Tourist information on Rennes, France

Rennes is a major industrial city in the northwest of France, the administrative and cultural capital of Brittany and the capital of the Ille-et-Vilaine department. Situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ille and Vilaine, it is one of the historical capitals of the Duchy of Brittany, although most of its historic architecture was destroyed in a fire in 1720. Rebuilt in an austere classical style, Rennes lacks some of the charm of Brittany's other old towns but it nonetheless offers some stunning architecture and one the finest art galleries in France. Rennes is not only a thriving industrial centre, but also a hub of culture and education, with students making up a quarter of its population.    

It was in the second century BC that the Redones, an ancient tribe of Gauls, founded Rennes, then named Condate, and made it the capital of their substantial territory in Armorica. Despite putting up fierce resistance against the Romans, Condate eventually came under Roman control and became Condate Riedonum, capital of Civitas Riedonum, in the first century BC. To protect the city from barbarian attack, a defensive wall over a kilometre in length was built around it in the 3rd century AD. Because of its strategic location and fortifications, the city managed to ward off invaders, including the Franks, and it was gradually absorbed into the Duchy of Brittany. In 1491, the Rennais fought a fierce battle against the French army but Brittany was soon after incorporated into France through the marriage of the Duchess Anne of Brittany to King Charles VIII of France. In 1532, Brittany replaced Nantes as the capital of the Duchy of Brittany and became the seat of the Breton Parlement. In 1720, three quarters of Rennes was destroyed in a great fire and the city was thereafter rebuilt in the neo-classical style. The arrival of a railway line galvanised a period of rapid expansion in the latter half of the 19th century. Rennes suffered widespread damage during the Second World War, through allied bombing and the destruction of its bridges by the retreating German armies. Rennes experienced further growth in the 20th century, with its traditional industries such as banking, agriculture and car manufacturing, and new high-tech industries, predominantly telecommunications and information technology.

Although much of Rennes's Medieval and Renaissance architecture was destroyed in the fire of 1720, some of this remains intact, mainly in the small area between the Places des Lices and the city's two rivers. Here, on the rues Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Georges, de Saint-Malo and Saint-Guillaume, the coloured timber-framed houses and narrow streets give a flavour of what the city must have been like in the Middle Ages. Elsewhere, the city is dominated by its imposing yet elegant edifices of the 18th century, and a mix of more recent architectural styles. The city is particularly well endowed with sacred buildings, foremost of which is the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes. One of the grandest of Brittany's cathedrals, this was built between 1756 and 1845, in the prevailing neo-classical style, on the site of an earlier cathedral which had to be demolished. The austerity of the cathedral's exterior makes a stark contrast with its rich interior adornments, the highlight of which is the chancel vault, which is decorated with a painting depicting Christ giving St Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven. The two transepts each possess a sumptuous chapel adorned with some remarkable frescos, but the pièce de résistance is the 16th century Flemish altarpiece, decorated with 80 figures.

There are several other eye-catching churches in the city centre. Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine, a 17th century church of neo-classical design, served as the city's cathedral during the first half of the 19th century whilst the official cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes) was being rebuilt. Nearby is the Basilique Saint-Sauveur de Rennes, striking in its classical simplicity. In the heart of the new town is the Église Saint-Germain, a church of Flamboyant Gothic style built in the 15th and 16th centuries. Its distinguishing feature is its stained glass windows, some of which date from the period when it was built. Église Sainte-Thérèse is an Art-Deco style church built in the 1930s and decorated with mosaics by Isidore Odorico. Badly damaged by fire in 2001, it was restored and reopened in 2004. The former Gothic chapel Hôpital Saint-Yves currently serves as a museum on the history of Rennes and houses the city's tourist information centre.

One of Rennes's most prominent landmarks is the 17th century Palais du parlement de Bretagne, the law courts which gave Rennes its status as the capital of Brittany. This majestic building was designed by Salomon de Brosse, the architect of the Luxembourg Palace in Paris. Although it was spared by the fire of 1720, it was partly destroyed by another fire in 1994 (caused by a flare thrown when a demonstration turned into an angry riot). It was restored at a cost of 53 million euros. The building's grandest room is the Salle des pas-perdus, with its vaulted ceiling lavishly decorated with the arms of France and Brittany. The Portes Mordelaises (Mordelaises Gate) is a two-towered châtelet with a drawbridge which dates from the 15th century and is Rennes's only surviving town gate. Nearby are the sad remains of the city's ancient fortifications. The Halles Martenot, built in the late 19th century by Jean-Baptiste Martenot, is where the lively Marché des Lices takes place every Saturday morning, a great place to buy fresh produce and local delicacies.

Rennes's largest museum is its Musée des beaux-arts (Fine Arts Museum), situated on the Quai Emile Zola, on the south bank of the River Vilaine. This houses a panoply of European art from the 14th to the 20th centuries, comprising paintings, engravings and sculptures,with work by Rubens, Jordaens, Guardi, Boudin, Sisley, Gauguin and Picasso. There is also a wealth of artefacts and objets d'art, from antiquity, the Middle Ages and more recent times. Not far from the Musée des beaux-arts is the Champs Libres, a vast modern cultural centre, a few minutes' walk south of the River Vilaine. This brings together under one roof several educational and cultural spaces, including the Musée de Bretagne (a museum dedicated to the history of Brittany) and l'Espace des Sciences (a science centre with its own planetarium), and the city's main public library. Other interesting museums include: the Musée des Transmissions (Museum of Broadcasting) at Cesson-Sévigné, to the west of Rennes city centre; and Ecomusée du Pays de Rennes (at Bintinais Farm, south of the city), offering a fascinating insight into how life on a Breton farm has changed since the Middle Ages.

Dominating the west side of the city centre is Parc Thabor, Rennes's largest and most beautiful park. Created in the late 1800s, it covers an area of 10 hectares and includes a formal French garden, a rose garden, an orangery, an aviary and a botanical garden with a bewildering variety of plants. Other parks offered by the city are: Parc Oberthür and Parc de Bréquigny. Rennes is proud of its reputation as one of France's leading cultural centres and organises several festivals each year. The best known of these is Les Tombées de la Nuit, a lavish arts festival which offers numerous spectacles and a wide range of musical events, in the first week of July.

The nearest airport to Rennes is Rennes-St. Jacques Airport, about 7 km southwest of the city centre. This is utilised by full service and low cost airlines that offer flights to a limited number of European destinations, including Paris, Lyon, Nice, Bordeaux, Southampton, Birmingham, Manchester, Dublin and Belfast. The city's main train station is Gare de Rennes, which provides a high speed (TGV) rail service to Paris and a standard service to several other French cities, including Nantes, Brest, Quimper and St. Brieuc. Rennes has an excellent public transport system comprising an extensive bus and metro network, centred on the Place de la République in the city centre.