Place des Lices is the historic heart of old Rennes, a large square flanked by a pair of handsome 17th-century market halls and ringed by medieval half-timbered buildings. On Saturday mornings, one of the largest weekly markets in France fills the square and spills into the surrounding streets — farmers, fishmongers, cheese sellers, butchers, creperies, and stalls selling Breton specialities from cider to charcuterie. If you are in Rennes on a Saturday, the market is unmissable.
The rest of the week the square is quieter, good for a café terrace and some people-watching. The streets leading off it — Rue Saint-Guillaume, Rue Saint-Michel — are lined with some of the best-preserved medieval colombage houses in the city. Rue Saint-Michel becomes Rue de la Soif (Thirst Street) after dark, when its dense concentration of bars fills with students.