Our train to Brittany departed from Gare de Montparnasse on the south side of Paris, and, the accursed metro strike making taxis hard to get, we shared one with a lady from our hotel. She was bilingual which was very handy. The traffic was heavy but not gridlocked, so we made it to Montparnasse in plenty of time, even had a Starbucks coffee there. As in many parts of the world, you don't know which platform to go to until shortly before the train departs which means that everyone loiters in the main station area awaiting this crucial information. Starbucks was perfectly placed to take advantage of this situtaion.
Elegant high school building in Rennes.
Rennes firemen in noisy protest. "Firefighters in anger". Painted on the side is "when will they listen to citizens ... and firemen?".
Luckily, our TGV to Rennes was not affected by the strike. Others were. The train ride was a delight, just like the Eurostar. Only stopping at Le Mans and Leval, it covered the 350km journey in two hours at speeds up to 300km/hr. Just like an intercity train in Australia, huh! Rennes has a brand new railway station, the surrounds still being landscaped, and it is mostly hidden by grassy slopes, with a spectacular roof line.
View from inside Rennes' sparkling new Railway Station, our TGV arrival point.
Rennes old town is characterised by medieval domestic architecture and narrow cobbled streets.
To make sure we weren't pressured by connections etc, we stayed one night in Rennes, at the ultramodern Hotel Saint-Antoine only about 200m walk from the station, and had several hours to explore the city. Rennes is now the capital of the region of Brittany, more properly Bretagne, but its history goes back 2000 years when it was a small Gallic village named Condate. It features some amazing old buildings, but the cathedral, hemmed in all around, is particularly interesting. The present incarnation dates from 1845, but there has been a cathedral on this site since the beginning of the Roman Catholic Church.
Rennes Cathedral (on the right) is tightly surrounded by houses and other buildings.
Dramatic interior of Rennes Cathedral.
One of many "treasures" stored in Rennes Cathedral.
We enjoyed a really nice dinner at a Thai restaurant, Wok, in Rennes, but the next morning uncovered a reality of France outside of Paris and in winter - breakfast can't be had (as we know it) outside of hotel dining rooms. If you call a coffee breakfast, then that can be had easily, and usually you can get a croissant too. Anything else, forget it!
Rest and alcohol enjoyed in this bar in one of the town squares.
The Museum of Fine Arts in Rennes, seen from the Pasteur Bridge across the Vilaine River.
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