Rennes is a city in the east of Brittany in northwestern France at the confluence of the Ille and the Vilaine. The inhabitants of Rennes are called Rennais(e)(es) in French.
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Region | Brittany |
| Department | Ille-et-Vilaine |
| Arrondissement | Rennes |
| Canton | Rennes-1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 |
| Government | |
| Mayor (2020–2026) | Nathalie Appéré |
| Area | 50.39 km2 (19.46 sq mi) |
| Population (2017-01-01) | 216,815 |
| Density | 4,300/km2 (11,000/sq mi) |
| Metro | 727,357 |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
It is now a significant digital innovation centre in France. In 2002, Rennes became the smallest city in the world to have a Metro line.
Labeled a city of art and history, it has preserved an important medieval and classical heritage within its historic center with over 90 buildings protected as historic monuments. With more than 66,000 students in 2016, it is also the eighth-largest university campus of France. In 2018, L’Express named Rennes as “the most liveable city in France”.
Geography
The ancient centre of the town is built on a hill, with the north side being more elevated than the south side. It is at the confluence of two rivers: the Ille and the Vilaine.
Rennes has the distinction of having a significant Green Belt around its ring road. This Green Belt is a protected area between the city proper (rather dense) and the rest of its urban area (rather rural).
Sights
Rennes is classified as a city of art and history.
Historic centre
The historic centre is located on the former plan of the ramparts. There is a difference between the northern city centre and the southern city centre due to the 1720 fire, which destroyed most of the timber-framed houses in the northern part of the city. The rebuilding was done in stone, on a grid plan. The southern part, the poorest at this time, was not rebuilt.
Colourful traditional half-timbered houses are situated primarily along the roads of Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Georges, de Saint-Malo, Saint-Guillaume, des Dames, du Chapitre, Vasselot.
The Parlement de Bretagne and city hall area
The Parlement de Bretagne (Administrative and judicial centre of Brittany, Breton: Breujoù Breizh) is the most famous 17th century building in Rennes. It was rebuilt after a terrible fire in 1994 that may have been caused by a flare fired by a protester during a demonstration. It houses the Rennes Court of Appeal. The plaza around is built on the classical architecture.
On the west, the Place de la Mairie (City Hall Plaza, Plasenn Ti Kêr):
- City Hall
- Opera
On the east, at the end of the Rue Saint-Georges with traditional half-timbered houses:
- 1920s Saint George Municipal Pool, with mosaics
- Saint George Palace, and its garden
South of the Vilaine
The Fine Arts Museum is situated on Quai Émile Zola, by the Vilaine River.
Les Champs Libres is a building on Esplanade Charles de Gaulle. It houses the Brittany Museum (Musée de Bretagne), the regional library Bibliothèque de Rennes Métropole with six floors, and the Espace des Sciences science centre with a planetarium..
At Place Honoré Commeurec is Les Halles Centrales, a covered market from 1922, with one part converted into contemporary art gallery.
There are large mills at Rue Duhamel, constructed on each side of the south branch of the Vilaine in 1895 and 1902.
Parks and gardens
Parc du Thabor contains a compact but significant botanical garden, the Jardin botanique du Thabor. The University of Rennes 1, with a campus in the city’s eastern section, also contains a botanical garden and collections (the Jardin botanique de l’Université de Rennes).
Economy
Local economy include car manufacturing, telecommunications, digital sector and agrofood.
Rennes is the 2nd concentration of digital and ITC firms in France after Paris (with well-known companies and startups like Atos, Google, Neosoft, Orange S.A., Thales, Ericsson, Harmonic France, STmicroelectronics). It is also the third innovation potential in agrofood French industry with many firms in this field (Lactalis, Triballat Sojasun, Coralis, Panavi, Bridor).
Other large firms located in Rennes include the restaurant conglomerate Groupe Le Duff , the first French newspaper Ouest France (800,000 daily copies) and Samsic Service (cleanliness, industrial safety, job search, etc.).
Culture
A festival by night at Thabor ParkCultural plaza with cinema, Brittany museum, library, science space, planetarium, youth house, shopping centres or concert and exhibition hallsBrittany FRAC (Regional Fund for Contemporary Art)
Rennes is known to be one of the most festive cities of France. It invests heavily in arts and culture and a number of its festivals (such as the music festival Les Transmusicales, Les Tombées de la Nuit, Mythos, Stunfest (fighting game competition) and Travelling (a cinematic festival)) are well known throughout France.
Museums and exhibition places
There are also five museums in Rennes:
- Musée des Beaux Arts (Museum of Fine Arts of Rennes)
- Musée de Bretagne (Museum of Brittany)
- Museum of Farming and Rennes Countryside
- Musée des Transmissions (Museum of Broadcasting)
Local culture
Local languages
In Brittany, two regional languages are spoken: Breton and Gallo. In and around Rennes, Gallo was traditionally spoken as a local language, but Breton has always been spoken by regional migrants coming from the western part of the region.
Local food
Specialties from Rennes include:
- Breton galette
- Galette-saucisse
- Crêpe
- Cider
Many other Breton specialties (seafood, milk, vegetables, cheese, meat) are seen at the Marché des Lices, a weekly market held every Saturday morning (one of the most important markets in France).
Sport
Football club
- Football club
- Handball
- Road bicycle
- Rugby
Transport
Rennes has well-developed national road, rail and air links.
- Public transport, local transport is based primarily on an extensive bus network (65 lines) and a light metro
- Cycling, Rennes provides other modes of local transport: a bike sharing system with 900 bicycles
- Roads, the city is an important hub of Brittany’s motorway network and is surrounded by a ring road: the Rocade (national road 136). Many other expressways are connected to the Rennes ring road for local and regional service.
- Railway, Rennes has a major French railway station, the Gare de Rennes. Train service is available to other big cities in France such as Lyon, Marseille, Lille and Strasbourg.
- Airport, Rennes is served by Rennes Brittany Airport (Saint-Jacques), located 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) from the centre to the south-west in the commune Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande.
