Season
What to do in Ille-et-Vilaine during the All Saints’ holidays
The Route du Rhum in Saint-Malo, Brocéliande for Samain, castles, the Lices market and Cancale oysters: our ideas for All Saints’ 2026 in Ille-et-Vilaine.
8 min read
The 2026 All Saints’ holidays run from Saturday 17 October to Monday 2 November, for all three zones at once. This year, Ille-et-Vilaine has the event of the autumn: the start of the Route du Rhum, in Saint-Malo, on the last day of the holidays.
All Saints’ 2026 events in Ille-et-Vilaine
Between the Route du Rhum, the castles celebrating Halloween and the Rennes calendar, Ille-et-Vilaine has enough to fill both weeks.
| When | What | Where |
|---|---|---|
| 20 October to 1 November | Route du Rhum village, free | Saint-Malo quays |
| Sunday 1 November, 1:02pm | Start of the Route du Rhum | Bay of Saint-Malo |
| 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 |
| Until 7 March 2027 | “Fourmis” exhibition | Champs Libres, Rennes |
| 21 October to 1 November | Cirque Métropole, “Fééries” | Esplanade Charles-de-Gaulle, Rennes |
| 23 to 25 October | Stunfest, video game festival | Le 360, Rennes |
| Sunday 18 October | “Campagnes ensorcelées”, free | Écomusée de la Bintinais, Rennes |
| Saturday 24 October | Halloween at the farm | Ferme de Solidor, Saint-Malo |
The Route du Rhum in Saint-Malo
The village opened on Tuesday 20 October on the quays, with more than a hundred boats in the docks and free activities for thirteen days. The start is given on Sunday 1 November at 1:02pm. Visit the village on a weekday, and for the start, settle on a headland along the coast, such as the Pointe du Grouin in Cancale, rather than in a jammed town.
Around Saint-Malo
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.
ViewpointPointe du GrouinCancale · 1 to 2 hours.An iconic headland near Cancale with a panorama from the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel to the Emerald Coast, with views of Chausey, Cap Fréhel and the Île des Landes.
ActivityGrand Aquarium de Saint-MaloSaint-Malo · About 1 h 30The Grand Aquarium de Saint-Malo: 10 worlds, some 600 species and the Nautibus Expedition, for a self-guided visit of about 1 h 30.
ViewpointMont-DolMont-Dol · 45 minutes to 1 h 30.A 65 m granite mound with a remarkable panorama over the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel, the Dol marshes, Cancale, Granville and Mont-Saint-Michel itself.
Brocéliande for Samain
On the night of 31 October, the Celts celebrated Samain, the ancestor of Halloween. The forest of Brocéliande, around Paimpont, is the perfect setting: the Val sans Retour, the Barenton spring, Merlin’s tomb, under beech trees that turn copper in late October.
Forests and legends
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.
VillagePaimpontPaimpont · Half a day minimum, ideally a full day with a storytelling walk or the forestPaimpont brings together an abbey, a lake, schist and sandstone houses, the Porte des Secrets and the starting points of storytelling walks into the Arthurian legends of Brocéliande.
CastleChâteau de TrécessonCampénéac · 20 to 40 minutes to see it from outsideBy the water, in the world of Brocéliande, Trécesson is a private château of red schist surrounded by moats and legends.
The castles of the Fougères area
The Château de Fougères, one of the largest medieval fortresses in Europe, Combourg and the memory of Chateaubriand, the Rocher Portail and its children’s activities: the east of the department is castle country.
The castles of Ille-et-Vilaine
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.
CastleLe Rocher PortailMaen Roch · 4 hours to a full day depending on the formulaIn Maen Roch, Le Rocher Portail is a remarkably well-preserved Renaissance château that has become a large immersive family site built around a world of witchcraft.
CastleChâteau de VitréVitré · 1 h 30 to 2 hoursOn its rocky spur, the Château de Vitré is a spectacular triangular fortress housing a museum and the town hall, in the heart of a remarkably well-preserved medieval town.
CastleChâteau de La BallueBazouges-la-Pérouse · 1 h to 1 h 30Near Bazouges-la-Pérouse, La Ballue is famous for its geometric, maze-like gardens, designed as a contemporary dialogue with a 17th-century château.
CastleChâteau des Rochers-SévignéVitré · 1 hour to 1 hour 30Near Vitré, Les Rochers-Sévigné keeps the memory of Madame de Sévigné alive in a house surrounded by gardens and landscapes she describes in her letters.
Rennes, and the Lices market
On Saturday morning, the Lices market brings together nearly three hundred stallholders beneath the half timbered houses: one of the largest in France. The rest of the week, the Musée de Bretagne and the Musée des Beaux-Arts fill a rainy day.
In 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.
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.
Where to stay in Ille-et-Vilaine
Stay in Ille-et-Vilaine
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 open at All Saints’
- HotelGrand Hôtel des ThermesSaint-Malo · 1 night to a week or moreRight on the Sillon in Saint-Malo, the Grand Hôtel des Thermes is a 5-star hotel with 177 rooms and suites linked to a large thalassotherapy centre, with a 30 °C seawater pool, a 194-jet Aquatonic course, sauna, hammam, restaurants and kids’ clubs.See prices and bookPartner link Booking.com
- 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
HotelHôtel Barrière Le Grand Hôtel DinardDinard · 1 night to a weekFacing the Baie du Prieuré and the ramparts of Saint-Malo, Le Grand Hôtel Dinard is a 5-star Barrière hotel with 86 fully renovated rooms and suites, a Shiseido Spa, an indoor pool at 29 °C, sauna, hammam, panoramic restaurant and Kid’s Club.See prices and bookPartner link Booking.com- HotelHôtel-Spa L'EssenCiel - Château des PèresPiré-Chancé · 2 nights is ideal for the spa, the food and exploring the estate.A spectacular 4-star hotel and spa with 42 nest rooms at the Domaine du Château des Pères: 36 suspended rooms, 6 on the ground, an indoor pool, sauna, hammam, hot tub and a starred restaurant nearby.See prices and bookPartner link Booking.com
- HotelLe NessaySaint-Briac-sur-Mer · 2 to 3 nights to enjoy the place and the Emerald Coast.A 4-star hotel with 17 rooms and suites on a peninsula in Saint-Briac, a member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, with a restaurant, bar, Phytomer Spa and sea views all around.See prices and bookPartner link Booking.com
HotelChâteau d’ApignéLe Rheu · 1 to 3 nightsOn the edge of Rennes, the Château d’Apigné is a 5-star hotel with 16 rooms, the gourmet restaurant Les Tourelles, 25-hectare grounds, in-room massages, bikes, charging points and large event spaces.See prices and bookPartner link Booking.com
Going further
Ille-et-Vilaine, in the journal
- The Route du Rhum 2026 village opens in Saint-Malo
- Where to stay in Saint-Malo: our hotels by district
- Mythos Festival 2027: Axelle Red, Jeanne Added, Niro and the new names
- Route du Rhum 2026: how to follow the start
- Route du Rhum 2026 in Saint-Malo: the guide
- What to do in Ille-et-Vilaine during the Christmas holidays
- What to do in Rennes during the Christmas holidays
- What to do in Saint-Malo during the Christmas holidays
All Saints’ elsewhere in Brittany
- What to do in Brittany during the All Saints’ holidays
- What to do in Finistère during the All Saints’ holidays
- What to do in Morbihan during the All Saints’ holidays
- What to do in Côtes-d’Armor at All Saints’
- What to do in Loire-Atlantique during the All Saints’ holidays
- What to do in Rennes during the All Saints’ holidays
- What to do in Nantes during the All Saints’ holidays
- What to do in Brest during the All Saints’ holidays
- What to do in Saint-Malo during the All Saints’ holidays
- What to do in Vannes during the All Saints’ holidays
- What to do in Quimper during the All Saints’ holidays
- What to do in Lorient during the All Saints’ holidays
- What to do in Saint-Brieuc during the All Saints’ holidays