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Parks and gardens

Thabor gardens

The Thabor gardens were designed by Denis Bühler on the orchard of one of the oldest abbeys in Rennes in the 19th century. The gardens, which is spread over 10 hectares in the city centre and includes a French-style garden, a picturesque garden with exotic species, fountains, an aviary, a rose garden, statues, greenhouses and a bandstand, are rightly regarded as one of France’s finest.

Oberthür garden

Today owned by the city and open to the general public, this park was designed and developed in 1863 for the famous printer François-Charles Oberthür by landscape artist Denis Bühler. Cedars, giant redwoods, bald cypresses, magnolias, beeches and hornbeams were planted around a central lake, which was created to drain the marshy part of the property. Winding paths run alongside areas for relaxation in a harmonious environment.

Tanneurs park and Saint-Martin meadows

Leading down to the banks of the Vilaine, Tanneurs park, open to the public, is situated in the green corridor which stretches from the city centre to the natural site of the Saint-Martin meadows. Some 90 trees, some of which are particularly tall such as the chestnuts and redwoods, line the paths of this English-style garden. Standing above the park, a villa built in the late 19th century was owned for a long period by various families of tanners. It was acquired by the city in 1999 and now houses a European institution, the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions.

Tanneurs park - D. Gouray / Ville de Rennes

Beauregard park

Rennes’ most recent park, which covers six hectares, is spread over a series of terraces. Designed by the company HYL (Hannetel-Yves-Laforge) and the artist D. Boeno, the theme of the garden is linked to the path of the sun and the attraction of light. This garden, punctuated with old hedgerows and planted with an orchard walk to the south, opens onto Rennes and also features a huge work of art, ‘The 21st century standing stones’, designed by artist Aurélie Nemours and inaugurated in 2006.

Maurepas park

In 1938, in the north-eastern districts of Rennes, a park was created “for children”, featuring flowerbeds with rose bushes, round boxwoods and lime trees trimmed to form curtains. A viewpoint, with concrete porticos reminiscent of the geometric shapes of the 1930s, provides a structure for climbing rose bushes. This garden, which contains the only two remaining umbrella pines in Rennes, has featured a bronze bull sculpted by artist L. Derbré since 2002.

La Pergola du parc de Maurepas - D. Gouray / Ville de Rennes

Gayeulles park

Set in a hundred hectares of fields in north-east Rennes, Gayeulles is currently the city’s largest park. Located in the midst of a natural landscape with wooded areas, lakes and clearings, the park offers a wide range of activities and is a unique area for sports and leisure with all the charm of a pastoral setting. It was created in 1967 and extended in 1978 with the addition of a series of parcels of land, making it possible to access Rennes forest without having to take the road.

Parc des Gayeulles - D. Gouray / Ville de Rennes

Bréquigny park

The park is located on the site of the former castle of Bréquigny, which belonged to the Count of Boberil. It was designed by the City of Rennes Gardens Department and from the outset was a place for relaxation, walking and leisure. To preserve the site’s original character, old wooded areas, maples, hornbeams and centuries-old oaks have been kept and stand alongside chestnut trees, birches, wild cherry trees and redwoods. Walkers can contemplate these botanical riches as they stroll along the wide sandy alleys that criss-cross the green hills.
The garden also features a contemporary work of art designed by Ghada Amer that acts as a support for climbing rose bushes.

Parc de Bréquigny - D. Gouray / Ville de Rennes