The Ville de Nantes class consisted of three second-rank, 90-gun, steam-powered ships of the line built for the French Navy in the 1850s.

Most of the ships participated in the Second French intervention in Mexico in the 1860s and spent extensive amounts of time in reserve.

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.

The guns were distributed between the upper and lower gundecks and the quarterdeck and forecastle.