Rennes
Country: France · 230,890 inhabitants
Attractions
Wikivoyage
Rennes is the chief city of Brittany in northwest France. It's mostly modern and industrial, but has many grand 18th and 19th century buildings, and survivors of earlier times. It's also well-endowed with cultural attractions. In 2020 the city population was 222,485, with about 150,000 more living in the wider metropolis.
Wikipedia
Rennes (French pronunciation: [ʁɛn] ; Breton: Roazhon [ˈrwɑːõn]; Gallo: Resnn; Latin: Condate Redonum) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany region and Ille-et-Vilaine department. In 2023, the city had a population of 230,890 inhabitants, while the larger metropolitan area is the 10th most populated in France with a population of 789,516. The inhabitants of Rennes are called Rennais (masculine) and Rennaises (feminine) in French.
Rennes's history goes back more than 2,000 years to a time when it was a small Gallican village named "Condate." Together with Vannes and Nantes, it was one of the major cities of the ancient Duchy of Brittany. From the early sixteenth century until the French Revolution, Rennes was a parliamentary, administrative and garrison city of the historic province of Brittany in the Kingdom of France, as evidenced by its 17th-century Parliament's Palace. Rennes played an important role in the Stamped Paper Revolt (Revolt of the papier timbré) in 1675. After the destructive fire of 1720, the medieval wooden center of the city was partially rebuilt in stone. Remaining mostly rural until the Second World War, Rennes underwent significant development in the twentieth century.
Since the 1950s, Rennes has grown in importance through rural flight and modern industrial development, partly in the automotive sector. The city developed extensive building plans to accommodate upwards of 200,000 inhabitants. During the 1980s, Rennes became one of the main centres in telecommunications and high-tech industry. It is now a significant digital innovation centre in France. From 2002 to 2008, Rennes was the smallest city in the world to have a metro.
Labeled a city of art and history, it has preserved an important medieval and classical heritage within its historic center, with over 90 buildings protected as historic monuments. Home to more than 66,000 students in 2016, it is also the eighth-largest university campus of France. In 2018, L'Express named Rennes as the most liveable city in France.