Rennes

Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France. Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany, as well as the Ille-et-Vilaine department.

For a city that has been the capital and power centre of Brittany since the 1532 union with France, Rennes is – outwardly at least – uncharacteristic of the province, with its Neoclassical layout and pompous major buildings. What potential it had to be a picturesque tourist spot was destroyed in 1720, when a drunken carpenter managed to set light to virtually the whole city. Only the area known as Les Lices, at the junction of the canalized Ille and the River Vilaine, was undamaged. The remodelling of the rest of the city was handed over to Parisian architects, not in deference to the capital but in an attempt to rival it. The result, on the north side of the river at any rate, is something of a patchwork quilt, consisting of grand eighteenth-century public squares interspersed with intimate little alleys of half-timbered houses. It's quite a pleasant city to stroll around for half a day, but it lacks a cohesive personality.

Main sights

  • Some medieval and Renaissance houses, such as these at Champ-Jacquet, can still be found in the center of Rennes
  • Place des Lices with the roof top of Les Halles Martenot seen in the background
  • Saint-Melaine view from the park of Thabor
  • The Parlement de Bretagne is arguably the most famous 17th century building in Rennes. It was rebuilt after a terrible fire in 1994 caused by a flare launched by a protester during a demonstration. It houses the Rennes Court of Appeals
  • Basilica Saint-Sauveur is also located in the historical center.
  • Les Halles Martenot of the 19th century, built between 1868 and 1871 by Jean-Baptiste Martenot, host the market on Saturday mornings (the third largest market in France)
  • The Mordelaises Gate (Portes Mordelaises), chatelet with two towers and a drawbridge
  • The remaining fortifications of the 3rd century
  • The Jehan Duchesne tower of the 15th century, on rue Nantaise
  • The 15th century ramparts east of the Gallo-Roman fortifications, in place Rallier-du-Baty
  • Rennes Cathedral, Place Saint-Anne, Saint-Aubin Church, Rue Saint-Georges and rue Gambetta, Saint George Palace and its garden, Place de la Mairie, City Hall, Opera, Place du Vau-Saint-Germain, Saint-Germain Church, Place du Champ-Jacquet, Rue du Chapitre
  • The former St. Yves chapel, now the tourism office and a museum about historical Rennes development
  • Location of a former 14th century hospital
  • La rue Saint-Michel nicknamed Rue de La Soif (Road of Thirst) because there are bars all along this street
  • Area from Saint-Melaine to Place Saint-Melaine
  • Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine basilica, tower and transept from the 11th century Benedictine abbey of Saint-Melaine
  • Bell tower topped with a gilded Virgin Mary (19th century)
  • Magnificent park, The Parc Thabor, (formal French garden, orangerie, rose garden, aviary), on 10 hectares of land, built between 1860 and 1867. Contains the Jardin botanique du Thabor, a botanical garden
  • The 17th century promenade "la Motte à Madame", and a monumental stair overlooking the rue de Paris entrance to the Thabor
  • 1920s Saint George Municipal Pool, with mosaics
  • Saint-Germain footbridge, 20th century wood and metal construction to link the plaza with Émile Zola Quay, across the Vilaine River
  • Statue of Leperdit ripping up a conscription list.
  • The Fine Arts Museum is situated on Quai Émile Zola (Émile Zola Quay), by the Vilaine River
  • Les Champs Libres is a building on Esplanade Charles de Gaulle designed by the architect Christian de Portzamparc that houses the Brittany Museum (Musée de Bretagne), regional library Bibliothèque de Rennes Métropole on six levels and a Espace des Sciences science centre with a planetarium
  • To the North-west of Rennes, near rue de Saint-Malo are the locks of the Canal d'Ille-et-Rance of 1843
  • There are two halls of the printer, Oberthür, built by Marthenot between 1870 and 1895 on Rue de Paris in the eastern part of the city. Oberthür Park is the second biggest garden in the city
  • The 17th century manor of Haute-Chalais, a granite chateau, is situated to the south of the city in Blosne Quarter (Bréquigny).