Half-timbered houses in the French city of Rennes.
Good thing we still have left, France. Now that our mobility is quite limited, it is a comfort to know that we can get closer to knowing the French territory without the need for quarantine or negative PCR, which does not remove so that we keep all the recommended and mandatory security measures. On this occasion we invite you to visit Rennes, an idyllic city with a medieval past in which enjoy their crêpes and galettes, their craft beers and those little shops where to take a little piece of French Brittany home in the form of a creative gift.
WHERE TO SLEEP
Magic Hall (17 rue de la Quintaine): This design hotel is anything but conventional. Its 19 rooms have been themed so that when you go to sleep you feel that Morpheus is inviting you to go to the cinema, the theater or a dance hall. But don't worry, don't be scared the creative people in charge of interior design have bet everything on (quasi) minimalism, solid wood and significant details: some Big Lebowski bowling here, some speakers and an AC/DC box there. It has a music studio where you can rehearse, record or simply have fun.
Balthazar Hôtel & Spa Rennes - MGallery (19 Rue Marechal Joffre): A few meters from the Parliament of Brittany is located this five-star boutique hotel with contemporary aesthetics where nothing is out of place: the measured triumvirate of black, white and gray colors governs its 54 rooms and two suites, from the headboards of the beds to the wrought iron dividing doors. A visit to its spa is a must and to its interior patio, too.
Superior room at the Balthazar Hôtel & Spa Rennes - MGallery.
Hôtel de Nemours (5 rue de Nemours): If there is a hotel in French Brittany that can be described as 'cosy', without a doubt, it is this one. 41 rooms elegantly decorated in beige tones where the only touch of color (earth) is provided by the wallpaper and the plaids placed at the foot of the beds. More daring, however, are its new apartments for two and four people, with palm trees, tropical flowers and paintings of aristocratic dogs. that roam freely on the walls.
Castel Jolly (15 rue de Brizeux): A different way to stay in the center of Rennes is do it in one of the three rooms (Dufy, Salvador and Matisse) of this private mansion built in 1895 by the architect Jobbé Duval. As if it were a guest house, its owner, the architect and painter Marie, will be delighted to welcome you and show you why a breakfast under the wisteria in her secret garden is the most French way to start the day: freshly baked baguettes in the Boulangerie Couasnon, artisan cheeses and authentic Breton crêpes.
Secret garden of Castel Jolly, Rennes.
WHERE TO EAT
Café Breton (14 Rue Nantaise): Next to the Lices market –hence it makes perfect sense that the menu on its blackboard (now online and to take home) changes depending on the season–, sommeliers Marie-Joséphine and Emeric have devised a coffee with a bouquet as Breton as its own denomination of origin. He notes: “Cocotte de cochon braisé with soy sauce, honey and fine semoule. Trugarez !“
Crêperie Saint Georges (11 rue du Chapitre): It is not very traditional that its name, as well as that of its dishes, is a tribute to the most famous Georges in the world (Brassens, Lucas, Harrison...), but yes it is that they differentiate between a galette, a Breton specialty made with buckwheat, and a crêpe. First a salty one and then a sweet one, as Brittany commands.
Terrace of the Café Breton, Rennes.
Peska (19 rue de Saint Malo): The Breton coast is an inexhaustible source of quality seafood… at exorbitant prices. That is why Clémentine Guillois, at the head of this bistro-shaped “cabinet of marine wonders”, has set out to democratize the Atlantic Ocean by serving creative dishes based on local and seasonal catches from small producers, from a mi-cuisson Breton red tuna carpaccio Tahitian style with soy honey and crispy chives and shallot to a Cider seafood cream with blue ginger zucchini spaghetti, fried polenta and fresh basil. At lunchtime they offer a dish of the day and a dessert for €15. PS: due to the new confinement in the region, they are preparing a new service to take your dishes home.
Piccadilly: On the bustling Place de la Mairie, the Picca bresserie, a landmark in the city founded in 1975 by René-Claude Dauphin, has returned more sophisticated than ever thanks to interior design by architect Gilles Aubinais and its creative cuisine menu. You can dine on its huge heated terrace or under the arcades of the Rennes Opera House.
Terrace of the sophisticated Piccadilly bresserie, on the Place de la Mairie, Rennes.
WHERE TO TRY A SWEET
Boulangerie Pâtisserie Coupel (21 rue Saint-Hélier): Some will recommend you eat in moderation kouign-amann, once described as one of the greasiest cakes in all of Europe. From here we encourage you to stand up to it, it is just a basic bread dough... okay, with a large amount of butter and sugar, but what is it if not confectionery that is pure taste pleasure.
Pâtisserie 4:30 p.m. (3 rue Hoche): Eating a cake on the street when you're traveling is a hassle, that's why we love the Amazone sweet 'sandwiches' from this pastry shop that makes the exterior with crusty gêne, almond and pistachio bread and fills it with cream cheese and pieces of pear or grapefruit. What's new this season? Provence, same idea only the cream is a mix of almond milk mousse with French organic apricots freshly roasted in the oven.
Inside the Pâtisserie 4:30 p.m.
L’Enchanté (2 rue Saint Melaine): There are those who go to this tea room to eat their vegetarian or vegan dishes, but they are their gluten-free desserts that demand all the attention, like their buckwheat and fleur de sel chocolate cake or their pannacotta with coconut milk, rhubarb, strawberries and homemade granola.
Chérie Chéri (13&15 rue Hoche): In this Concept Store & Café they sell you designer ceramics the same way they serve you a chocolate and pistachio moelleux on top of it, a cheesecake or a strawberry pavlova with whipped cream and rhubarb in hibiscus syrup. You can shop at their creative boutique and then sit down for a drink at their dusty pink café that is a pastel fantasy… both edible and visual.
Cafeteria area in the Concept Store & Café Chérie Chéri.
**WHERE TO BUY **
Les enfants de Bohème (12 rue Saint-Malo): There are some new bohemian kids in town and they move to the rhythm of jazz, further proof that in Rennes the independent record stores refuse to disappear. to the classics Blind Spot, where to listen to vinyl before buying it (36 rue Poullain Duparc), and Groove Rennes, lovers of soul and funky (2 rue Motte-Fablet), have just joined this CD store where they also organize events with live musicians.
Grammage (12 rue du Chapitre): Souvenirs are one thing and creative gifts that capture the essence of the place are another. In this textile printing and embroidery workshop they have achieved that, When you buy one of their modern t-shirts or sweatshirts, you can carry a little bit of Brittany next to your heart, whether in the form of a hipster sailor or a lopsided wine glass.
Blind Spot record store, Rennes.
Mint (12 Rue du Champ Jacquet): On the walls, shelves and 50s furniture of this charming boutique with a certain vintage air you can find jewelry and accessories from the brands created by their founders: Armêl s'en mêle, La Bohème, Guapa Factory and Stereo Fields Forever. They also have pottery and miscellaneous for home.
Bières Bretonnes: The long brewing tradition of French Brittany means that Ille-et-Vilaine is "sprinkled" with microbreweries where you can stock up on craft beers that are as unusual as they are creative. On this collaborative website you will find a map with the trendy brasseries, those that make their own craft beer, which you can try on the spot before buying it to take it home.
Boutique of accessories, ceramics and miscellaneous for the home Mint.
NOT TO BE MISSED
The Lices market: Four centuries ago this open-air farmers and artisans market, the second largest in France, It is held every Saturday morning on the Place des Lices, the former site of jousts between knights and public executions by hanging. Without a doubt, the best place to taste the galette saucisse, the Breton 'hotdog' in which a buckwheat galette wraps around a grilled pork sausage. The 19th-century brick and steel pavilions known as the Halles Martenot, named after the architect Jean Baptise Martenot, are worth a visit.
Old Town: There are counted (and protected) in Rennes 286 maisons à pans de bois, the half-timbered houses so characteristic of the Breton capital that began to be built in the Middle Ages and fell out of favor at the same time as the Old Regime, in the 18th century. You will recognize them by their colorful facades and overhangs, where the customers of the stores installed on the ground floor were protected from bad weather. The oldest (dating from 1505), known and spectacular is the red house of Ti Coz (3 rue Saint-Guillaume), with Saint Sebastian (and his martyrdom) carved as protection against the plague. To see all of its architectural styles head to rue du Chapitre.
The Saint-George swimming pool (2 rue Gambetta): With a mosaic of small green, yellow and brown tiles, the Italian artist Isidore Odorico wanted to idealize the waves of the sea and decorate the glass of this art deco pool built in the 1920s. Today we are the ones we idealize the great work of the architect Emmanuel Le Ray in this historical monument that is still used for swimming, since it is still active, but also to enjoy unusual shows in aquatic environments, such as when it was converted into a movie theater or used to exhibit a giant moon-shaped sculpture by artist Luke Jerram.
The photogenic rue de Chapitre.
Parliament of Brittany (Place du Parlement de Bretagne): Also active is the Parliament of Brittany, seat of the High Court of Justice of the region, So it's not uncommon to come across black-robed lawyers on the stairs when you're visiting this 17th-century palace that had to be completely refurbished after it was devastated by fire in 1994. They already had a reputation of combative Breton fishermen, imagine after a blissful ship's flare caused the fire during a demonstration for the price of fish. Luckily the Great Hall and its coffered ceiling escaped unscathed, since in this way we can currently enjoy (and intact) the set conceived by Charles Errard, painter of Louis XIV and architect of the decoration of the first Versailles.
Convento de los Jacobinos: Reconverted into the brand new congress center of the city, this historic monument founded in the fourteenth century hides in its entrails one of the most dynamic neighborhoods of the old city of Condate, as Rennes was called between the 1st and 4th centuries. Because that is what the Dominican monks did, they settled within the cities to be in contact with the parishioners, regulars in the Saint-Michel neighborhood to other types of parishes. These establishments on rue Saint-Michel, nicknamed “rue de la soif” (street of thirst) come from those inns of Salamandra or Caballo Negro. for being the one with the highest concentration of bars in all of France.
Jacobin Convent, Rennes Metropole Congress Center.
NEARBY PLACES TO VISIT
Josselin: The flamboyant finials of the Château de Josselin are the greatest attraction of this small town crossed by the waters of the Oust, however its Sainte-Croix neighborhood is the best place to navigate its medieval history. Look among all its half-timbered houses for the one with caryatids on the door.
Rochefort-en-Terre: A regular on lists of the most beautiful villages in France. It is not in vain that it has been and is a refuge for artists due to its charming tranquility: cobbled streets, a castle, gardens and flowers everywhere and small shops where you can buy both a wooden craft toy and some Breton pallets (butter cookies).
Brocéliande Forest: You will go to the Château de Comper (Concoret) in search of the legend of Arthur and other stories about fairies, goblins and wizards, and you will be (smitten) by its fairytale lake and its exalted nature.
Rochefort-en-Terre, one of the most beautiful villages in France.