Destination: Rennes
Breton capital goes big on beer, sausages and wooden houses
Doesn’t sound very French? No, it’s definitely in France but safer to say it’s in Brittany – they’re very touchy about their Celtic heritage here. What’s Celtic about sausages? The local ones are bloody good, and they serve them wrapped in Gallettes (buckwheat pancakes), traditional Breton peasant food. As for the beer, Brittany’s one of the few areas of France with a long tradition of brewing, not least because it’s rubbish for growing grapes. As well as various brewers in the surrounding countryside, there’s an excellent microbrewery in the city centre. Called RZN (an abbreviation of Roazhan, the Breton word for Rennes), it brews several versions, including Le
Vieux Canal (The Old Canal), said to be perfect with Galette Saucisse. That’s lunch sorted then. Now, what about these wooden houses? Ah yes. The region has got very little stone available, so the medieval city was largely built from local oak. Predictably many of these houses burned down over the years and nearly as many again disappeared owing to a disastrous planning decision after the war, but a good proportion remain. Today Rennes has the largest concentration of ancient half-timbered houses — 286 — anywhere in Brittany and probably, in France. Dating from 1505 to the late 17th century, the earliest feature elaborate carvings, while the later town houses are more geometric. They’re often at crazy angles to each other due to the structures having settled and shifted over time.
It can’t all be lovely, surely? Of course not. Outside the cobbled lanes of the old town and the wide boulevards of the 19th-century city centre, it’s just another sprawling modern city. But it’s easy enough to ignore the outskirts and concentrate on the good bits. Less easy, unfortunately, to ignore the graffiti – the city has a bit of a problem there.
That’s ok, I like a bit of street art. Hmmn, this doesn’t count as art – Rennes doesn’t seem to have spawned a Banksy, just illiterate vandals. It’s not just in the modern parts of the city either - ancient stone and timbered buildings are just as likely to have been defaced. Don’t let it put you off though. It’s still a great city to explore on foot. And when you want a breather, head for the Chat Alors café in the Rue d’antrain. It’s run by a local cat charity, so you can cuddle a cat while you sip your coffee.