Hi; We are considering visiting our granddaughter who will be doing a semester in Rennes in the Fall. However, our budget is streached as we already have three trips planned for 2009, two in Europe. We would be looking for a hotel in the center of Rennes and have looked at Hotel de Nemours. Other low cost suggestions are needed. Our travel dates are in the middle of October for about six nights. It just so happens that we may celebrate our 49th anniversary in France. Love it. Thanks Iris P.S. Aer Lingus is offering a flight to CDG for $707pp that seems very reasonable.

I stayed at the "Hotel des Lices". It's basic but very centrally located (in the old town) and rather cheap. The neighbourhood is very nice too (shops, monuments, etc..). It was perfectly fine for me. I called them and the price is €65 or 70 /night for a double.

Here's the address of their website :
http://www.hotel-des-lices.com/c/247...brittany-.html


If you pick this one, I would strongly advise you to insist on getting a room at the back of the hotel (rampart side), not in the front side ("Place des Lices" side).There are a lot of bars, etc.. in the area, a lot of students out at night, so the "Place des Lices" is quite noisy.

Checking the "Hotel de Nemours", I see that it's also centrally located (slightly less so for not being in the old town, but it wouldn't make much of a difference in this rather small town),which means it should be quieter, the price is essentially the same, they should be comparable since they're both 2 stars.

Didn't stay there, though, so I couldn't recommend it. But I would be satisfied with the location, at least.

By the way, I studied for two years in Rennes, and really loved the place a lot. I hope your granddaughter will enjoy her stay as much as I did. Though a nice town, it's not the most interesting place for tourism, but IMO a really great place for a student to stay.Plus Brittany has a lot to offer generally speaking.

Hi clair; Thanks much for all that information and sugestions. My granddaughter will only be there for a semester, but she is very excited. We were in Brittney in late September, early October, but never got to Rennes. So we are excited to visit our granddaughter and see Rennes. Thanks again. Iris

I went through a similar process as clairobscur: thought about the Hotel des Lices, then checked Hotel de Nemours, and formed the opinion that neither offered a great advantage over the other.

I had a room at the back in Hotel des Lices, but friends had rooms at the front. They found that earplugs were provided! In the event, they didn't need them, even though our stay included a Friday night. [During the academic term, Thursday is the big night out, because students tend to scatter to their family homes on Friday evening.]

Rennes is a most enjoyable city to visit. If you want an excursion, both Fougères and Vitré are in easy range.

Check out the accorhotels.com web site and look for deals on the Novotel in Rennes. It's the usual modern style with good-sized rooms; most doubles come with a queen-size bed plus a daybed. The location is quiet, and the restaurant is reasonably good, especially given the prices.

Thanks Padraig and Underhill; The web site 'Underhill' gave me allows many more options for hotels. And 'Padraig, we have been to both towns you mention. However, the Vitre Chateau was closed in early October. This chateau was an such amazing sight as we approched along the river. Our hope is it was only closed on the day we were there. Thanks again. Iris

iris1745 wrote: "the Vitre Chateau was closed in early October."

There is not a great deal to see in the chateau. The habitable space is occupied by civic offices, not generally open for public visits.

I noticed a well-located Mercure Hotel on the Accor site, offering rates that seemed reasonable.

Hi Padraig; I noticed the Mecure too. We have stayed in Mecure hotels before, both in Rouen and Avignon.Very functional. In Vitre, you know how impressive the chateau appears from the river. But, that was good information to know on the chateau. Thanks Iris

Okay, just in case you want to get out of town with your granddaughter: how about La Gacilly? Very pretty village, a local centre for artisan crafts, and you can take a boat trip on the scenic Aff.