In the city of Rennes, France you will find my favorite library of all time- Les Champs Libres. In English that translates to The Open Fields and it’s much more than just a simple library.

It’s truly the perfect destination for travelers or visitors passing through Rennes! In fact, I’d say it’s one of the best things that people should do in Rennes while they are traveling there.

Of course, I love libraries. I’m a book worm and I strongly believe that visiting libraries wherever you’re traveling is something that can improve any trip. I even wrote a whole article about it!

But this library- oh let me tell you- this is the coolest library that I’ve been to.

Not only is it a library, but it contains multiple history musuems, art galleries, and science museums. Some change depending on the season, and some stay the same throughout the year.

Every museum has translations into English, and most of the employees that I came across spoke English as well.

One that is a permanant museum is the Museum of Bretagne, that is open to the public for free. It is my favorite museum in Rennes, France, and it shares the history of the region through different time periods. If someone wants to learn more about the history and culture of the Bretagne region of France, then this museum needs to be on their to-visit list.

Another that I visited during it’s open season was a museum all about death. It was very intriguing to learn things such as how funerals work in different countries, and see different artists’ representations of death in their artwork. This exhibit goes until September 2024, so if you’re visiting before then I would highly reccommend that you check it out!

As cool as the exhibits are, let’s talk about everything this place has to offer. (I’ll come back to the exhibits in a future article.)

When you first walk into the building, you see a giant stage. While I was there, there were a bunch of building toys that kids could play with on it. They change it up every so often but it’s always a great sight to see the kids having a blast with their parents just as you enter the library.

Then if you go to the right, you can enter the library portion of the library. There are 6 floors, each with different themes and areas. There are not only books in the library, but board games, comics, movies, and more for rent or just to enjoy while you are there.

There is so much to see on every floor of the library- and that’s not talking about the books. There are mini exhibits and historic artifacts to see. Even on the staircase (if you decide to do a real workout going up the 6 tall flights of stairs) there are things to look at and read to learn more about the history of the area and of France in general. You can also get free bookmarks with little pictures of the historic artifacts.

From the top two floors you are surrounded in windows that overlook the city of Rennes from high up. It’s an astounding view and the perfect place to study while I lived there!

The 6th floor was my favorite because all of the books there were history related and there were huge sections with history specific to France and the Bretagne area where Rennes is.

Going back to when you enter the library, if you go to the left, you will see the Planetarium and various science-themed museums for kids and adults alike!

If you instead go up a level, that’s where you will find the endless exhibits. And if you keep going straight past various study halls, you’ll get to the cafeteria. (I never actually ate there, but it always smelled really good.)

There are also free bathrooms past the cafe if you follow the signs, so that is a nice perk as well. (If you didn’t know, free public restrooms in France can be hard to come by.)

There is a main gift shop between all of the exhibits for all of your souvenir needs. They have items that reference the museum of Brittany (musee de bretagne) and also items that are specific to whatever pop-up exhibits they have at the time. In honor of the 2024 olympics, they had a pop-up exhibit about sports in Rennes throughout history in the summer of 2024. It was a great exhibit to explore!

And who knows? Maybe there is even more to explore about this library that I’m not even aware of. All I know is that if you are visiting Rennes, you must add a visit to Les Champs Libres library to your itinerary! Go see if you can find even more fun things to explore there!