I bring you back to my lovely Bretagne. This time in the dept 35 of Ille et Vilaine and the historical city of Rennes!! I have several posts on this pretty city ,but need to tell you that is wonderful sublime to walk on it, so therefore, here is my walk of Rennes!!! Of course, this will be in my black and white series, no pictures. Hope you enjoy it as I.
Let me take you on a walk of Rennes old neighborhoods, I will write about the Ville haute, Rive gauche, and de la gare or upper town, left bank and the train station respectively.
The Place des Lices in ville haute is the departing point, here you have the second market in France ! Font columns and brick walls this is from the 19C, At the No 26 and 28 place des Lices you have medieval mansions as a inverse boat done in the 17C for parlamentaries of Brittany ! At the top of the square next to it, you have the rue Saint Michel with beautiful wooden houses and vast terraces very much in vogue at nighs, Next to it the Place Sainte Anne preserves wooden houses from the 14C and 17C.
You leave the squares and look for book sellers along rue Bonne Nouvelle and take a look at No 9 of the rue d’Antrain of the first department stores in Rennes,the king Mercure is shown on the facade, Near too is the rue Saint Melaine where the roman Decumanus is one of the oldest in town, This was the axis east west in Roman towns, At its extremity you find the Church Notre Dame, the former abbey of Saint Melaine of 14C, and the huge parc Thabor, behind it at allée de l’Enfer you see the small jardin des Catherinettes, When you leave the park you come into rue du Général Guillaudot and the contour de la Motte pass in front of the square de la Motte just after the prefecture and hôtel de Cuillé , Just in front the palais Saint Georges huge building in arcades of the 17C, You left the rue Saint Georges with more wooden houses and restaurants, See the nice hôtel de la Moussaye at No 3 with half timbered and medieval decorations like figures of Adam and Eve, Facing it another 16C with horizontal windows looking for more light.
The old cité showing the chevet back of the Cathedral Saint Pierre and the Hôtel de Ville within narrow streets, Go back to the 16C and 17C in the rue du Chapitre, rue de la Palette, rue Saint Guillaume, rue des Dames, and rue Saint Yves, In the rue de la Palette No 1 you have a prebental house where a dignitary of the church who levied the taxes lived, it dates from about 1609, At No 8 the Maison de la Palette built in 1476 site of the meeting of the children of the master of the Cathedral St Pierre, At No 14 is the Maison de la Prévoté, taking the name of the supervisors and receivers of the cathedral chapter.
We go now to the immense Place du Parlement de Bretagne aka palais ,built in 1532 after a fire in 1720 it was rebuilt in the 18C style, You see the Hôtel de Ville in the place de la République done between 1732 and 1742 much later the Opéra, Go up to the Place du Champ Jacquet then take the rue et allée Rallier du Baty to the maison dite du Guesclin at No 2 (never lived) ; a bit down close see the rue de la Palette when a curve shows the choir of the Cathedral Saint Pierre, and in a few steps arrive at rue du Chapitre and its houses from the 15C, Continue down toward the rue des Dames back of the Chapelle Saint Yves, making a curve of the old remparts of the 15C taking you to the parvis of the Cathedral, At the end pass under the Portes Mordelaises. Under these gates the Duke of Brittany must past to take possession of Brittany with the words, « who’s there ?»
We move on to the rive gauche neighborhood or left bank of Rennes. Long quays with the romantic look of quai de la Prévalaye and the quai Saint Cyr, First you come to the Place de Bretagne and next the quai de la Prévalaye and see the union of two river Ille and Vilaine (the dept 35 is Ille et Vilaine), You go to the rue Poullain-Duparc then left into the rue du Champ-Dolent with a simple passage,There is a contemporary building on stilts.
Cut across the rue Lanjuinais to discover the trade of leather makers and butcher shops of old,one of these house Guenzel was renovated into the theater la Parcheminerie. By the rue de Nemouirs see the Haussmanian style buildings , In this neighborhood stop by 34 rue Vasselot and see the convent of the Carmelites in Rennes since the 15C, Later change during the French revolution by the 18C it was a military hospital and recently restored, By the quays and Place de la République you see the halle centrale and the criée or fish market, This is done like a pagoda at boulevard de la Liberté that is on the former medieval ramparts that protected the lower town in the 15C and today mark the limits with the neighborhood of the gare or train station.
On the Vilaine river and by the Place de la République there were done wonderful buildings like the university palace and museum palace done in 1858, Short periof afterward, the inspiration art deco on the quai Duguay-Trouin, By 1912 it was thought to cover the Vilaine from the pont Jean-Jaurés to the Pont de Nemours by a grand dome, however, today there is just a big terrace to link the north and south of Rennes with parterres French style.
Lastly but not least, my memorable quartier de la gare or train station neighborhood. Vast interconnected spaces with architectural works, The avenue Jean Janvier long from the quais de la Vilaine to the pont Pasteur and to the train station, After the bridge you can do a wonderful walk, You see a great view over the Abbey Benedictine of Saint Georges, former palace of the 17C, Before enjoy the long facade of the fine arts museum (Beaux-Arts) at 20 quai Emile Zola.
The boulevard Jean Janvier is one of the most important arteries of the left bank, Do a left orientation here to go into the rue Duhamel to your left to see the building Art Deco 1931 gray and cover with mosaics of Odorico. This street is known for having kept Captain Dreyfus while his case revision was going on ; a bit further see the arm of the Vilaine river with the Grands Moulins mills dating from the 19C to 20C.
You continue your walks into rue Saint Héllier , to the right built in 1966 the National Theater of Brittany, not easy to imagine if I tell you that here in 1857 was the train station. Now there is a much more modern train station with bars and brasseries terraces etc. The back of the train station you are in boulevard Magenta and see the wonderful architecture of the Champs Libres, a cultural space ,it leans back and reached the Esplanade du Champ de Mars, the current esplanade du Général de Gaulle.
The city of Rennes on its heritage : https://metropole.rennes.fr/resultat-de-recherche?q=patrimoine
The Rennes tourist office : https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/en/
There you go folks, hope you enjoy the post and do get out and walk the towns, cities ,villages of my belle France. They will amaze you with their beauty, architecture,and history. Rennes will not be behind the city is a marvelous medieval field of sublime buildings and great ambiance on the bars, restos, brasseries, and else. Enjoy my walk of Rennes!!!
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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