I come to my nice Rennes. This time one of the nicest monument , and of course the City is inÎlle et Vilaine dept 35,of my lovely Bretagne, I have come back to this beautiful City after a long hiatus and it was wonderful, Bear with me as the next posts will be on this beautiful City, Let me tell you about curiosities of Rennes !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Place Sainte-Anne is serve by the Sainte-Anne metro station (line A and line B), it welcomes a carrousel (merry-go-round) and a book market. Close to rue Saint-Michel, with its many bars, it is often animated in the evening. Just in 2002, this square was a large parking lot, which was removed and replaced by a pedestrian square during the construction of the metro.
The carousel of the Place Sainte-Anne was installed here in December 2021, the merry-go-round is surmounted by a transparent dome and frescoes which evoke scenes of life in Brittany , It is a two-story wooden ride, 13 meters in diameter, restored in the rules of the art to the delight of young and old.
The Hôtel-Dieu, founded in 1358 by a priest of the diocese of Tréguier, Eudon le Bouteiller, under the name of Hôtel or Maison de Dieu de Saint-Yves, occupied until November 1858 a site along the river Vilaine a few steps from Saint-Pierre Cathedral. The regularization of the course of the river and the construction of the quays, by bringing down some of the buildings of Saint-Yves, brought about the reconstruction of the Hôtel-Dieu in the north of the city on the land of La Cochardière where it is found today. The Hôtel-Dieu,is at 2 rue de l’Hotel-Dieu , less than 300 meters from the tourist office. In 1940 the Nazis occupied the premises and the hospital was transferred to rue Saint-Louis. A conservatory of hospital heritage in Rennes (CPHR) had been installed there since 2011. It houses a collection of 5,000 objects from old equipment offering an interesting retrospective of care in the 19-20C. Visits are organized every Thursday for the general public, The Rennes University Hospital has gradually transferred the activities installed on the historic site of the Hôtel Dieu to other hospital sites, mainly Pontchaillou.(memories of visiting with my dear late wife Martine for second opinion on her cancer). After many negotiations, the Hôtel-Dieu will not be completely destroyed. On the contrary, the historic buildings will be partly safeguarded, if not rehabilitated. There will be 96 housing units, a gym, a “hammam / spa” treatment center, local shops and a hotel, a 305-seat public car park, the new premises of the Rennes Hospital Heritage Conservatory. A health center will accommodate 24 medical practices and paramedics in a rehabilitated building which housed the site’s first maternity hospital in 1898. The 2.8 hectare site should be completely restructured and used in 2026.
The Roof info on the Hôtel Dieu : https://rennes.theroof.fr/
The city/town hall of Rennes was built from 1734 to 1743 by Jacques V Gabriel following the great fire of Rennes in 1720, It housed in its north wing the faculties of law and science from 1840. The chemistry cabinet, occupied in particular by Professor Faustino Malaguti until 1855, was in the current office of the mayor, The ensemble is made up of two classical buildings connected by a quarter-circle recess, with the clock tower set back. The north wing of the town hall houses the “Rennes Pantheon”, a room in memory of the dead of the two world wars, the Algerian war and the Indochina war The room was inaugurated on July 2, 1922, The south wing has a magnificent vestibule in the form of a portico with pink marble columns. Visitors’ entrance is on the ground floor of the north wing. It is located on the place de l’Hôtel de Ville square opposite the Rennes opera house. The nearest metro station is République.
The Rennes tourist office on the city hall : https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/en/organize-my-trip/what-to-do-in-rennes/hotel-de-ville-2/
The Brasserie La Bonne Nouvelle at 15 place Sainte Anne, a restaurant offering excellent value for money. Its dynamic staff guarantees rapid service and traditional French cuisine, especially fried fish. The terrace offers coffees and tapas to taste. We were looking to eat while visiting Rennes and our fav resto was closed on Mondays ! So we settle for this one and it was a good find again, The reviews are not that great but usually as an avid participant in these they are not the reality and it proves once again, The service was nice friendly fast, and the food good, hachis parmentier au canard (duck with potato purée) plenty with a financier a glass of local beer blonde and so on for my boys all for less than 18 euros per person ,great !
The Rennes book market is already 20 years old! Around twenty professional booksellers participating, a dozen of them unpack Place Saint Anne every day when time is planned beautiful. From 10h to 18h. The highlight is on Saturday, with the craftsmanship market in the same place. Only the risk of rain, wind, strike makes us cancel the market. As was the case on Monday,
And a bit of history on this Place Sainte Annea must to visit it, The origin of the name of the square remains uncertain but this square, was called in the 17C Placis or Sainte-Anne cemetery, extends in part to the old cemetery of the Sainte-Anne hospital ,so maybe it takes the name from the old Hospital that was around there, but perhaps it is also a forgotten reference to Anne de Bretagne: it would appear to be surprising but possible (after all, Anne de Bretagne would have celebrated her engagement with Charles VIII de France at the Chapel Jacobins very close on November 17, 1491 and this had to be seen by the population especially after the siege of the city which was victorious for the king). One can also think of the particularly strong worship of the Bretons to Anne the mother of Mary, and grandmother of Jesus Christ, even if this cult really appeared until the 17C in the region. In any case, the mention of the construction of the Sainte-Anne hospital is attested for the year 1380 and seems the most certain of all the hypotheses even if the other events have also been added to it,
Most of its houses are in wooden parts and five of them are registered Historic monuments: the hôtel de Bretagne in no 99, house at no 10, house at no 17, house at no 18, house at no 19, private mansion Jean Leperdit where he died in 1823 (currently occupied by Ty Anna Tavarn) The new Saint-Aubin Church, Basilica Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle, built at the beginning of the 20C and unfinished. Also, the Rennes Congress Center in the former Jacobins convent.(see posts).
Their Facebook page : https://www.facebook.com/laBonneNouvelle15/
The Rennes tourist office on the Bonne Nouvelle : https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/restaurant/creperie-la-bonne-nouvelle/
The RestaurantGuru reviews on La Bonne Nouvelle : https://fr.restaurantguru.com/Bonne-Nouvelle-Rennes#google_vignette
The Rennes tourist office on the carrousel : https://www.tourisme-rennes.com/decouvrir-rennes/sortir/carrousel-place-sainte-anne/
There you go folks ,another jewel in my wonderful capital city ofRennes. The walks are worth it with plenty of lovely areas, Again, hope you enjoy the post on curiosities of Rennes !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
