The Jardin du Thabor is the finest park in Rennes, a 10-hectare formal garden laid out in the French style with an English landscape garden attached. It sits on a hill northeast of the old town and combines a classical rose garden, tree-lined allées, a small aviary, and an orangerie with the broader romantic landscape of paths through woodland and across open lawns.
The rose garden reaches its peak in late May and June, when thousands of varieties are in bloom. The garden is popular with students and families on summer evenings; early mornings it is largely empty and peaceful. The Romanesque church of Saint-Melaine, whose nave dates from the 11th century, stands alongside the garden's eastern edge and is worth a look before or after your walk.