Rennes: the Breton capital reborn from fire

A week-long fire in 1720 destroyed much of Rennes's medieval center: the rebuilt city in stone still coexists with the few neighborhoods that survived.

The historic center, rebuilt in stone after the great fire of 1720, is comfortably explored on foot.

In the neighborhood around Place Sainte-Anne, the half-timbered houses that survived the 1720 fire remain among the few examples of medieval Rennes still standing.

Just steps away, the Parliament of Brittany, the seat of historic regional magistracy, was severely damaged by a fire in 1994 and restored in the following years.

Continuing on, you reach the Thabor Gardens, a spacious public park with botanical garden and rose garden, among the most appreciated in Brittany.

Towards evening, the area of Rue Saint-Michel, nicknamed 'rue de la Soif', comes alive with bars frequented by the city's large student population.

The 1994 fire at the Parliament of Brittany was set during a protest march by fishermen, an incident that shocked all of France for the damage inflicted on such an important historical building.

After the eighteenth-century fire, the architect tasked with rebuilding imposed uniform stone façades along the main streets, explaining why Rennes' center looks so orderly compared to other Breton towns.