Travelling to Rennes

BY AIR

Rennes does have an airport with some budget airlines operating routes here. Flybe provides a service to and from Southampton. Connecting flights from Southampton go to and from Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Newcastle. There are also direct flights to and from Paris Charles de Gaulle (CGD) and Exeter. The airport is located just 5km from the city centre so transport to and from the airport is straight forward, provided by regular buses and also taxis.

http://www.rennes.aeroport.fr/

An alternative option near Rennes is the airport of Nantes (Nantes Atlantique Airport) with a regular shuttle service from the airport to the centre of Nantes. Nantes is about an hour away from Rennes by train. Flights land in Nantes from destinations in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States (indirect flights).

http://www.nantes.aeroport.fr/

Charles de Gaulle international airport in Paris is also a possible option, with direct train connections from the airport (“Aéroport Paris - Roissy - Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG 2) - Gare TGV” / Paris CDG Terminal 2) to Rennes (see below for further information).

http://www.aeroportsdeparis.fr/adp/fr-fr/Passagers/Accueil/

Finally, Dinard airport (near Saint Malo, about an hour's drive away from Rennes) provides direct flights (Ryanair) from and to London Stansted, Bristol, Birmingham and Nottingham. You need to get a taxi from Dinard airport to Saint Malo (about 10 €) and then a train from Saint Malo to Rennes which takes about 40 minutes. Please note that there are no shuttles between Dinard Airport and the city of Rennes.

http://www.dinard.aeroport.fr/Votre-aeroport/Horaires-vols-Dinard

* Nantes Atlantique Airport to Nantes Train Station:

http://www.nantes.aeroport.fr/ANA-English/Page/Page_Taxis--buses-and-shuttle-buses_a2391-0-p2635-14.html

From Monday through to Saturday, a shuttle bus runs between the airport and the city centre every 30 minutes from 5.30am to 11.15pm. On Sundays and bank holidays the shuttle runs every 30 minutes from 6.15am to 11.15pm.

The airport shuttle links the Nantes Atlantique International Airport directly to the train station in just 20 minutes and the city centre in just 26 minutes.

Tickets: 7.50 € .Tickets can be purchased in the shuttle.

Timetables can be downloaded at: Timetable Tan Air Shuttle (PDF File)

Bus Number 37 stops outside Terminal Hall 1 and will take you to tramway line 3 at “La Neustrie” terminus. Then, take the tramway which will drop you at “Place du Commerce”, in the heart of the city. Return journeys every 20 minutes from Monday to Saturday. TAN tickets can be used on this service.

BY RAIL

If you do not want to fly, the Eurostar from London to the centre of Paris would be a good choice. Eurostar trains arrive in “Paris Gare du Nord”. You then need to take the metro (line 4, direction “Porte d’Orléans” and get off at “Montparnasse Bienvenüe”.

The TGV (high speed train) offers direct services to Rennes from Paris leaving from the Gare Montparnasse or from Charles de Gaulle international airport (Terminal 2). The earlier you book your train, the less expensive it is, with special deals when reservations are made at least three months in advance.

There are regular TGV services from Paris to Rennes throughout the day and the journey takes a little over two hours.

* Nantes-Rennes by regional train (TER): Check the train timetable

* Paris CDG-Rennes or Montparnasse-Rennes by TGV Train: Check the train timetables on the SCNF website

 

Most of the information presented above was compiled by Gráinne O'Keeffe-Vigneron and Anne Goarzin (University Rennes 2) to whom we are grateful for letting us reproduce it here. 

Online user: 1