The food tour started at 11:30am but we needed a light breakfast. Rennes has one of the largest markets in France, after Paris. That was our destination – Marche de Lices. Once we headed in that direction, it was easy to find, even if we didn’t use any map. Just follow the locals pulling their shopping carts (there were three ahead of us).
There were both inside and outside stalls. We went inside first to see their products and make a few purchases for later.
I probably enjoyed the outside stalls more since it was fresh produce.
These fruits looked great!
Peaches!
Next I found the veggies.
I’m ready for Fall.
Eric’s highlight was the seafood stalls. Yes, we started our day with a few oysters.
We only purchased oysters, but much, much more was available.
We missed the market area with the flowers. We passed individuals with pre-made bundles but alas, it was not to be. Walked past these sunflowers secured to a bike and couldn’t resist a quick photo.
It was time to head for our food tour’s meeting point: Basilica Saint Sauveur de Rennes. It is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church, located in the heart of the historic city center. The foundation was built in the 11th century before expanding several times and rebuilt in the 18th century.
There are four stories of miracles attributed to this basilica with the first in the 1350s. I had just enough time to walk in and grab a few photos.
We try to find a local food tour early in our trips. It helps us get the lay of the land, meet people and also get recommendations. This one in Rennes was fairly new, only available the last several months. Mateo was our guide.
Our first stop………….Madame Claude. Eric and Adrienne are in the photo below along with the other two that joined our tour. They have been touring Europe for the last 6 weeks (2 retired schoolteachers from Ireland). They are pulling a camper and rode their bikes into the heart of the city for the tour.
Galettes are a specialty of the region. Much like a crepe, but savory. Buckwheat flour gives it a nutty flavor and the dark color. Mateo felt this was one of the best in the city. All products going into it was grown within 10 km – very local ingredients – I like that! The meat was local pork, local cheese and the buckwheat was grown in the area also.
Yes, yes I needed some coffee first thing this morning. 🙂 After a short walk, we were at the second stop: bouchon.
I only like pate in Europe – must be the ingredients. The pate had pork, poultry and pieces of local apples. The pickled onions and cornichons were also tasty. Red onions were a local crop this area was known for. We had plenty to share between the 5 of us.
I will give the guide some points for our next stop. He wanted to showcase the mixture of cultures and the resulting food scene.
Not my favorite stop by a long shot, but I did try it and picked out the ingredients that I liked. Underneath was a bed of rice that had soaked in the flavors. The spices were Indienne which I don’t traditionally enjoy. Again, I tried it.
This wasn’t only about eating but also hearing a bit about the city. Eric was asking lots of questions from our guide, Mateo.
These statues were numerous and prevalent around the old town on the older buildings, warding off the ‘black plague’ from the Middle Ages.
Mateo also shared this was part of ongoing construction to open up the waterway. In the past, the city had covered over this space and created parking. It was slowly being removed for the waterways to be seen and other parking created. Nice.
Okay, let’s get back to the food. The next stop was a sandwich place. He was talking about their local beef and the ‘smash burger’ we were about to have………………then a vegetarian burger appeared. Oops, he forgot. The burger available for the tour was seasonal. It had local cheese, lettuce and red onions, along with the local eggplant. It was still good.
It was time for sweet endings.
This was the place we had kouign-amann – a Breton specialty where it originated around 1860.
The photo above doesn’t do it justice. This was absolutely delicious! I had tasted it in other European shops, but this was hands-down the best. My research indicates the recipe should be 40% bread dough, 30% butter and 30% sugar. The shop sold other sweet treats and gave us some samples of their cakes.
But wait! We had one final stop. We were given the choice of pastry puff or ice cream.
I was stuffed and able to get a sack to bring mine home. Thank goodness! We were given the option of selecting two flavors and all were mighty tasty. This was the spot it came out that we were in France celebrating Eric’s birthday. Mateo found a tealight and the group sang Happy Birthday.
As we were walking back to the original meeting point, Mateo talked about the half-timbered buildings that were part of the city’s history.
This block had a slight modification that had been added for stabilization. The white (skinny) building to the left of the four houses was a facade built to support and hold up the others. It was not truly a house or apartment but built to look like one. Ingenious.
One last photo of the group before we went out different ways.
It was a great (and tasty) introduction to the city of Rennes with a knowledgeable tour guide.
Ginny
Darden Travels 