The Jacobin Convent – Rennes Metropole Congress Centre

This was a place of culture, dialogue, pilgrimage and burial, from its foundation in 1369 right up until the 18th century, and as such this historic building is an embodiment of the city’s history. In the 15th century, the Brittany-France peace treaty negotiations, between Duchess Anne of Bretagne and King Charles VIII of France, were held here, and it was gifted the miraculous painting known as Notre-Dame-de-Bonne-Nouvelle.
Today, the site is host to a convention centre of cultural and economic events, whose beautiful contemporary design has been seamlessly woven into the historic fabric of the city.

Have you noticed? In 2018, Laurent Grasso created an installation called Revolving History inside the bays of the old chapel, consisting of superimposed and motorised copper prisms. These prisms reflect the light inside and outside the nave in a kinetic movement. This work replaces the lost stained glass windows of the former chapel of the Jacobins convent.

Practical information:

• You can find the Tourist Office at the Jacobins Convent:
  • From 1st September to 30th June: Monday from 2pm to 6pm and Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm
  • From 1st July to 31st August: Monday to Saturday from 9am to 7pm
  • Sundays and public holidays: 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 5pm (closed on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May).
  • Exceptional closures: 24 and 31 December at 5pm.
  • At the disposal of the public: a reception and information area, a shop (tickets, postcards, posters, tourist guides and beautiful books, souvenirs, etc.)
• To get there by metro: Line A and B, Sainte-Anne station | by bus: city centre shuttle bus, Couvent des Jacobins stop and urban and metropolitan lines, République stop, 10 minutes walk away (700m) | by car: Hoche and Les Lices car parks