Transportation
Rennes has well developed national road, rail and air links and also has a very good public transport system.
By plane
Rennes – Saint-Jacques Airport (IATA: RNS)
- It is located about 6 km southwest of Rennes.
- This international airport is open to regular and irregular flights, and to both private and passenger planes.
- The main runway can be used by planes with up to around 180 passengers, and it is best fitted for middle-range flights.
- The secondary paved runway is suitable for light motorized planes (business and leisure).
- Due to the raising traffic in the Nantes Atlantique Airport (approaching its saturation), there is now an ongoing regional project to build a second large airport between Rennes and Nantes that will service both cities.
- Airlines and destinations include:
- Aer Lingus (Dublin)
- Air France (Bordeaux, Lyon, Nice, Paris, Strasbourg, Toulouse)
- Airlinair (Basel)
- Flybe (Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester, Newcastle, Southampton)
- Iberia
- The airport is linked to the city by bus 57.
By train
- Rennes Rail Station is situated in the city centre.
- It has access to Paris on the TGV, a two hour trip; and serves Brittany with regular trains to Brest, Lannion, Nantes, Quimper and Saint-Malo.
- Train service is also available to other cities in France such as Lyon, Marseille, and Lille.
- Rennes has also an international and local bus station, right next to the rail station.
Getting around
Public transport
Local transport is based primarily on an extensive bus network and a metro line that was inaugurated in March 2002 and cost €500 millions to build.
Metro
- There is only one metro line, the 9.4-km A Line, which runs north-west to south-east from J.F. Kennedy to La Poterie via Gare de Rennes (served by Gares metro station), with 15 stations, 13 of which are underground.
- Services run between 5.20 a.m. and 12.40 a.m. every day of the week, and trains come between every 3 and 7 minutes.
- The line is maintained by STAR (Société des Transports d’Agglomeration Rennais), and managed by Keolis (a SNCF group).
Bus
All 6 major urban bus lines pass through République and they are:
- Line 1: Chêne Germain - Saint-Jacques Morinais.
- Line 2: Grand Quartier - Haut-Sancé via Gares.
- Line 3: Saint-Laurent – Alma.
- Line 15: Patton – Bréquigny.
- Line 16: Beauregard – Beaulieu.
- Line 19: Saint-Laurent – Cleunay.
Tickets
All bus and metro lines use the same ticketing system: Titre Unité (1.10€), Titre journée (3.20€), Titre 10 voyages (10.20€), Titre hebdo 12 voyages (9€).
By bike
- With plenty of cycle lanes, the town has plenty of cyclists.
- For residents of the town, bikes can be borrowed free of charge from the mayor’s office.
- If you’re after a pleasant cycling trip, check out the canal route. This is flat, and therefore not very hazardous.
By taxi
- Taxi Agglomeration Rennaise – 0299.307.979
- Allo Rennes Taxi – 0664.840.054
- Artisans Taxis de Rennes – 0299.360.303