Cathedrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes
The Cathedrale Saint-Pierre is the seat of the Archdiocese of Rennes and the main religious monument in Brittany's capital.
Park in Rennes
Parc du Thabor
FreeCosts nothing to visit.
The Parc du Thabor is one of the finest urban parks in western France, and in Rennes it is the best free afternoon in the city. The roughly 10-hectare grounds fold several gardens into one: a formal French garden of clipped geometry, a looser English-style landscape garden, a celebrated rose garden, a small botanical garden, and an aviary. Entry costs nothing.
The park sits on a rise just east of the medieval old town and rewards a slow walk rather than a quick photo. Gravel paths thread between mature trees, flowerbeds, a bandstand, and quiet corners. Pack a picnic from the nearby Marche des Lices, the big Saturday market, and the Thabor becomes a full low-cost day out.
Practical
Before you go
- Address
- Parc du Thabor, 35000 Rennes
- Good to know
Nearby
More in Rennes
Other places worth the walk, and what each one costs.
Marche des Lices
The Marche des Lices is one of the largest open-air markets in France and the centrepiece of any Saturday morning in Rennes. It fills two covered halls and the surrounding streets of the Place des Lices with Breton produce: oysters and shellfish hauled up from the coast, farm cheeses, cider, and stalls of vegetables that change with the season.
Mont Saint-Michel
Mont Saint-Michel is a tidal island in Normandy topped by a medieval Benedictine abbey, and one of the most recognizable landmarks in Europe. The island streets, the ramparts, and the lower parish church are all free to walk, which makes it one of the best free half-day stops on the France map.
Parlement de Bretagne
The Parlement de Bretagne is the grandest building in Rennes and the historic seat of Brittany's parliament, completed in the 1650s to a design by Salomon de Brosse, the same architect behind the Luxembourg Palace in Paris. Inside sit gilded chambers and painted ceilings whose craftsmanship rivals Versailles.
Working out what Rennes costs?
The whole of Rennes