Rennes France - French Holidays
Brittany: Introduction > Brest > Carnac > Dinan > Dinard > Perros Guirec > Quiberon > Quimper > Rennes > Roscoff > St Malo > St Malo hotels > VannesRennes has been the capital of Brittany since 1532, when the region was finally united with France. It is situated near to the Forêt de Paimpont where King Arthur is said to have received Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake, and just to the east are the fortified towns of Fougères and Vitré, showing how fiercely medieval Brittany defended its independence. Most of the medieval town was destroyed in 1720 when a tipsy carpenter accidently set the whole town alight. In order to outdo Paris in terms of grandeur, Rennes asked Parisian architects to redesign the town after the fire and what is left is a mishmash of 18th-century squares and half-timbered houses in the narrow streets leading off them, which makes the town seem rather disjointed. The north of the town is where you will find the old city, where the prettiest streets are the rue St-Michel and rue St-Georges; the south is very modern in contrast.
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Map of Rennes
Consider these pages for bus (click here) and rail (click here) services in Brittany.
Rennes airport information - http://www.rennes.aeroport.fr/
The stations are both south of River Vilaine, a 20-minute walk from the medieval quarter, but local buses go from place de la République. Rennes has had a metro system since 2002, with useful stops at the gare SNCF, place de la République and place Ste-Anne. A day ticket costs €3, with unlimited journeys, or a single costs €1. If you are planning a longer visit, the week ticket is €8.70. The tourist office is in a defunct church at 11 rue St-Yves (02 99 67 11 11), and they can help you take advantage of the Bon Week-end scheme where you get two nights in a hotel for the price of one.
Rennes does not have many hotels in the old town, so it is best to accept that you are more likely to find accommodation south of the river. One exception is the Au Rocher de Cancale at 10 rue St-Michel (02 99 79 20 83), with dinner menus from €13 and very good rooms from €40-55. There is a logis de France at 3 rue Duhamel, called the Garden Hotel (02 99 65 45 06), near the station with comfortable accommodation for about the same price. For cheaper rooms try the area around the station.
Restaurants in Rennes ' old town are concentrated south of place Ste-Anne, in the rue St-Michel and rue Penhoet, or on the rue St-Georges by the place du Palais. South of town, try rue Vasselot for similar restaurants, or the Centre Colombier mall has lots of snackier outlets. For mussels cooked in an astounding number of ways, try Le Parc à Moules, 8 rue Georges-Dottin (02 99 31 44 28), or for romantic surroundings head to L'Auberge St-Sauveur, 6 rue St-Sauveur (02 99 79 32 56), near the cathedral, which has menus from €18.
France Guide
