Historic centre The historic centre is located on the former plan of the ramparts. There is a difference between the northern city centre and the southern city centre due to the 1720 fire, which destroyed most of the timber-framed houses in the northern part of the city. The rebuilding was done in stone, on a grid plan. The poorer southern part was not rebuilt. Due to the presence of the
parlement de Bretagne, many "
hôtels particuliers" were built in the northern part, the richer half of Rennes in the 18th century. Most of the city's
monuments historiques can be found there. Colourful traditional
half-timbered houses are situated primarily along the roads of Saint-Sauveur, Saint-Georges, de Saint-Malo, Saint-Guillaume, des Dames, du Chapitre, Vasselot, Saint-Michel, de la Psallette and around the plazas of Champ-Jacquet, des Lices, Saint-Anne and Rallier-du-Baty.
The Parlement de Bretagne and city hall area The
Parlement de Bretagne (Administrative and judicial centre of Brittany, ) is the most famous 17th century building in Rennes. It was rebuilt after a terrible fire in 1994 that may have been caused by a flare fired by a protester during a demonstration. It houses the Rennes
Court of Appeal. The surrounding plaza is built in the
classical style. In the west, the Place de la Mairie (City Hall Plaza, Plasenn Ti Kêr): • City Hall • Opera In the east, at the end of the
Rue Saint-Georges with traditional
half-timbered houses: • 1920s Saint George Municipal Pool, with mosaics •
Saint George Palace, and its garden In the south-east: • Saint-Germain square • Saint-Germain Church • Saint-Germain footbridge, 20th century wood and metal construction that links the plaza with Émile Zola Quay, across the
Vilaine River. File:Rennes église Saint-Germain.jpg|Saint Germain's church File:Rennes Opéra.JPG|Opera of Rennes File:Palais Saint-Georges, Rennes.jpg|Saint Georges Palace File:Mairie de Rennes.jpg|
City Hall The Place des Lices and cathedral area The Place des Lices is lined by
hôtels particuliers. Along with the Place Rallier-du-Baty, it is the location of the weekly big market, the marché des Lices. Near the
Rennes Cathedral (cathédrale Saint-Pierre de Rennes) is the Rue du Chapitre: •
Hôtel de Blossac • There are 16th century polychrome wooden busts on the façade of 20, Rue du Chapitre. Also in this area are the former St. Yves chapel, which is now the tourist office and a local historical museum, and the Basilica Saint-Sauveur. File:Marche des Lices mise en place 03.JPG|Place des Lices with the roof top of Les Halles Martenot seen in on the left, and the hôtels particuliers on the right File:Bretagne Ille Rennes1 tango7174.jpg|Rue du Chapitre File:Hôtel de Blossac - Portail sur la rue du Chapitre - DSC 0811.JPG|Gate of the
Hôtel de Blossac File:Rennes - Saint-Sauveur façade.jpg|Basilique Saint-Sauveur
Remains of the ramparts Built from the 3rd to the 12th centuries, the ramparts were largely destroyed between the beginning of the 16th century and the 1860s. File:Rennes-mordelaise1.jpg|Portes mordelaises. The street crossing this gate comes from the Place des Lices and ends at the cathedral. File:Rennes remparts.jpg|Tour Duchesne File:Rennes RallierduBaty.jpg|Place Railler-du-Baty File:Rennes remparts.svg|Map of the remaining ramparts in Rennes
Place Saint-Anne area • Place Saint-Anne (Plasenn Santez-Anna) • Saint-Aubin Church, built in the beginning of the 20th century • Location of a former 14th century hospital •
Jacobite convent, the convention centre In the south-west of the area,
La Rue Saint-Michel nicknamed
Rue de La Soif (
Road of Thirst), is known for its many bars. Meanwhile, in the south-east, the Place du Champ-Jacquet features Renaissance buildings and a statue of mayor Jean Leperdit ripping up a
conscription list. File:Place Saint Anne Rennes.JPG|Place Saint-Anne File:Rennes - Couvent des Jacobins 20171216-14.jpg|Convention centre File:Rue St Michel Rennes.JPG|Saint-Michel street File:Place Champ Jacquet.JPG|Medieval houses at Champ-Jacquet
East: Thabor park area Area of Saint-Melaine square
Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine basilica, • Tower and transept from the 11th century Benedictine
abbey of Saint-Melaine • 14th century
Gothic arcades • 17th century colonnade • Bell tower topped with a gilded Virgin Mary (19th century) • 17th century cloister
Jardin botanique du Thabor (formal French garden, orangerie, rose garden, aviary) a
botanical garden on 10 hectares of land, built between 1860 and 1867. 17th century promenade "la Motte à Madame", and a monumental stairway overlooking the Rue de Paris entrance to the Thabor. File:Notre dame en saint-melaine DSC 4481.jpg|Notre-Dame-en-Saint-Melaine basilica, viewed from the parc du Thabor Portail du thabor.JPG|Main gate of the parc du Thabor File:Thabor entree rue paris.JPG|Rue de Paris Thabor entrance
South city centre The south city centre is a mix of old buildings and 19th and 20th century constructions. File:Rennes Grande maison des Carmes escalier.JPG|Maison des Carmes File:Lycee Rennes DSC08932.JPG|Lycée Zola File:Rennes - Église Toussaints façade.jpg|Toussaints church File:Palais du Commerce (Poste) Rennes.JPG|Palais du commerce
South of the Vilaine The Fine Arts Museum is situated on Quai Émile Zola, by the
Vilaine River.
Les Champs Libres is a building on Esplanade Charles de Gaulle, and was designed by the architect
Christian de Portzamparc. It houses the
Brittany Museum (Musée de Bretagne), the regional library Bibliothèque de Rennes Métropole with six floors, and the Espace des Sciences science centre with a planetarium. At Place Honoré Commeurec is Les Halles Centrales, a covered market from 1922, with one part converted into contemporary art gallery. The Mercure Hotel is located in a restored building on Rue du Pré-Botté, which is the former office of Ouest-Éclair, and then of
Ouest-France, France's leading daily regional newspaper. There are large mills at Rue Duhamel, constructed on each side of the south branch of the Vilaine in 1895 and 1902.
Other sights To the northwest of Rennes, near Rue de Saint-Malo, are the
locks of the
Canal d'Ille-et-Rance, opened in 1843. Two locations for Oberthür Printing Works were built by Marthenot between 1870 and 1895 on Rue de Paris in the eastern part of the city. Oberthür Park is the second biggest garden in the city. The 17th century manor of Haute-Chalais, a granite château, is situated to the south of the city in Blosne Quarter (Bréquigny).
Parks and gardens File:Gayeulles2013 Etang02.JPG|Gayeulles parc File:Rennes Square de la Motte.JPG|Square of Motte File:Mail François Mitterrand - Rennes.JPG|Mail Mitterrand File:Thabor Dahlias.JPG|Thabor parc File:Lac du parc Oberthür.jpg|Oberthür parc File:Palais Saint-Georges, Rennes.jpg|Saint-Georges garden Parc du Thabor contains a compact but significant
botanical garden, the
Jardin botanique du Thabor. The
University of Rennes, with a campus in the city's eastern section, also contains a
botanical garden and collections (the
Jardin botanique de l'Université de Rennes). ==Economy==