Rennes is the chief city of Brittany in northwest France. It's mostly modern and industrial, but has many grand 18th and 19th century buildings, and survivors of earlier times. It's also well-endowed with cultural attractions. In 2020 the city population was 222,485, with about 150,000 more living in the wider metropolis.
Rennes has long been one of the main towns of Brittany, but until 1806 it was overshadowed by the capital and Atlantic port Nantes. Then under Napoleon I Bonaparte, Nantes lost that role and indeed was removed from Brittany, so Rennes came to the fore. Its small river Vilaine was canalised and made navigable, and connected to other towns, so freight and industry were boosted even before the arrival of the railway. Its higgledy-piggledy medieval streets and half-timbered houses were mostly lost to a great fire in 1720, and replaced by stately stone mansions on a grid pattern, though the area east of the cathedral retains some of its older style.
Walking is always first choice in the compact city centre. Star is the city transport system, with 50 bus lines and two Metro (VAL and Neo VAL) lines. The hub for these is the mainline railway and intercity bus station Gares. The principal routes run 05:30 to 00:30. The metro lines run an extra hour longer until almost 02:00 on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings. In 2023 a single ticket is €1.50, valid for one hour and unlimited transfers. A one day pass is €4.20, three days is €11.70 and seven is €18.35.
Musée de Bretagne, 10 Cours des Alliés (within Les Champs Libre just north of station), ☏ +33 2 2340 6600. Tu-F 12:00-19:00, Sa Su 14:00-19:00 (and slightly longer hours during school breaks). Large museum of Breton culture, in its present futuristic building since 2006. There's also material from the infamous trial of Alfred Dreyfus, held in the nearby Lycée in 1899. Free entry (permanent exposition), 4€/2€ (temporary expositions). (updated Mar 2024) Espace des Sciences is also within Les Champs Libre, same hours. The planetarium is €7, exhibitions €7, "Merlins lab" €5, and the combi ticket valid for a year is €19. 1 Cathedral Saint-Pierre, Rue de la Monnaie, ☏ +33 2 9978 4880.
Théâtre National de Bretagne is at 1 Rue Saint-Hélier, 500 m north of the railway station. Opera de Rennes is on Place de la Mairie just south of Parliament. Cinemas in city centre are Cinéma Arvor south side of the railway station, and Pathé Rennes by Charles de Gaulle metro station. 1 Le Blizz, 8 Ave des Gayeulles (Bus C3 to Parc des Gayeulles), ☏ +33 2 9936 2810. An ice rink with public and sport skating, lessons and skate hire. (updated Jun 2023) Football: 2 Stade Rennais FC, Roazhon Park, Rue de Lorient, ☏ +33 2 9914 3580. They play soccer in Ligue 1, the French top tier, and often qualify for European tournaments.
Galette-saucisse je t'aime, J'en mangerai des kilos! Dans toute l'Ille-et-Vilaine, Avec du lait ribot ! - sung by the fans of Stade Rennais FC Galettes are Breton salted crêpes made with buckwheat flour, and galettes-saucisses are roasted pork sausage wrapped in a galette. Lait ribot is half-fermented milk, sometimes served with boiled chestnuts. 1 La Criée Marché Central is a large fresh-food market hall, north side of Blvd de la Liberté. It's open M-Th 09:00-14:00, 15:30-19:00, F Sa 09:00-19:00, Su 09:00-13:00. There are places within to sit down and eat.
Most bars close midnight to 01:00; late bars to 03:00 include Contrescarpe, La Place and Café Cactus. L'Heure du Jeu, 11 Boulevard Magenta (200 m north of railway station), ☏ +33 2 9931 4348. M-W 17:00-23:30, Th-F 17:00-00:30, Sa 14:00-00:30. L'heure du jeu means "play time" and they have over 1000 board and card games. There's another branch in Anatole France district to the northwest. (updated Jun 2023) Haricot Rouge, 10 Rue Baudrairie (50 m north of Place de la République), ☏ +33 2 9979 3623. Tu F Sa 11:00-20:30, W Th 11:00-00:00. Relaxing cafe-bar with hot chocolate and board games. (updated Jun 2023) O'Connell's, 6 Place du Parlement, ☏ +33 2 9979 3876.
Standard advice over care of valuables, traffic, and staying clear of unruly drunks.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
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In Sep, Rennes typically sees ~20°C daytime highs and 10 rainy days.
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