Rennes is a city in the west of France. It’s the capital of both Bretagne region and  Ille et Vilaine department. It only takes two hours by TGV (Train de Grand Vitesse) to reach this city from Paris. Or you can go by plane. The highway in the entire Bretagne is free of charge, if you go by car.

Tourists from Paris usually uses Rennes as a transit before they visit two famous places, Saint Malo and Mont Saint Michel. Nevertheless, Rennes has other unique places too.

People from Bretagne are called the Breton. They have their own language that is called Breton. Sometimes it's used in the local television program. The language uses Latin alphabet. People of Rennes are called the Rennais.

Rennes’ climate is effected by the oceans around Bretagne. On the north is the English Channel  and on the west is the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, the temperature in the summer is not too hot because the wind brings the rain. It rarely snows in winter.

THE WOODEN HOUSES

Breton people used to live in wooden houses called the Breton house. These houses are now used as cafes or shops in the old city of Rennes. Places des Lices is the perfect  place to look these wooden houses. It’s the city center, and there’s a unique market every Saturday morning. On the way to Rennes, there are also lots of wooden houses.

The fire in December 1720, destroyed a large part of the houses. JA Gabriel, the chief architect of Rennes construction, who was also the chief architect of Louise XV, changed the house’s material from wood to stone. Now at the ancient city of Rennes, wooden houses stand together along with the 18^th century stone houses.

THE STONE BUILDINGS, THE SQUARE AND THE GARDEN

In the city centre, there is a canal that is used for water circulation. Generally, the city center is divided into 2 parts; the southern and the northern. Boats can’t pass by at the canal in the center of the city, however, small cruise ships sometimes pass by or dock at the canal.

Both the southern and northern parts of the city center have their own stone buildings and history. If we start our journey from Place de Lices that is at the north of the city center and dominated by wooden buildings, we will find Porte Mordelais (porte = gate) which is near Place Lices. It is located in a hidden corridor behind the new and modern buildings. It was built around 1440 years ago and used to be the main enterance to the city. The gate doesn’t seem to be well taken care of right now. However, looking at the stones, we  still get the impression that they used to be the ancient city gate. There were chains on the right and left of the door, which was used for opening and closing it. It feels like we were in the Middle Age.

On the other side of the corridor, there is the St; Pierre cathedral, which was built around 1700 in Gothic architecture. It has grey walls and two hexagonal towers. This cathedral can be entered only from 9.30 to 12.00 am and from 3.00 to 6.00 pm. It is closed on Sunday afternoons and on Mondays in July-August. The tower can be seen clearly from Place des Lices, Taking a picture of the Saturday market with the cathedral as a background would be a great memory one can take from Rennes.

Not far from this cathedral is the Saint Sauver basilica which was built in the 18^th century in Roman architecture. Because it’s near the cathedral, it’s hard to tell the difference. In fact, these buildings are separated only by a corridor where we can find a lot of Breton wooden houses that are used either as residence, cafes or shops. The corridor was made of ancient paving stones.

It is easy to reach the tourism office from the St. Sauver basilica. This office occupied a room of an ancient Renaissance building. The building, which was built in the 15^th century, used to be a chapel. The location is hidden from the main road. Tourists are able to find various information here, such as brochures or cultural programs.

Still on the north of the canal, there is a place called Place de la Maire, which is made of paving stones. Using the compass, on the west is the Rennes Opera House, which was built in 1890. On the west is Hotel de Ville that is used as the office of the city government. About 30 meters west of Place del la Maire there is a smaller square called Place de Parlement de Bretagne, where people used to gather. This square is built in 1600 and the gravels used as cover square. In some side of this square, there are several little flower gardens.  Parliament de Bretagne building is just in north of the square.

Another unique building is St. Aubin church, which was designed in gothic architecture, and located on Saint Anne square. Above the main door, there are reliefs that can be seen very clearly. The church can be entered every time. Around it there are many wooden Breton houses. Architecture lovers might be interested in seeing the old Rennes theatre building.  Until now, this building is still used as performing arts centre.

To make it more interesting, see also Jardin Thabor (jardin=garden) which is the Rennes botanical garden. To go there, it’s better to take rue (street) Saint Melanie. The unique green dome of Notre Dame church can be seen very clearly from here. On the contrary, when we are near this church, it seems to be less taken care of than other Rennes churches. The gate to the garden is just next to this church.

There are many kinds of flowers and plants in this garden. The parks are arranged on multi storied following the earth contour. Inside there are the bird cages, a playground, some statues made by French artists, and a rose park.  In the main park, there is a small hut, a water fountain, some statues, and Renaissance buildings. 

The tourism office said that Thabor Park was the most beautiful public park in France.  In June, roses will bloom. In the summer, colourful flowers are planted in a certain way that makes a beautiful combination. From August to September, the garden is dominated by dahlias. In autumn, chrysanthemum flowers are planted in a way that makes them look like a carpet. From winter until the beginning of spring, camellias and biannual plants dominate the main garden. Oaks and pine trees are also planted every year.

From Thabor, continue the trip to the south. Before the Rennes cannal, we will find Palais Saint Geogre (Palais = palace). This building was built in the 17^th century. In daytime especially in the summer, its garden looks very beautiful and bright with colourful flowers.  At night, colorful lamps light the building. The Pompier (firefighters) uses the back of this building as one of their headquarters.

Before continuing to the south of the canal, stop by the Saint Germain Church, which had begun to be built in the 1450s in Gothic architecture. It took a century to finish this church. Unlike most of the church walls in Rennes, which seem to be covered by cement, this one seems to be made of square chunk stones.

The Rennes canal is located about 40 m in front of Saint Germain’s main gate. By crossing the canal, we will reach the south of the city center.  For those who are interested in history, visit Musée de Bretagne (the Brittany museum) which is located on the main road. The collections are things connected to Rennes and Bretagne.The tourism office said that the museum had been moved to another location called Les Champs Libres, and reopened at the end of 2005.To get a glimpse of Rennes architecture, go to the Saint-Yves room, which holds a regular exposition called ‘Ville d’art et d’histiore’. (The city of art and history). 

A little bit behind the museum is Touissaints chruch. This chruch was built in 1624-1651 in Roman architecture. Another fancy building on the south of the Rennes Canal is Palais du Commerce, (palais=palace, commerce=trade). which was built in 1886. It is now an important building because many bus stations are located around it. The ground floor is used as a post office, a telecommunication office and a restaurant. The underground floor is used as subway/metro station.

With so many antique buildings, whether they are made of wood or stones, it is no wonder that Rennes has the nickname Ville d'art et d'histoire (The City of Art and History).  

TOUR in HOTEL de VILLE dan PARLEMENT de BRETAGNE BUILDING

Rennes can be visited anytime. In the summer, there’s a free tour to Hotel de Ville. The tour announcement can be found in the city tourism office and some public notice boards. Usually, this building is used as government office. It’s opened for visitors only in summer from 15^th July to 15^th  August since it’s a holiday time for most of the hotel’s employees.

Usually, the tour participants will meet at the front of the south door of the building. At the beginning, the guide will explain about Hotel de Ville, also history of Rennes and Bretagne for about 15 to 20 minutes. While giving the information, he will also show some maps, ancient photographs, and newspaper articles. At the beginning, he talks about how JA Gabriel (the chef architect of Rennes construction and Louise XV) changed Rennes house’s materials from wood to stone, after the fire in December 1720 destroyed most of Rennes wooden houses.

The guide also talked about flood problems and the making of Rennes canal, which divided the city into two parts, the south and the north.  Flood often happens on the southern part, that’s why a canal is built to control water debt, so it doesn’t flow residence areas. .  

JA Gabriel was the chief the architect who built Hotel de Ville in 1734-1762. The building is symmetry of two buildings, here in between there is a tower with a chimney and a clock. This clock will be struck every one hour. In centre of the building, there’s a cavity where there used to be a statue. Because it was blown up by strangers several times, there’s only the Brittany flag there now. In front of the hotel, there is an Opera House in Neo Palladian style.

After telling the history, the guide leads the tourists to enter the hotel from the north door. The first to see is a room where there are names of Rennes’s heroes who died in wars such as World War I, II and the war in Africa engraved on the walls. This room is a bit moist and dark.

Next, the tourists go up to the second floor to see a corridor and a hall which are designed in 1700s architecture. It is painted in gold, combined with light yellow. There are some big paintings, including of those people who built Rennes. The wall is decorated by some carpet-like ornaments. People are allowed to take pictures in the room used as an auditorium. Sometimes guide will open the curtain to show the symmetric between Hotel de Ville and the Rennes Opera building.

The tour lasts for almost an hour, and ends on the southern door on the ground floor. 

Visit also Parlement de Bretagne building which is always open. Sign up in the tourism office beforehand. In the summer time, the visitors can enter by paying €3,05-6,10  for the ticket. This building was built in 1618-1655. Although it was burned down in 1994, most of the renovation was finished in 1999. The interior is dominated by gold and red. Most of the room looks like a court or a meeting room. There are many paintings on the walls and the ceilings. In some rooms, renovation is still in process. The last room of tourism route is the special room that has a big TV that presents the fire in 1994 and renovating process of Parlement de Bretagne building. The last room is a special room where visitors can watch a video of the 1994 fire and the renovation process.

INNS

It is easy to look for a place to stay in Rennes. There are a lot of four star hotels and lower. The price is varied from 20-40 € for first class to 116-165 € for fourth class. For more information, ask the local tourism office about the hotels, location, and tariff per night.

Most of the hotels are located on the south of the city center. The buildings are made of stones in Renaissance of modern architecture. To taste the local life, stay in some wooden houses that have been modified into inns, like Des Lices hotel in Place Lices. On the front yard, which is made of paving stones, there’s a unique market every Saturday, while at night, there are tent cafes.

SOUVENIRS FROM RENNES

There are some stores which sell souvenirs located in Place de Parlement and Place de la Mairie. There are many kinds of them; postcards, key chains, silver ornaments, cookies, and salt. The souvenirs reflect the beach and ocean life, such as sweaters-shirts, and watches picturing sailor’s life.

For food lovers, try eating Brittany’s special crepes in one of the traditional wooden houses, like the one in Place de Saint Anne. Special drinks this area include Breton beer and cidre (low alcoholic drink from apple juice fermentation).

The Saturday morning market of Place Lices is also a good place to buy souvenirs..   Vegetables, fruits, flowers, meat, cheese, and seafood are sold. Home industry products can also be great souvenirs from Rennes.

With so many tourism objects not far from each other, Rennes is the perfect place to spend your holiday or weekend. These will give tourists more knowledge and leave ever lasting memories. (Luth)

Language Editor : Alda Agustine

Published by FEMINA magazine no. 48. December 2007

A JOURNEY IN THE CITY OF ART AND HISTORY, RENNES (Anglais, Indonési...