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What to do in Rennes during the All Saints’ holidays
The “Fourmis” exhibition at Les Champs Libres, the Fééries circus, Stunfest, Halloween at the farm and at the museum, the Lices market: our ideas for All Saints’ 2026 in Rennes.
7 min read
The 2026 All Saints’ holidays run from Saturday 17 October to Monday 2 November, for all three zones at once. Rennes is the Breton city for rainy days: museums, covered markets and the lanes of the old centre can be visited in any weather, and the forest of Brocéliande and the coast are less than an hour away.
All Saints’ 2026 events in Rennes
Rennes has one of the fullest calendars in Brittany during the holidays: a major science exhibition, a circus, a video game festival and an avalanche of Halloween activities. Booking is often required, so check the organiser’s website before you go.
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Until 7 March 2027 | “Fourmis” exhibition, from age 5 | Espace des sciences, Champs Libres |
| 17 to 20 October | Marmaille festival, shows for young audiences | Rennes and the metropolitan area |
| 17 to 31 October | “The visit that is (a little) scary”, from age 3 | Musée de Bretagne |
| Sunday 18 October, 2pm to 6pm | “Campagnes ensorcelées”, free afternoon | Écomusée de la Bintinais |
| 18 to 30 October | “Mystery at the farm”, for families | Écomusée de la Bintinais |
| 20, 22, 27 and 29 October | “Patrimômes” tours for children | Rennes tourist office |
| 21 October to 1 November | Cirque Métropole, “Fééries” | Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle |
| 23 to 25 October | Stunfest, video game festival | Le 360 |
| 28 October to 1 November | “The Vampires’ Party”, from age 3 | Café-théâtre Le Bacchus |
| Saturday 31 October | “Come to the museum in costume!” | Musée des beaux-arts |
| Saturday 31 October | Bal de la Mort | Les Ateliers du Vent |
The “Fourmis” exhibition at Les Champs Libres
It is the exhibition of the autumn in Rennes: the Espace des sciences tells the story of ants, their social organisation and how they adapt, with real colonies of exotic and local species to observe. Giant sculpted ants climb the façade of Les Champs Libres. The ticket also gives access to the “Incroyable cerveau” exhibition; allow €8, or €6 at the reduced rate. On until 7 March 2027, from age 5.
Halloween around Rennes
Less than an hour away, three estates make All Saints’ their big event: the Rocher Portail turns into a witches’ castle, La Bourbansais celebrates the Mexican Día de los Muertos, and the Parc botanique de Haute-Bretagne lights up for its autumn evenings.
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 17 October to 1 November | Halloween at the witches’ castle, from age 3 | Le Rocher Portail, Maen Roch |
| 17 October to 1 November | Día de los Muertos | Domaine de la Bourbansais, Pleugueneuc |
| 16 October to 1 November | Les Nocturnes automnales | Parc botanique de Haute-Bretagne, Le Châtellier |
| Saturday 17 October | “Les Jardins ensorcelés” | Jardins de Brocéliande, Bréal-sous-Montfort |
Saturday morning, the Lices market
Nearly three hundred stallholders and ten thousand visitors every Saturday from 7:30am to 1:30pm, beneath the half timbered houses of the Place des Lices: it is one of the largest markets in France. In October, the stalls fill with chestnuts, apples and new cider.
The markets of Rennes
- MarketMarché des LicesRennes · 1 to 2 hoursOn Saturday mornings, nearly 250 producers and traders gather on Place des Lices, around the Martenot halls: the second-largest market in France.
- MarketMarché Alexis-CarrelRennes · 1 to 2 hoursOn Thursday mornings, on Boulevard Alexis-Carrel, the Jeanne-d’Arc district market offers food and manufactured goods, in the north-east of Rennes.
- MarketMarché bio du MailRennes · 1 to 2 hoursOn Wednesday afternoons, from 3 pm to 8 pm, the Mail François-Mitterrand has hosted a 100% organic market since 2015, very popular with the people of Rennes.
- MarketMarché de BeauregardRennes · 1 to 2 hoursOn Tuesdays from 4 pm to 8 pm, on Place Eugène-Aulnette, the Beauregard market offers food, including organic produce, in north-west Rennes.
Museums for rainy days
The Musée de Bretagne, at Les Champs Libres, tells the story of the region from prehistory to today. The Musée des Beaux-Arts holds one of the finest collections in the west. With children, the Écomusée du pays de Rennes and its Bintinais farm, on the edge of the city, show five centuries of country life.
The museums of Rennes
MuseumMusée de BretagneRennes · 2 to 3 hours for the permanent exhibition, longer with the Dreyfus routeAt the Champs Libres in Rennes, a large free museum tracing the history of Brittany from prehistory to today, with nearly a million objects and documents held together with the Écomusée de la Bintinais.
MuseumRennes Museum of Fine ArtsRennes · 1 h 30 to 2 h 30On Quai Zola, a free museum mixing a cabinet of curiosities, antiquities, European masters, Georges de La Tour, drawings and modern art. The permanent collections are free all year.
MuseumÉcomusée de la BintinaisRennes · 2 h 30 to 3 hours, half a day with the familyThe former Écomusée du Pays de Rennes: a large 19-hectare historic farm on the edge of the city, with a museum, 21 old breeds, nearly 120 apple varieties and bocage. Free entry.
Old Rennes on foot
The Rue du Chapitre, Rue Saint-Georges and Rue de la Psalette keep the half timbered houses that escaped the great fire of 1720. The Parc du Thabor, with its rose garden and tall trees, is superb in its autumn colours.
A day trip from Rennes
The forest of Brocéliande is forty minutes away, for Samain on the night of 31 October. Saint-Malo is an hour away: the Route du Rhum village opened there on 20 October, ahead of the start on Sunday 1 November at 1:02pm.
Getaways an hour from Rennes
Natural siteForêt de BrocéliandePaimpont · 1 day minimum, ideally 2 or 3 daysNearly 12,000 hectares around Paimpont, with forests, heathland, lakes and purple schist: the Val sans Retour, the Fontaine de Barenton, Merlin’s Tomb. A mostly private forest, with waymarked trails.
Heritage siteSaint-Malo Intra-MurosSaint-Malo · A dayA walled city entirely encircled by 1,754 metres of granite ramparts, facing the Channel, to the rhythm of the highest tides in Europe.
CastleChâteau de FougèresFougères · 2 to 2 h 30With its towers and three walled enclosures, Fougères has one of the most impressive medieval fortresses in Europe, in the heart of the former Marches of Brittany.
CastleChâteau de CombourgCombourg · 1 hour 30 to 2 hoursBetween four massive towers, Combourg brings together a medieval fortress, a romantic park and memories of François-René de Chateaubriand’s childhood.
Where to stay in Rennes
Stay in Rennes
Places to stay that are still available, with current prices, compared across the main booking platforms.
Partner link: a booking made from this map may earn us a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Our hotels in Rennes
- HotelBalthazar Hôtel & SpaRennes · 1 night to several daysIn the heart of Rennes, Balthazar is a 5-star MGallery hotel with 56 rooms, a Nuxe Spa, a sensory pool, a sauna, a gastronomic restaurant, a bar and an inner patio.See prices and bookPartner link Booking.com
- HotelLe Saint-Antoine Hotel & Spa, BW Premier CollectionRennes · 1 to 2 nights for Rennes; 2 nights to enjoy the spa without rushing.A 4 star hotel with 61 rooms five minutes’ walk from Rennes station, with an indoor pool, a spa area, a hot tub, a hammam and sauna, a gym and paid private parking.See prices and bookPartner link Booking.com
- HotelMama Shelter RennesRennes · 1 to 3 nightsSet in the former Hôtel de la Monnaie in the heart of Rennes, Mama Shelter Rennes is a 4-star hotel with 119 rooms, restaurants, a rooftop, an indoor pool, a spa, sauna, hammam, hot tub, gym and karaoke.See prices and bookPartner link Booking.com
- HotelHôtel Mercure Rennes Centre GareRennes · 1 to 3 nightsFive minutes’ walk from Rennes station, the Mercure Rennes Centre Gare is a 4-star hotel with 142 rooms and 600 m² of meeting space, conveniently located between EuroRennes and the historic centre.
- HotelHôtel Mercure Rennes Centre ParlementRennes · 1 to 3 nights150 m from the Parlement de Bretagne, this 4-star Mercure with 104 rooms occupies a former printing works and combines the historic centre, renovated rooms, a fitness room and private parking.See prices and bookPartner link Booking.com
Going further
Rennes, in the journal
All Saints’ elsewhere in Brittany
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