What is in season in Rennes, and what to order when the market changes.

Next up in Rennes

Salon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants de Rennes

22-24 Jan 2027French estate wine, tasting and direct sales

Hotels for these dates

Spring

Pommes de terre primeurs de Bretagne
Breton new potatoes from the Léon coast reach the Marché des Lices from May, thin-skinned and sold by the kilo, and the market bistros cook them plain in salted butter.
Artichauts de Bretagne
Breton globe artichokes come in from the Léon plain from May, sold by the head at the Lices and cooked whole with vinaigrette rather than trimmed down.
Fraises de Plougastel
The Plougastel strawberry season opens in May and is short; Rennes pastry counters build tarts around it while it lasts.
Salicorne
Samphire cut from the salt marshes of the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel appears on fish counters and bistro plates through late spring, served briefly blanched with butter.

Summer

Homard breton
Breton blue lobster peaks over the summer and turns up on the Halles Centrales fish counters and on the tasting menus of the city's better kitchens.
Cidre nouveau on tap
Summer is when the crêperie terraces do most of their cider trade, and farmhouse producers from Ille-et-Vilaine sell bottles direct at the Saturday market.
Melon and tomato from the Vilaine valley
Market-garden produce from the valleys south of Rennes fills the Lices from July, and it is the stretch of the year when the market bistros write the shortest menus.
Sardines
Breton sardines land through the summer and are grilled whole; the tinned Breton conserves sold in the Halles are packed from the same season's catch.
Coco de Paimpol
The shelling bean from the north Breton coast runs from high summer into October, sold in the pod on the Lices stalls for podding at home.

Autumn

Huîtres de Cancale
The oyster months proper begin in September, when the beds in the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel firm up and the Cancale creuses and plates reach Rennes counters at their best.
Agneau des prés-salés
Salt-marsh lamb from the bay is a late-summer to autumn animal, and it is the one Breton meat that Rennes kitchens treat as a seasonal event.
Châtaignes de Redon
Chestnuts from the Redon country south-west of Rennes come in through October and November, roasted at market stalls and worked into pastry.
Champignons du bocage
Wild mushrooms picked in the forests around Rennes, Liffré and Paimpont drive the autumn foraging workshops and turn up on the locavore bistro menus.
Festivals this seasonAux Vignobles ! RennesExpected 29 Oct to 1 NovBreizh Bier SessionExpected NovLe Marché à Manger5 Sep 2027La Fête du Champ à l'AssietteExpected 12 Sep 2027

Winter

Coquilles Saint-Jacques
The Bay of Saint-Brieuc scallop season runs from October to April under tight dredging quotas, and winter is when Rennes fish counters carry them live in the shell.
Moules de bouchot
Bouchot mussels raised on posts in the Bay of Mont-Saint-Michel hold through the winter and are the cheapest good shellfish on the market.
Kouign-amann and far breton
The Rennes bakery competition sharpens in winter, when the butter cakes sell hardest and the Halles counters bake far breton in trays through the day.
Andouille de Guémené
The smoked chitterling sausage is a cold-weather galette filling, served with apple or onion compote through the winter months in almost every crêperie in the city.
Festivals this seasonSalon des Vins des Vignerons Indépendants de Rennes22-24 Jan 2027

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