10 Essentials: what to see and do in Rennes (France) in 1 day

I was traveling to Rennes with the expectation of seeing the typical medieval houses with wooden facades that characterize the region of Brittany, West of France.

I was able to see good examples of them on a trip made some time ago to Quimper.

But what was my surprise that when I arrived at the capital of brittany I found a city with corners that took me to Paris o Bordeaux, with a classic architecture totally different from my expectations.

In front of the image of a historic center with pedestrian streets and medieval houses, I saw a city with large squares and monumental buildings of classical style, a wide avenue, many buses and great commercial activity.

Rennes It is a city of about 150.000 inhabitants, smaller than the nearby one. Nantes, which at first impression seemed much larger than it actually is; but that had an explanation.

At the time I toured the city, I confirmed that there is indeed a historical Center and you will see many medieval houses, some of them forming beautiful architectural groups,

Curiosidades de la historia de Rennes, capital de Bretaña

In fact I can tell you that at visit Rennes You will find three different aspects from an architectural point of view.

On the one hand, said historical Center, which is the area of ​​the city that tourists mainly visit.

On the other hand, the administrative and commercial area, the heart of the city and the result of the reconstruction that had to be done there after a big fire occurred in the year 1720.

In this fire, 9.000 people were left homeless and more than 900 of the typical wooden houses were lost.

It is in that area where the city was rebuilt with French classical style stone buildings, built by the same architect who built the classic area of ​​the Stock Exchange in Bordeaux.

And thirdly, the most modern city, with expansion areas such as François Mitterrand Mall where you can see buildings of contemporary architecture even from the studio of the famous French architect Jean Nouvel.

From a historical point of view, Rennes It was a Roman city with a small wall that was preserved until the 15th century, with two subsequent extensions that were carried out during the Middle Ages.

A good example of its heritage character is that the Rennes Tourist Office It is located in the building of what was the chapel of a 15th century hospital.

After French Revolution This chapel was occupied by a shop, and in 1980 it was acquired by the city council to enable an exhibition of the city, and then it became part of the aforementioned tourist office.

What to see and do on the Rennes sightseeing tour

In your walk through the historic center of Rennes You will see several groups of houses from the 15th to 17th centuries whose inner courtyards are worth entering, which can only be done during guided tours of the city.

They are houses with a medieval structure that you can see better by accessing the patios, with decoration from the period of the Renacimiento which includes figurative statues and paintings on some facades.

St. Michael Street in Rennes

The main axis of the historic center are the St. Michael's Square and San Miguel street, the latter popularly known as the Thirst Street, and located near the great Lices Market.

This area is located in what was the outer part of the old wall, and along narrow pedestrian streets there are bars and restaurants in open spaces on the ground floor of the wooden houses, with terraces in front of them.

It is the area that students usually frequent, because you should know that Rennes It is a city of university character, with a community of students that in winter represents 20 percent of the total population.

In this area of ​​great atmosphere, the site of the old San Michel Prison, from 1455, in whose interior patio the rooms of the old cells are now occupied by bars and the most popular nightclub in Rennes, Delicatessen.

On your walk through this area of ​​the historic center, in the Lices squareIn front of the aforementioned market, a pair of tall wooden houses from the 17th century with central stairs will catch your attention, in which powerful people of the time, such as politicians or judges, resided.

You can also see another set of tall houses from the same century in the Chamo Jaquet Square, with facades with a curiously large difference in level, but without a central staircase.

Rennes Cathedral

When you go to visit the Rennes cathedral You will be surprised, as it is not the characteristic Gothic building common in most French cathedrals.

Initially there was a Gothic cathedral XII and XIII, but the façade collapsed and then had to be rebuilt, so that its lower part of Renaissance style and classic style top.

For its part, the interior of the cathedral was also rebuilt in the second half of the 19th century in the neoclassical style.

Now, the archbishop of the time wanted to give this interior another decorative style, which led to the granite columns being covered with stucco to emulate marble, and a neo-Byzantine decoration was also incorporated.

Jacobin Convent in Rennes

At the end of San Miguel street, In the Santa Ana Square, is the old Convent of the Jacobins, which was recently completely remodeled to turn it into a large event space.

In this room exhibitions are presented such as what you can see during this summer, the Pinault Collection from the French collector of French art François Pinault, one of the most important collectors in the world, which is open until September 8.

His collection, which is usually displayed in the Palazzo Graci in Venice, incorporates works of notable social denunciation, among which some hyper-realistic sculptures will catch your attention, such as that of the child praying on his knees whose face is that of Hitler.

In the aforementioned Santa Ana Square You will also see a neo-Gothic style church, whose construction began during the 19th century with the aim of welcoming pilgrims, but in the end it was too big a project and the building is unfinished.

Rennes shopping area

Beyond the historic center, the commercial axis of Rennes is Le Bastard street, where you will see a great atmosphere of shops very busy with people.

It should be noted that in Rennes The stores have opening hours from 10 a.m. to 19 p.m., longer than usual in most French cities.

Rennes Town Hall Square

This street crosses the Town Hall Square and Republic Square, the two large urban spaces of the neoclassical Rennes.

The building of the Rennes Town Hall It dates back to 1730, and is classical in style with elements of baroque decoration.

The building is configured in three parts, with a central tower in a space where even the French Revolution There was a statue of King Louis XV, and two side areas, one of which was the town hall, and the other, the Courthouse.

In front of the town hall building is the building of the Opera.

Parliament of Brittany in Rennes

In a large adjacent plaza is the building of the Parliament of Brittany, one of the most outstanding monuments of Rennes, and which you can visit.

Built in 1620, it was saved from the great fire of the city and is now the central axis of the Royal Square who built Jean Gabriel with a great aesthetic unity of French style buildings.

In February 1994, the building suffered a fire that affected the upper parts of it, so they had to be rehabilitated, especially the paintings on the ceilings that were affected by the water from the firefighters.

Lices Market in Rennes

If your visit Rennes coincides with a Saturday morning, it is very worth visiting the aforementioned Lices Market, the second largest food store in France after Lille.

Apart from the closed market area that opens every day, on the aforementioned Saturday mornings this food market extends around the historic site.

It has two buildings in the metallic architectural style built at the beginning of the 20th century, so fashionable at that time.

If you reach it by St. Michael's Street You will see that the busy bar terraces give way to the flower market stalls.

The main characteristic of this food market is the large presence of small producers who directly sell what they produce in their gardens and farms, highlighting the area for the sale of organic vegetables and fruits.

At the fish and seafood stalls you can see large crabs weighing up to two kilos caught on the nearby coast of Sant Malo, and you can also buy a wide variety of ciders.

Did you know that up to 2.000 different varieties of apples are grown in Brittany?

In the market you find a farmer who managed to save the CouCou native hen, with a white body with black spots, which was disappearing and now there are several farms that breed them, taking care not to mix the breed.

You can taste and buy the butter cake type Breton Konign, and don't be surprised to see some stalls selling oriental sweets, an expression of the country's multiculturalism.

Contrary to what is usual in France, Brittany is not a region with a great cheese tradition, although in the market you can see a small Breton producer who offers you various own preparations, including a white cheese whose strong flavor reminds you of Cabrales of Asturias.

Qué comer en Rennes: productos típicos de Bretaña

With regard to the gastronomy I remind you that Rennes is in Brittany and typical restaurants there are creperie where they are offered cookies with various preparations and where the typical thing is to drink cider.

In this regard, you should know that in Rennes and the rest of the Breton region the priority drink is beer, but local cider and wine are also consumed to a lesser extent than in the rest of the country.