Strolling around Rennes

Starting point and access: Rennes train station.
- Metro - Line A (Line B scheduled to open in 2021).
- Bus - Lines C1, C2, 41ex, 63.
- Train - TER, Intercités, TGV.
Take the North exit / Bd Magenta.
See other starting points, accessible by metro, in the practical information section.

The route crosses or follows several sections of marked routes. In the description below, the markings are only indicated when necessary.

(S/E) With your back to the station, cross the square, follow Avenue Jean Janvier and immediately turn right into Rue Jean-Marie Duhamel, at the corner of a prominent half-timbered house. Cross Rue Saint-Hellier and continue straight ahead into the one-way street. When the street turns left, opposite the Grands Moulins de Rennes, take a paved path on the right along the Vilaine. Ignore a footbridge and continue along the Vilaine. Note a small lock on the opposite bank.

Go up to the next bridge either via a ramp or a staircase at the foot of the bridge. Cross a cycle path and then Boulevard Laennec and continue straight ahead on the Promenade Pierre Gardin de la Gerberie. Then take the footbridge reserved for pedestrians and cyclists to cross the Vilaine.

(1) At the end of the footbridge, turn left onto Promenade des Bonnets Rouges (yellow markings). After a small dam on the river, the gravel path gives way to pavement. At the traffic lights, cross Boulevard Laénnec and go down the steps that lead back to the banks of the Vilaine. Continue along the river.

At the end, cross Avenue du Sergent Maginot and then a flat area. Turn left and walk along the Vilaine on your left. At the traffic lights, turn right to cross Quai Dujardin, Place Pasteur and Rue Kléber.

(2) Enter Jardin Saint-Georges. Continue straight ahead for about 20 metres, then turn right between two flower beds. You will then see two paths running roughly parallel to each other. Take the one on the right, which runs alongside a wall.

After about 50 metres, go down a staircase on the right (white arrow) and follow a narrow path. First turn right then left along the path and go down a staircase. At the end of the path, follow a street on the left and pass in front of an Orthodox church. At the end of the street, cross at the pedestrian crossing, turn right and walk along the Collège Anne de Bretagne on your left.

(3) At the traffic lights, turn left into Parc du Thabor. Go up a staircase, pass a fountain on your right and keep left (information sign). Pass a water jet on your right. Ignore a staircase on your left and cross a river at the bottom of an artificial waterfall.

Immediately afterwards, climb the steps on the left. On^{the first} landing, turn left and climb another set of steps. At the top, cross a small wooden bridge over the artificial waterfall. Ignore the steps going down on the left and pass a small pond on your right.

When you reach a statue of Glenmor, turn left towards a column. First turn left then right to pass at the foot of the column (information panel). Then turn left at the corner of a lawn. At the street lamp, turn right, go through a gate and pass between the chevet of a church (on the left) and a school (on the right).

At a roundabout, turn left and walk along the cloister of the former Saint-Melaine Abbey. Then turn left, go through a gate and you will arrive at the forecourt of Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine Church.

(4) Then turn right. Cross the street and enter Rue Saint-Melaine, a cobbled street lined with old houses. At the end, you will come to Place Hoche. Cross the square diagonally to the right (paved pedestrian square).

At the opposite corner, take Passage des Carmélites and leave a private courtyard on your right. Go under a porch and, at the crossroads, follow the street opposite, slightly diagonally to the right, towards a church. Go around the church on the right, following Contour Saint-Aubin. Turn left onto Rue de Saint-Malo and you will reach Place Sainte-Anne (many half-timbered houses).

(5) Cross the square slightly diagonally to the right and continue along Rue Saint-Michel (ignore Rue Saint-Louis, further to the right). Continue straight ahead (ignore the famous Place des Lices on the right), cross Place Saint-Michel and then Place Rallier du Patis. Continue along the street of the same name and, at the crossroads, follow Rue de Clisson opposite.

At the corner of the Church of Saint-Sauveur, turn right onto the street of the same name. Then take the^first left and walk past the chevet of Saint-Pierre Cathedral (small entrance door to the cathedral). Continue along Rue Psalette.

(6) At the crossroads, turn right onto Rue du Griffon. At the end, turn right and you will come out onto the forecourt of Saint-Pierre Cathedral.

With your back to the cathedral, turn into Rue des Portes Mordelaises opposite and you will soon reach the old drawbridge. As this is currently undergoing renovation work (as of January 2021), retrace your steps.

Facing the cathedral, turn left. Shortly afterwards, turn left onto Rue de Juillet and walk along the right-hand side of the Lices market hall.

Take the^first left, Rue des Portes Mordelaises again (information sign), and continue to the drawbridge.

Retrace your steps and turn left twice to cross Place du Bas des Lices. Take the^first left, Rue Stream (signposted further on). Walk along a square and the old ramparts on your left.

After a monumental mission cross, turn left and cross Rue de la Monnaie. Continue along Quai Duguay Trouin. Take the^first left, Rue Le Bouteiller. Pass an old chapel and cross Rue Saint-Yves on the right-hand side.

(6) At the crossroads you took earlier, turn right onto Rue du Chapitre. Cross Place du Calvaire and continue along Rue Beaumanoir. At the crossroads, go straight ahead.

After about 40 metres, turn left to cross the square between the town hall (on the left) and the opera house (on the right). In the centre of the square, turn left onto Rue d'Estrées. At^{the first} crossroads, turn right onto Rue Nationale. Cross the street and continue straight ahead until you reach the entrance to the Parliament of Brittany.

(7) Go down the steps on the right and cross the gravel area. At the end, turn left and follow Rue Saint-Georges. Take the^first right, Rue Derval. Go around the Church of Saint-Germain on the right. Turn left into Rue du Vau Saint-Germain.

At the side gate of the church, turn right. Cross the bridge over the Vilaine. At the end of the bridge, cross Quai Émile Zola and follow it to the right. Cross a street, continue straight ahead and pass the République metro station.

Shortly afterwards, turn left and go under a porch. Then cross Rue du Pré Botté and continue straight ahead along Rue Jules Simon. At the next crossroads, turn left onto Rue Vasselot. At the following crossroads, continue straight ahead on the same street. Cross Rue du Capitaine Dreyfus on the left and continue straight ahead on Rue Saint-Thomas.

(8) At the traffic lights, turn right onto Avenue Jean Janvier. Continue straight ahead until you reach Rennes station (S/E).

Public transport is the best way to get to the starting point of this route. It is possible to start the hike from two other points accessible by metro (line A):
- Place Sainte-Anne (5).
- Place de la République, between (7) and (8).
In both cases, it is advisable to avoid the detour via Rennes station, which is not particularly interesting. At the point (8), cross Rue Jean Janvier and follow Rue Saint-Hélier opposite. Then take the^first left and rejoin the main route shortly before the Grands Moulins de Rennes and the Vilaine.

Good trainers are sufficient for this urban route.

Public toilets are available in Parc du Thabor, shortly after the Colonne de Juillet. There are numerous bars, restaurants and shops along the route.

A detailed map is required (at least the one accompanying this description).

Public garden opening hours:
Jardin Saint-Georges:
- Opening hours: 8:00 a.m. every day.
- Closing time: 6:00 p.m. from October to February; 7:30 p.m. in March-April and September; 8:00 p.m. from May to August.
Thabor Park:
- Opening: 7:30 a.m. every day.
- Closing time: 6:30 p.m. from October to February; 8:00 p.m. in March-April and September; 8:00 p.m. from May to August.

Hike completed twice by the author, the first time with several variations in February 2004, and the second time in this form on 28 January 2021.

From Rennes train station (S/E) to Thabor Park (3):
- Grands Moulins de Rennes.
- Pleasant walk along the Vilaine.
- Palais Saint-Georges, in the garden of the same name (2).

From Parc du Thabor (3) to Notre-Dame en Saint-Melaine Church (4):
- River and artificial waterfalls.
- July Column (1835) in homage to two Rennes residents killed in Paris during the July Days (the Three Glorious Days).
- Former cloister.
- Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine Church.

From the Church of Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine (4) to Saint-Pierre Cathedral (6):
- Numerous half-timbered houses.
- Place Sainte-Anne (5), a lively neighbourhood in Rennes at night.
- Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle Basilica (5).

Around Saint-Pierre Cathedral (6):
- Saint-Pierre Cathedral (16th-19th centuries).
- Portes Mordelaises (area under construction in January 2021).
- Halles Martenot, in the Bas des Lices.

From Saint-Pierre Cathedral (6) to Rennes train station (S/E):
- Half-timbered houses in Rue du Chapitre.
- Town hall and opera house.
- Parliament of Brittany (7).
- Saint-Germain Church.