Events by city · France · Rennes
33 upcoming events in Rennes you can go to alone, 27 of them free, from Tuesday 17 Nov to Wednesday 14 Jul 2027. Picked from city open data and official agendas. Check the official page before you go: times and prices can change.
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0 events in the next 14 days.
Science communicator David Louapre explains how probability, biology, economics and psychology shape the design of video games. The evening talk at Les Champs Libres is free and ends with a book signing, a natural moment to chat with fellow curious minds.
The auditorium of the Champs Libres cultural centre in Rennes hosts a free Saturday-afternoon debate on how Europe should position itself in a changing world order. The organisers, working with the media outlet Le Grand Continent and Asia Society France, ask who Europe's new rivals are, whether it has new allies, and whether daily news hides its strengths or its weaknesses, citing the repositioning of the United States, the weakening of NATO and the ambitions of Russia and China. The guests are Philippe Le Corre of ESSEC and the Asia Society Policy Institute, Sabine Dullin of Sciences Po, and the Turkish economist and political scientist Ahmet Insel. The moderator is the journalist Pierre Ramond. The session lasts an hour and a half, starting at 14:15, and is in French. «L'Europe face aux nouveaux rivaux géopolitiques» Starts 14:15, ends about 15:45. Source: OpenAgenda — DCL (open data).
A relaxed library meet-up near the Thabor park where people share books, films and music they loved recently. You can join the conversation or just sit and listen, so it is a gentle way to meet other readers on a Saturday afternoon.
A regular informal club at the library where people swap recommendations for books, films and music over tea. You can join in or just listen, so it is a gentle way to meet local readers in Rennes.
A warm, open jam where any acoustic or electro-acoustic instrument is welcome, with guitars, a bass, a piano and percussion always available at the bar. Come to improvise or to listen; jams turn strangers into bandmates. No price is shown on the listing.
A conversation and sharing workshop for people learning to speak French together with others. Parents can bring children under school age, who are looked after by librarians with songs and games. Newcomers to the city regularly use these sessions to make first contacts.
In an 'arpentage', a book is literally torn into sections: each participant reads a part, then the group pieces the ideas together in discussion. This session tackles anthropologist Philippe Descola's essay, with director Frédérique Mingant present. It is free, without booking, and the format means everyone talks to everyone.
On the second floor of the Champs Libres, the big cultural centre by Rennes station, the music librarians host an hour of vinyl: legendary covers, favourite albums, a story behind a record, a concert someone saw. Bring one of your own discs or pick from the library's collection, and share a moment of listening with other music lovers. Free, no sign-up, in French but mostly about the music. «Pochettes [Vinyles] Surprises» Starts 17:30, ends about 18:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Bibliothèque (open data).
The Ducky Comedy Club's open mic brings five comedians, from first-timers to seasoned acts, trying out jokes for about 75 minutes. Booking is free, the exit collection is pay-what-you-want with at least one drink per person, and it is not recommended for under-16s. Arrive 30 minutes early for a seat; a small bistro audience makes it easy to chat.
The Cypher Afro invites residents, dancers and fans of Afro-Caribbean music to dance together on a public square, as part of the city's 'Cet hiver à Rennes' season. The Yourvibe association brings back the event after a successful first edition. A dance circle in the open air is a natural way to join in with strangers.
Rennes post-rock quintet Hanry, mixing shoegaze, electronica and trip-hop, plays a free apéro-concert in Antipode's club room, standing and unreserved. Doors open at 19:00 and the music starts at 19:30. A free early-evening gig with a drink in hand is an easy way to meet local music fans.
Four travelling musicians and two dancers lead a street-style ball played indoors, with dances collected from local residents and rhythms from around the world. The steps are designed to be accessible to everyone, and the event is free with booking. A ball where everyone learns the dances together is one of the easiest ways to join in alone.
On Sunday 10 January at 16:00 the Auditorium of the Champs Libres cultural centre in Rennes shows the documentary Violence dans les champs as part of its Sunday documentary series, Docs du dimanche. The film is by Magali Serre and Nicolas Legendre, runs 1 hour 10 minutes and dates from 2026. For seven years Legendre, a journalist and the son of farmers, investigated the Breton agricultural model, and the film gathers testimony from farmers, livestock breeders and agricultural decision-makers who describe a system they call violent towards farmers, the environment and even institutions. His investigation first appeared in Le Monde in April 2023 and became a prize-winning book. The screening is followed by a meeting with Nicolas Legendre. Admission is free and the language is French. The afternoon ends at about 18:15, which makes it a thoughtful outing for someone coming alone. «Violence dans les champs» Starts 16:00, ends about 18:15. Source: OpenAgenda — Musée de Bretagne (open data).
This Sunday documentary follows four young women in Brittany who are reviving small-scale, self-reliant farming, and it opens with a short film on the farmer-poet Anjela Duval. The screening is followed by a discussion and is free. Talking over a documentary afterwards makes it easy to meet other viewers.
Every Wednesday afternoon this volunteer-run group meets to speak Spanish for the pleasure of it, to learn, to pass it on and to practise together. It is free and open to all levels. Conversation tables are built for newcomers, so turning up alone is the norm.
The Théâtre du Cercle's «Coup de Pouce» evening gives two emerging companies the stage to show work in progress: Cie Gronde's «Des libellules dans les poches», about the entomologist Evelyn Cheesman at her London typewriter, and a piece by Cie Big City, both in the world of object theatre and puppetry, followed by a chance to talk with the artists. A relaxed way to see new creation before anyone else, in a neighbourhood theatre in the Thabor area. Tickets €6, Sortir! card €4; ages 8 and up; booking on HelloAsso. «Soirée Complicité "Coup de Pouce" - compagnies Big City et Gronde» Starts 19:00, ends about 21:00. Source: OpenAgenda — Carte Sortir ! (open data).
A new-year open afternoon on the Beaulieu science campus: wander freely through the zoology gallery with its skeletons and stuffed animals, the gallery of old scientific instruments, the geology museum, the listed 1940s canvases by Breton painters Mathurin Méheut and Yvonne Jean-Haffen, and the Breizh arboretum and outdoor artworks, a museum under the open sky. Start at the reception in building 1. Free, no booking, within capacity; metro B to Beaulieu-Université. «Visite des collections universitaires» Starts 14:00, ends about 18:00. Source: OpenAgenda — Échosciences (open data).
Thierry Frémaux's 2025 documentary assembles more than 120 restored, previously unseen films by the Lumière brothers, showing the world at the start of the twentieth century and how much of cinema was already there. The screening lasts 1 h 44 and is free. A Sunday afternoon in the auditorium is an easy cultural outing alone.
Every Thursday at 16:00 a volunteer group meets to speak Italian for pleasure, to learn, to teach and to practise together. It takes place in the citizens' space of Rennes's big cultural centre and is free. Conversation groups thrive on newcomers, so joining alone is completely natural.
Librarians host a participatory hour about music and especially vinyl: favourite albums, legendary sleeves, a musical anecdote or a remembered concert. You can bring your own records or talk about the library's, then listen together. It is free, and a shared love of records makes conversation easy.
In Siberia, Yulia and Katia were moved straight from the orphanage to a neuropsychiatric boarding institution and stripped of their rights as citizens. Together they begin a fight to make the state restore them and make their emancipation possible. Through hopes and setbacks, «Manuel de libération» follows their road to freedom. A Sunday documentary at the Champs Libres auditorium, followed by a discussion led by Mirabelle Fréville, in partnership with the Cinémathèque de Bretagne as part of its Justice(s) cycle. Free. «Manuel de libération» Starts 16:00, ends about 18:00. Source: OpenAgenda — Carte Sortir ! (open data).
Swap your favourite films and share your love of cinema at this friendly, participatory meeting in the Champs Libres library. The programme is conversation and trailers, among enthusiasts or simply the curious. For this special session within the Travelling film festival the theme is Italian cinema: recent or cult films, series, shorts, every genre and every era are welcome. Thursday late afternoon, second floor of the library. Free; nothing to prepare except a title or two you want to recommend. «Parlons ciné spécial Travelling et cinéma italien» Starts 17:30, ends about 18:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Carte Sortir ! (open data).
On Thursday 11 March the Archives de Rennes, on avenue Jules-Ferry, hosts a free talk by historian Hugo Melchior, author of Les caddies de la colère. It looks back at the September 1975 strike at the Mammouth hypermarket of the Alma centre in Rennes, using unpublished archives, testimonies and photographs. The walkout mobilised mainly women employed in retail, who blocked access to the store with a spectacular barrier of shopping trolleys to defend their dignity, conditions and wages in the face of authoritarian management. The lecture also discusses the lasting effect of the struggle on many participants' careers and commitments, and it is followed by a book signing. It belongs to a series on the bicentenary of photography. Entry is free but registration is required, and the talk is in French. It starts at 18:00 and ends about 19:30. «Les caddies de la colère, une grève exemplaire dans la grande distribution» Starts 18:00, ends about 19:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Bicentenaire de la Photographie - 2026-2027 (open data).
On Wednesday 24 March 2027 at 21:00 the café-theatre Le Bacchus, at 3 esplanade Julie Rose Calvé in Rennes, presents Alexis & Trem in Rien que pour vous. The listing promises a one-hour improvised adventure with no script, no water and no parachute. Taking ideas from the audience, the two performers fill the stage with crowds of characters and situations that get funnier and more improbable as their imagination spins off and their brains run short of oxygen. What you see is said to be unique, a fleeting moment of humour that will never happen anywhere else. Alexis Robin and Tremeur Le Floch are actors used to theatres and comedy clubs, and in 2024 the duo won the grand prize of the Souffleur d'Arundel comedy festival. Tickets cost 18 or 12 euros, and the lower price is used here. An improv show in a café-theatre is easy alone, since the audience supplies the ideas and laughs together. «Alexis & Trem - Rien que pour vous» Starts 21:00, ends about 22:15. Source: OpenAgenda — Unidivers Oui sortir, vos deux agendas ! (open data).
On Monday 5 April the cultural service of the University of Rennes offers a guided visit of its geology museum on the Beaulieu campus. The collection holds around one million items, from minerals and rocks to fossils and other objects linked to the history and workings of the Earth. It is housed in the geosciences teaching building, which is building 5 of the campus. The visit is guided and lasts about an hour, so it is a compact way to see a university collection that many residents never get to explore. Entry is free, but you must register in advance through the online booking page given in the listing. The text is in French, and the museum has its own information page on the university's culture website. It makes a good after-work plan for someone who likes science and curiosity. It starts at 17:30 and ends about 18:30. «Visite guidée du musée de géologie» Starts 17:30, ends about 18:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Service Culturel - Université de Rennes (open data).
On Sunday 11 April the multipurpose Salle Smague on Rue Papu in the Bourg-l'Évêque district of Rennes hosts Ducky Scène Ouverte, an open stage for humour and stand-up. Six performers come to try out their best jokes, from complete beginners to more experienced comedians, and the audience sees them over about one hour and fifteen minutes. Anyone can sign up to go on stage, with no audition. Volunteers run a drinks stall to support the neighbourhood association, so you can have something to drink while you watch. Entry is free and booking is recommended; at the end a hat is passed around and you give what you wish. Reception starts at 17:30. The listing is in French and says the show is for an informed adult audience. It starts at 18:00 and ends about 19:30. «Ducky Scène Ouverte - Bourg L'Évêque» Starts 18:00, ends about 19:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Dimanche à Rennes (open data).
Every Wednesday the RDV4C citizen meet-ups at Les Champs Libres include a game of Scrabble played in English, a playful way to practise the language with whoever turns up. It is free and open to all, and sitting down to a board game with strangers is one of the easiest icebreakers when you come alone. «RDV4C English Scrabble» Starts 14:00, ends about 15:00. Source: OpenAgenda — RDV4C (open data).
In the TNB's «Rebonds» series, researchers from Rennes 2 university respond to a show of the season from their own field. This session, psychoanalyst and lecturer David Bernard reflects on Calixto Neto's dance piece «Feijoada». The talk is free, with booking open from 19 May. «Rebonds» Starts 18:00, ends about 18:50. Source: OpenAgenda — Théâtre National de Bretagne (open data).
At Les Champs Libres, the big cultural centre and library next to Rennes station, a conversation group meets to talk in English on themes chosen together, in a relaxed and simple atmosphere. It is free and part of the centre's open «RDV4C» meet-ups. A friendly way to meet locals and fellow newcomers in Rennes. «RDV4C Let's speak english» Starts 14:30, ends about 16:00. Source: OpenAgenda — RDV4C (open data).
Every Thursday afternoon Italian speakers and learners meet in the citizens’ space of Les Champs Libres, the big cultural centre near Rennes station, to talk in Italian for the pleasure of it, to learn, to share and to practise together. It is part of the free RDV4C programme of conversation groups and open to everyone. Just come along and join the table. «RDV4C Conversation en italien» Starts 16:00, ends about 18:00. Source: OpenAgenda — RDV4C (open data).
Every Tuesday evening Portuguese speakers and learners gather in the small café lounge of Les Champs Libres, the big cultural centre near Rennes station, to laugh and swap ideas in Portuguese. It is part of the free RDV4C programme of conversation groups and open to everyone, and 29 June is the last session before the summer break. Just come along and pull up a chair. «RDV4C Falamos português !» Starts 18:00, ends about 20:00. Source: OpenAgenda — RDV4C (open data).
On Wednesday lunchtimes German speakers and curious learners meet in the citizens' space of Les Champs Libres in central Rennes to chat in German. The group is part of the free RDV4C conversation programme and open to all levels, and 30 June is the final session before the summer. A good lunch-break plan if you want to practise and meet new people at the same time. «RDV4C Wir sprechen deutsch» Starts 12:30, ends about 13:30. Source: OpenAgenda — RDV4C (open data).
The neighbourhood café of the Les Longs Prés community centre in north-west Rennes, now called Le Dé-Lire Café, is open every Wednesday from 9:30 am to 5:30 pm, and its listing includes Wednesday 14 July, the French national holiday. Entry is free and you pay only for your drinks, and the café also hosts board-game evenings on the last Friday of the month. A relaxed place to read, play a game or chat with neighbours on a quiet holiday. «Le Café du coin change de nom» Starts 09:30, ends about 17:30. Source: OpenAgenda — Centre socioculturel Les Longs Prés (open data).
How it works
The next event in Rennes is "The science behind video games: talk with David Louapre" on Tuesday 17 Nov at 20:30. 0 events are listed in the next two weeks, and 33 up to Wednesday 14 Jul 2027.
27 of the 33 upcoming events listed here are marked free. The rest are low-cost or ticketed; the price is on each official page, so check it before you go.
Right now: learning (13), culture (9), social (6), music (5). Common venues are Auditorium des Champs Libres, Les Champs Libres — Espace Vie du citoyen, Les Champs Libres – Espace Vie du citoyen.
Yes, that is the point of this list. We pick talks, concerts, walks, language cafés and workshops where many people arrive on their own and there is a natural moment to start talking. Nobody checks whether you came with a friend.
Many of these events are also in the Meet & Mint app, where every event has its own chat and you can join alone. If one is not there yet, tap "+" in the app to add it and gather a group to go together.
Get this list as JSON or RSS (CC BY 4.0, details).
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