Rennes

By the 2nd century BC the Gallic Riedones had made their chief settlement at the meeting of the Ille and the Vilaine, and under Rome it became Condate Riedonum; the tribe's name eventually gave the city its own. The barbarian invasions later made the town shrink within a wall enclosing about nine hectares. In the Middle Ages Rennes became a fortress of the Breton March and then a capital of the duchy of Brittany, one of its major cities with Nantes and Vannes. During the War of the Breton Succession Henry of Grosmont besieged it in 1356–57, and Bertrand du Guesclin slipped into the city with supplies, putting new heart into its defenders.

After the union with France, Rennes became the parliamentary and administrative city of the province. The Parlement de Bretagne, begun in 1618, met here until the Revolution, and the city played an important role in the Stamped Paper Revolt of 1675. In 1720 a great fire destroyed the timber houses of the northern half of the city, which was rebuilt in stone on a grid plan, while the south kept more of its half-timbering. The railway arrived in 1857, and in 1899 the retrial of Alfred Dreyfus was held in Rennes.

German troops entered the city on 18 June 1940, and Allied bombing in 1943 and 1944 killed hundreds. After the war Rennes grew fast through rural migration and industry, including car manufacturing; in the 1980s it became a centre of telecommunications and high technology. From 2002 to 2008 it was the smallest city in the world with a metro, and in 1994 fire gutted the Parlement, which was restored by 1999.

Rennes is known as one of the most festive cities in France. In the 1980s it was a centre of French rock and new wave music, and the Transmusicales festival each December is known for presenting new acts. The calendar also includes the Travelling film festival in February, the Mythos festival of theatre, storytelling and song in April and the street-arts festival Les Tombées de la Nuit in July. The Champs Libres, with the regional library, a science centre and the Museum of Brittany, is the largest cultural institution in Brittany and receives more than a million visitors a year.

The city is labelled a city of art and history and has more than 90 buildings protected as historic monuments. The Parlement, the opera house of 1836, the 1920s Saint-Georges swimming pool with its mosaics and the half-timbered houses of the old streets give it a mix of classical grandeur and medieval charm.

Rennes lies in Upper Brittany, where Gallo was traditionally the local language, though Breton has always been spoken by migrants from the west; today Breton is taught in Diwan schools, bilingual classes and at the university, and the city adopted a plan to promote it in 2008. Football is followed closely: Stade Rennais plays at Roazhon Park, the stadium's name taken from the Breton name of the city.

The city had about 231,000 residents in 2023, and its metropolitan area, among the fastest-growing in France, had about 790,000. More than 70,000 students study here, making it one of the largest university centres in the country, with the Université de Rennes, Université Rennes 2 and several grandes écoles; in 2018 the magazine L'Express named Rennes the most liveable city in France.

The economy rests on car manufacturing, telecommunications, the digital sector and food processing. Orange is the largest private employer in the metropolitan area and Stellantis, with its plant at La Janais, the second; Rennes has the second-largest concentration of digital firms in France after Paris, and the newspaper Ouest-France is based here. A protected green belt around the ring road separates the dense city from its largely rural surroundings.

Rennes is divided into twelve quarters, from the historic centre and Thabor to outer quarters such as Villejean, Le Blosne and Maurepas. Daily life moves by metro, bus and bicycle, Saturday mornings revolve around the Marché des Lices, and evenings in term time belong to the students in the bars of the old town.

The specialities of Rennes are those of Upper Brittany: the Breton galette, a savoury pancake of buckwheat flour; the sweet crêpe; and cider. The city's own emblem is the galette-saucisse, a grilled sausage wrapped in a buckwheat galette, first created in the 19th century and eaten at markets, outdoor events and football matches, where it is strongly associated with Stade Rennais.

The Marché des Lices, held every Saturday morning on the Place des Lices and among the largest markets in France, brings the produce of the region into the centre — seafood from the coast, milk, vegetables, cheese and meat from the farms of Ille-et-Vilaine. Les Halles Centrales, the covered market of 1922 south of the river, is the other traditional food hall.

The surrounding countryside also feeds the city's food industry, which has the third-highest innovation potential in the French agrifood sector, with firms such as Lactalis and Bridor. In the crêperies of the old town, a galette followed by a crêpe and a bowl of cider remains the classic inexpensive meal, while the bars of Rue Saint-Michel serve Breton beers and ciders to the student crowds.