Place de la Mairie (Town Hall Square), Rennes (must see)

The story of the Fire of Rennes begins with a drinking party in a carpenter's shop on Tristan street. On the night of December 23, 1720, a domestic fight, a broken lamp, and a fire. Flames leaped from roof to roof in the narrow, medieval streets. The city was consumed in "a sea of fire." A providential downpour on the December 30th stopped the blaze.

The city north of the river Vilaine had to be rebuilt. The King, Louis XV, sent his architect, Jacques Gabriel. Gabriel's plan is founded on large squares and streets intersecting at right angles, giving the city a logical form. Gabriel started with Parliament Square and Town Hall Square (Place de la Mairie).

The Town Hall Square is vast. On the west is the Baroque-style Town Hall, a monument of the reconstruction of Rennes. The building has two identical wings flanking the clock tower alcove in the center. The right-wing is the civil court. To the left is the Town Hall. The belfry of the clock tower is topped with an onion dome. The building was constructed in the elegant style of Louis XV.

The Town Hall shares the west side with the Rennes Opera House. On the east are Saint-George street and its half-timbered houses, the Saint George Palace, and gardens. In the southeast is Saint-Germain Square, with Saint-Germain Church. The Saint-Germain footbridge spans the Vilaine River, connecting the square to Emile Zola Quay.