau and Tillé in the second. At the peak, brigs and three-masters left the slipways.

In the second half of the 19th century, captains, including Cape Horners (sailors who had rounded Cape Horn), found the fishermen's houses too small. West of the old village they built bourgeois houses and pleasure gardens planted with exotic species brought back from their voyages. The palms are often said to be that souvenir. Their names remain in the street names.

Roquios, decline, the ferry returns

By the late 19th century people from Nantes had taken to coming over. The roquio line, opened in 1887, carried them to the regattas, the bathing and the guinguettes. These steam boats, close to a vaporetto, also took Trentemousins to work in the Nantes shipyards. At the same time the resident population had become mostly working-class.

In 1946 Trentemoult was judged unsanitary. In 1970 the roquio line stopped. In 1979 a marina brought the place back to life. In 1990 Jean-Loup Hubert filmed *La Reine blanche* here, with Catherine Deneuve. In 2005 Claude Chabrol filmed *La Demoiselle d'honneur* here, and the river link with Nantes returned as the Navibus.

Since 12 November 2025 the ferries no longer leave from the Roquios pontoon on quai Marcel-Boissard, which is closed to the public, but from the Trentemoult-Sablières pier, about 500 metres further west. Line N1 reaches Gare Maritime in about eight minutes. Line N2 goes on to Bas-Chantenay and the Hangar à Bananes. Times are on the "Getting here" page.

Colourful houses

The bright façades in today's photographs are not how the fishermen's houses originally looked. This site's Découvrir page, drawing on Rezé Mensuel and the Rezé municipal archives, dates them to the 1990s. Loire-Atlantique Tourisme describes an older and narrower habit: fishermen painted the shutters with leftover boat paint, and the walls were supposed to stay light. Residents, encouraged by the town hall, later coloured the walls. Place Talva, the Grand Rue and the lanes around them (rue Félix-Contant among others) hold most of this colour. The village is still lived in: courtyards and gardens are not a set.

Today

The visit is on foot. The City of Rezé's guide says it plainly: the maze of lanes is not meant for cars. There is parking at the entrances, and a park-and-ride beside the Trentemoult-Sablières pier. On Saturdays, from 8:30 to 13:00, a market of organic producers and shopkeepers is held at the port park-and-ride on quai Robert-Surcouf.

Around the harbour, restaurants and cafés open onto the Loire. A little further on, on a former concrete plant, Roman Signer's *Pendule*, a work from the Estuaire 2009 trail, stands as a large pendulum. Artists' studios are in the village and at the Hangar du Pendule. The Chronographe and Le Corbusier's Cité radieuse are in Rezé, not in these lanes: they are other visits, and they are not Trentemoult.

Trentemoult is a neighbourhood of Rezé, not a commune of its own. To get here, to eat, to see the artists or to follow the diary, each page of this site answers one of those questions.

## Sources

- Wikipedia, "Trentemoult" (fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trentemoult): islands and the Seil, the name, the 1397 privilege, barges, captains, Chauvelon and the Belem, shipyards, quays and the floods of 1910 and 1935, roquios in 1887, closure in 1970, marina in 1979, *La Reine blanche* (1990), *La Demoiselle d'honneur* (2005), Navibus in 2005, house layout. The article itself flags that some passages need tighter citations. - Ville de Rezé, visit guide, patrimoine-archives.reze.fr ("Venir à Trentemoult"): walking, parking at the east, west and south entrances, Cape Horner houses to the west, roquios, Navibus since 2005. - Ville de Rezé, "Navibus : un nouvel embarcadère, deux destinations" (reze.fr): Trentemoult-Sablières pier from 12 November 2025, about 500 m west of the Roquios pontoon, lines N1 and N2. - Naolib, Navibus page (naolib.fr): N1 Gare Maritime ↔ Trentemoult-Sablières, about 8 minutes, about every 12 minutes on weekdays, daily except 1 May; N2 via Bas-Chantenay to the Hangar à Bananes, about 12 minutes; buses 30 and 36 at Sablières. - Loire-Atlantique Tourisme: shutters painted with leftover boat paint; façades coloured later, encouraged by the town hall. The same article says the weekend crossing is free. Link to Naolib rather than hard-coding the fare. - This site's live Découvrir page, citing Rezé Mensuel and the Rezé municipal archives: bright façades from the 1990s. - Ville de Rezé, "Les marchés alimentaires": Saturday market at Trentemoult, 8:30–13:00, port park-and-ride, quai Robert-Surcouf, organic producers and shopkeepers. - Routard.com, Trentemoult guide: Roman Signer's *Pendule* (Estuaire), a large pendulum about 7 m high on a former concrete plant; palms in the captains' gardens.

Is Trentemoult in Nantes or in Rezé?

Trentemoult is a former village, now a neighbourhood of Rezé (44400), on the left bank of the Loire, south of Nantes. It is not a commune of its own. Residents are called Trentemousins.

How do you get to Trentemoult?

From Nantes the simplest way is the Navibus, from Gare Maritime (tram line 1). Since 12 November 2025 you land at the Trentemoult-Sablières pier, not the old Roquios pontoon. You can also come by bus (lines 30 and 36), by bike, or by car as far as the car parks at the village entrances. Inside the lanes, you walk.

Where do you catch the Navibus to Trentemoult, and how long is the crossing?

Line N1 runs Gare Maritime ↔ Trentemoult-Sablières, about 8 minutes, about every 12 minutes on weekdays, daily except 1 May. Line N2 runs Hangar à Bananes ↔ Bas-Chantenay ↔ Trentemoult-Sablières, about 12 minutes to the Hangar. Naolib tickets are valid. Loire-Atlantique Tourisme says the weekend crossing is free; fares can change, so link to naolib.fr. The old Trentemoult-Roquios pontoon on quai Marcel-Boissard has been closed to the public since 12 November 2025.

Where do you park in Trentemoult?

The City of Rezé's visit guide lists car parks at the east, west and south entrances, and says the lanes are not suitable for cars. A park-and-ride sits by the new Trentemoult-Sablières pier. On Saturday morning the port park-and-ride on quai Robert-Surcouf hosts the market, so it fills up then.

Is there a market in Trentemoult?

Yes. The City of Rezé lists a Saturday market in Trentemoult, from 8:30 to 13:00, at the port park-and-ride on quai Robert-Surcouf: organic food producers and shopkeepers. Rezé's markets also run on public holidays, except Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

Why are the houses in Trentemoult colourful?

The bright façades are not the original look. Rezé Mensuel and the Rezé municipal archives date them to the 1990s. Loire-Atlantique Tourisme describes an older habit: fishermen painted the shutters with leftover boat paint, and the walls stayed light. Residents later painted the façades, encouraged by the town hall.

Who were the Cape Horners of Trentemoult?

In the 19th century Trentemoult supplied many merchant officers to the port of Nantes. Cape Horners were those who had sailed round Cape Horn. In the second half of the century they built bourgeois houses west of the old village, with gardens of exotic plants brought back from their voyages. Julien Chauvelon, a Trentemoult captain, commanded the Belem for thirteen years.

What is there to do in Trentemoult?

Walk the lanes and the quays, look at the harbour, stop at a terrace, come on Saturday morning for the market, and go on to Roman Signer's Pendule (Estuaire 2009), on a former concrete plant. Plan a walk, not a drive. The Chronographe and the Cité radieuse are in Rezé, outside the old village.