River Cruise - Rennes

Rennes

Rennes (Breton: Roazhon) is a city of northwestern France, in the east of Brittany. Rennes is the capital of the Bretagne région, as well as the préfecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine département. Population of the city (commune) of Rennes at the 1999 census was 206,229 inhabitants (209,100 inhabitants as of February 2004 estimates). Population of the whole metropolitan area (French: aire urbaine) at the 1999 census was 521,188 inhabitants, ranking twelfth in France.

The town is built on a hill, with the north side being more elevated than the south side. It is at the meeting point of two rivers: the Ille and the Vilaine (hence the name of the département Ille-et-Vilaine).

Rennes has a long history due to its location at a confluent of 2 rivers. The armorican people of Redones founded Condate (ancient Celtic word meaning confluent), at the confluence of the Ille and Vilaine rivers and made it their capital. In the Roman era, Condate became Condate Riedonum, capital of « civitas riedonum ». The oldest known rennais is Titus Flavius Postuminus, known for his steles found in Rennes in 1968. As indicated by his name, he would’ve been born under the Flavian dynasty et under the reign of Titus, i.e. between 79 and 81 AD. One of the steles tell us, in Latin, that he took charge over all the public affairs in his state (Civitas Riedonum). He was twice duumvir and flamine for life for Mars Mullo During the Roman era, the strategic position of the town contributed to its importance.
To the west the principal Roman route spread from Condate to Vorgium (nowadays at Carhaix) via Osismii. In the year 275, the threat of barbarians led to the erection of a robust brick wall around Rennes. Rennes became known as the « red town ». Once threatened by the danger of bagaudes at the end of the Roman Empire, the Armorican peninsula, including Brittany and therfore Rennes, made up the last of the stronghold of the western Roman Empire. The invincible Armorican Romans held their ground against Clovis I, who occupied most of Alamans, then the Wisigoths.
Melaine, the bishop of Rennes, played an important role in the peace treaty between the Franks and the Armoricans in the year 497. He famously declared'"Il faut faire la paix entre chrétiens" (Peace must be made between Chrsitians).

Rennes is not often mentioned on tourist guides but this medium size town is well worth a visit. It has about 200,000 inhabitants, of which about 50,000 are students. This gives the town a vibrant night life. Some streets, such as the Rue Saint Michel, have only one type of shop on both sides: Bars!(The locals actually call "Rue Saint Michel" "la rue de la soif", which means the "Street of Thirst"). A stroll down Rue Saint Michel on a Friday or Saturday evening is a very interesting experience indeed. Rennes is particularly nice in early July, during the "Festival des Tombées de la Nuit". Its streets are then full of people enjoying the free street entertainment and eating or drinking at the terraces of the restaurants and cafés.

After the 15th of July, it virtually empties, as most of its inhabitants migrate to the coast until the 15th August. However, some say this period is the best, as you have the town to yourself. In Rennes, there is a very good public transport system. Rennes offers 38 different bus routes and a metro, with 1 bus every 5 minutes for the metro and main bus lines at the peak hours. Rennes offers very good options for cyclists. With plenty of cycle lanes, the town has plenty of cyclists.

One highlight of Rennes, if you're after natural beauty and tranquility, is Parc Thabor. This park has a stunning collection of plantlife, including a large bed of hundreds of species of roses, tropical, African and European trees, other beautiful and rare plants, and offers the traveller a chance to see some budgies. There are cages with a dozen of different sorts of small colourful birds. To get to Parc Thabor from Republique station, take bus number 3 (direction St. Laurient) and get off at the Thabor stop.

Every Saturday morning, until 13h30, there is a large food market in the centre of town, where you can buy low price fruit and veg, a vast array of fish, crepes, galettes, fresh meat and other French delicacies such as wine, snails and cheeses. This is always bustling with people trying to buy low-price groceries and meat. The market is based in the Place des Lices, an 8 minute walk from the main bus station, Republique.

Local industries include car manufacturing and telecommunications. Citroën, currently the largest employer of the population of Rennes, opened a manufacturing plant at Rennes La Janais in 1961 to manufacture the Ami. Rennes invests heavily in arts and culture and a number of its festivals (such as the music festival Les Transmusicales, les Tombées de la Nuit and le Travelling (a cinematic festival)) are well known throughout France.