Parlement de Bretagne

The Parlement de Bretagne is the grandest building in Rennes and one of the finest examples of 17th-century civic architecture anywhere in France. Built between 1618 and 1655, it served as the seat of Brittany's regional parliament until the Revolution and now houses the Court of Appeal. The architect Salomon de Brosse, who also designed the Luxembourg Palace in Paris, laid out the classical facades that still dominate the Place du Parlement de Bretagne.

The interior, restored after the 1994 fire, can be visited on guided tours booked through the tourist office. The restored Grande Chambre is extraordinary: a carved and gilded ceiling rebuilt with painstaking accuracy using surviving fragments and historical documentation. The building also contains works by Charles Errard and Noël Coypel from the original 17th-century decorative programme.

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In February 1994, a violent protest by Breton fishermen set fire to the building and destroyed the gilded ceiling of the Grande Chambre, one of the most important 17th-century painted ceilings in France. The restoration took nearly a decade and cost around 70 million euros — a sum that made it one of the most expensive heritage restorations in French history.