Rue de Rennes

One of the more famous streets in Paris, known for its extravagance and its attraction to tourists who are inclined to doing shopping while visiting the city, the Rue de Rennes is a busy street named after the city of Rennes. It’s the street to go for when one is looking to shop for anything Parisian as the street is abundant with stores and boutiques, with a few of those being from world-renowned fashion brands.

Rue de Rennes is found in the 6th arrondissement of Paris and stretches from Boulevard Saint Germaine, where the church of St Germaine is located, and ends at the Boulevard du Montparnasse. The street is wide, measuring in at 22m and a length of 1.195 km. With its colossal scale, it is reminiscent of the streets and boulevards created during the urbanization of Paris, credited to Baron Haussman for his innovative ideas of transforming the medieval city to the Paris we know of today. While the street lacks the admirable greenery of say, les Champs Élysées, it does have the architectural consistency that creates a uniformed view with the identical facades seen in the buildings.

The Rue de Rennes is not rich in historical sites, though there is the church Notre Dame des Champs located on the corner of Boulevard du Montparnasse. It was initially made of wood, but it was later replaced by a more permanent structure with Romanesque architecture. It was completed in 1876, and carries some history with it. The Rue de Rennes has never really been famous for monumental history. Rather, it’s been popular with tourists and Parisians because of the many shopping outlets it offers. As it was initially established, the Rue de Rennes is home to many boutiques, some of them with world-class appeal. It presents a mix of expensive and affordable, so the serious shopper that is not looking for only the luxury brands will feel quite at home on the street.

Most shoppers come around the period of late June to late July when the big summer sales are in full swing. French fashion has always had its place in the heart of many shoppers and chic fashion is in abundant in the long stretched street. With the variety offered, you are more likely to run out of spending resources than options that you like. Restaurants, cafes, bookshops are available on the street, so you are not limited to apparel and shoe shopping alone. There are various affordable accommodation options, offered on the street, should you want to reside close to it when you are visiting.

Because of just how popular the street is, there have been talks to develop the Rue de Rennes even further. Most of the work would include expanding the sidewalks to accommodate more people, and create bike lanes to accommodate more cyclists. More trees would also be planted to increase the green appeal of the street. The Rue de Rennes is a good place to tour through when heading to the artistic capital that is Montparnasse.