Rennes

Rennes, the capital of Brittany in northwestern France, is one of France's most culturally rich regional capitals — a city with a magnificent half-timbered medieval core, an extraordinarily strong student scene (it has one of France's highest proportions of students per capita), excellent food markets and a Breton cultural identity it wears with fierce pride. The Parliament of Brittany, a 17th-century French classical building partially damaged by fire in 1994 and beautifully restored, is the city's principal architectural monument. The Place des Lices — where Rennes' magnificent Saturday morning market takes place — is surrounded by some of the finest half-timbered houses in France. The Musée des Beaux-Arts holds good European painting including significant works by Rubens and De La Tour. The Champs Libres cultural complex contains a science museum, library and Breton regional museum. Rennes' food market on Saturdays (one of the finest in France) reflects the extraordinary quality of Breton produce: oysters, scallops, lamb from the salt marshes, buckwheat galettes and cider from the region's orchards. The city's nightlife, concentrated around Place Saint-Anne and Rue Saint-Michel ("La rue de la Soif" — the street of thirst), is intense and largely student-driven. An excellent base for Mont Saint-Michel (1 hour), the Breton coast and Saint-Malo.