Rennes, European metropolis and capital of Brittany
Rennes is the capital of the region of Brittany and the 11th French city in terms of population. The city is a little over 2 hours from Paris with the high-speed train, but will be just 1 hour and 24 minutes from the French capital in 2015. The population has grown significantly since 1990, making Metropolitan Rennes one of the most dynamic urban areas in France. Today, Metropolitan Rennes has a population of 400,000, including 215,000 in Rennes itself. The city is continuing its development, with the integration of new populations as its key challenge… without for all that losing its appeal as a city on a human scale, regularly listed in national magazines among the most pleasant and livable French cities.
A dynamic city, economically and commercially 
130 laboratories employ 4,000 researchers, lecturer-researchers, doctoral students and post-doctoral fellows. They explore vast fields of discovery: foodstuffs, health, information technologies, chemistry, materials… The local economy rests traditionally on three sectors: agri-business, the automobile sector and, of course, new technologies, since the creation of Rennes Atalante 25 years ago.
University clusters
With its 3 campuses, the University of Rennes has over 40,000 students:
- Rennes 1: sciences and technologies, medicine, pharmacy, odontology, law, economics, management, philosophy.
- Rennes 2 Haute-Bretagne: languages, social sciences, human sciences, arts-literature-communication, sports.
- A county-based university site: the Ker Lann campus in Bruz (Rennes Métropole), created in 1992. It is unique in France in that it brings together schools and businesses on the same site (4,600 students, 36 companies).
In total, there is a student population of almost 60,000 (including the elite Grandes Ecoles) who live in and around Rennes and provide dynamic appeal to the metropolitan area.
Lifestyle and environment
- The capital of Brittany is near the sea and the most prestigious coastal sites: Emerald Coast (1h), Saint-Malo (40 min), Mont-Saint-Michel (1h15), Golf du Morbihan (1h30).
- Rennes airport, in the municipality of Saint Jacques de la Lande, just 15 minutes from the centre of Rennes, has connections to 70 national and international destinations.
In 2015, the Notre Dame des Landes airport will be located on the expressway between Nantes and Rennes. This international airport will offer a maximum capacity of 9 million passengers a year.
Major cultural or festive events
The City of Rennes has always given pride of place to cultural projects. This cultural activity is expressed throughout the year, through many events for all types of audiences. Among them, at least four have taken on a national and even international dimension: the Biennale d'art contemporain, devoted to contemporary art, the Transmusicales music festival, the Tombées de la Nuit, and Mythos. Alongside a host of locations devoted to music, dance, and theatre, Rennes boasts four major cultural sites: the Liberté, the Champs Libres, the National Theatre of Brittany and the Opera.
Rennes, a city of heritage
The fortifications
The Condate of ancient times, born at the confluence of the Ille and Vilaine rivers in the 1st century BC, was (probably) founded by the Redones, an Armorican people, and by the Romans, the new masters of Gaul. At the end of the 3rd century AD, the city called "Civitas Riedonum" built a first wall spanning 1200 m. In the 15th century, the growth of the city led to the creation of two new walls to the north-east and to the south of the Vilaine, increasing the area of the closed city from 9 to 62 hectares. The Duchesne Tower and the Mordelaises Gates are the key remains of the fortifications of the time.
The timber-framing tradition
The timber-framing tradition can be explained by the presence of forests around the city. In Rennes, like in the entire Duchy of Brittany, timber framing continued until the middle of the 17th century, extending the mediaeval tradition beyond the limits of the Middle Ages. Within a week, the fire of 23 December 1720 destroyed over 900 houses and buildings. Around the city epicentre, however, many timber-framed houses remain. The restoration undertaken over the last twenty years has enhanced the know-how expressed through structures, façades, stairways and wood-work.
The stone city
After the fire, the extent of the destruction created a need for urban revival and the project for construction of a modern city was entrusted to an engineer, Isaac Robelin. The ambition of his project was rejected by the municipality. Jacques Gabriel, future architect of the King, took over the work as from 1724. He undertook a programme to embellish Rennes, focused on the destroyed parts of the city around two royal squares, which are today the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville and the Place du Parlement.