A Night Out

Rennes has the perfect balance between being a university town with a thriving night life and being a quaint French city. Night life in Rennes is in some ways different but also very similar to the United States. I will walk through an average night out with friends in Rennes. First, you will meet up with your friends between 9 and 10pm. It’s important to have a set meeting time and place since people are often taking the bus or metro from the various places around town. Public transportation dictates much of a night out so make sure you have a plan before you go out. Thankfully, the buses and metro run until after midnight of weekdays and after 1am on weekends. Once you have decided where to meet up the world is full of possibilities. Rennes hosts a huge number of bars, restaurants, and cafes. If you want something small and quiet so you can talk with friends, there is a place for that. If you just want to grab a quick drink before moving on to the next activity there are lots of bars that have outdoor seating. If you feel like dancing there a several discotheques and many bars have awesome music.

A weekly favorite of mine is to visit a bar with a trivia night each Wednesday with friends. The topics and questions are all in English, although that hasn’t given us an edge yet! Trivia begins and it’s a blast. Often the questions leave us scratching our heads but having a nice laugh. Trivia night also means catching up and sharing stories of the week so far and making plans for the weekend ahead. It’s a great time to relax with a drink or two in the middle of the week with friends. One thing I feel I need to mention is that a night out at a bar will include drinking, but it is not about drinking, nor do you have to drink if you don’t want. The legal drinking age in France is 18. That means by the time a student reaches 20-22 there is little appeal in drinking simply to drink. Depending on the bar and what you order they can also be quite expensive. The true memories will come from laughing with friends, finding a new place to hang out, or exploring the city.

After trivia, there is normally time to kill until you need to catch your bus or the metro. Downtown Rennes is easy to navigate so this generally means walking around for a little bit. We almost always end up at our favorite taco joint located on the Rue de la Soif. This street is the center of bar life. For the entire block, you’ll find nothing but bars, cafés, and places to grab a quick bite to eat. However, back to the tacos! Tacos in France aren’t what you think they are. Our favorite taco place isn’t a taqueria, but instead they are known for their kebabs. And the tacos are more of a tricked-out quesadilla than a traditional Mexican taco. They throw in fries, meat, cheese, and lots of sauce, wrap it up in a big flour tortilla, and grill it. It’s the perfect hand food to share with friends while you talk and maybe grab another drink on the Rue de la Soif. Once we are done we all start to walk to République, the epicenter of public transportation in Rennes.

It’s important to keep an eye on the time and when your last bus and or metro leaves for the night. Rennes is not a super large city, but it’s still not fun to lose track of time and end up walking 45-60 minutes home at night. However generally we all get to République with more than enough time and continue talking until it’s time to go. There are bisous and “à demain” all around and promises to text when we get home. The night is a success when you get home feeling happy from the new memories and laughs you shared with friends.

Isabella Herman,Wittenberg University