Car hire Rennes

Introduction

Rennes is the capital of Brittany, the city is not very popular among tourists but this is actually not fair, the old center is very lovely and a lot of fun, thanks to the many students in the city (almost one-third of the inhabitants study). Especially during the weekend (and for students that starts on Thursday) the bars and terraces are completely packed.

At the beginning of July a big festival called ‘Festival des Tombées de la Nuit’ is organized in Rennes, with free open air music performances and theater shows.

Population

The city has approximately 210,000 inhabitants, among which as many as 60,000 are students.

Location

Rennes lies in the west of France in the eastern part of Brittany. The old city center was built on a hill at the confluence of 2 rivers, the Ille and the Vilaine. The city Nantes is almost 100 kilometers south of Rennes.

Economy

There is a large PSA Peugeot Citroën factory in Rennes, which is the largest employer in the region. Besides this there is a large branch of the telecommunication company Thomson.

Furthermore higher education is an important sector. Rennes has 2 general universities, one focused on economy, law, medicine and technology, and the other one more on art, culture and social sciences. There is also a technical university.

Airports

The airport of Rennes lies 7 kilometers southeast of the city, it is called Aéroport Rennes-St. Jacques and there are connections with other French cities, destinations on the British islands and during summer with some holiday destinations.

Public transport

Rennes has an excellent public transport network, with more than 50 bus lines. They all leave from the Place de la Republique, every 5 minutes a bus runs on the most important lines. Day tickets are available.

Furthermore there is a subway that exists of only 1 line and runs along the train station, the city center and the university among others.

Traffic and parking

A large part of the center of Rennes is only accessible for pedestrians and city buses. Outside that zone the traffic can be very busy. Parking is the center is quite expensive. A better option is to park your car at one of the subway stations in the suburbs (Kennedy and Villejean in the north and Henri Freville, Triangle and La Poterie in the south) and continue your travel by subway where parking is for free!

Hotels

Rennes has good hotels to offer, most of them are concentrated around Place de la Gare and along the Avenue Jean Janvier. For budget travelers there is a youth hostel, furthermore there is a large camping ground in the northeast of the city, in the middle of a recreational park.

External sources

For more information about Rennes, we recommend Google and the following sources:

• Wikipedia, Rennes
• Official site of the city of Rennes (French)
• Official site for tourism in Rennes (French and English)