The Ville de Nantes-class ships were repeats of the preceding ship of the line Algésiras class and were also designed by naval architect Henri Dupuy de Lôme.

The ships displaced 5,121 tonnes (5,040 long tons) and had a draught of 8.45 metres (27 ft 9 in) at deep load.

On the upper gundeck were twenty-four 30-pounder cannon and ten 223.3 mm (8.8 in) Paixhans guns.

Reactivated under Captain Delangle de Cary in 1862 for the Second French intervention in Mexico, she served for three years before returning to the ordinary.

[2] After the Paris Commune, Ville de Bordeaux was used as a prison hulk in Brest.