Prairies Saint-Martin

About

Les prairies Saint-Martin is a 30 hectares (0.3 km2) natural park along the canal of Ille-et-Rance and located near the centre of Rennes, in the French department of Ille-et-Vilaine in Brittany. They offer a space of nature in the heart of the city and promote gentle travel modes to the northern parts of the city. Unlike the Thabor Park and Oberthür Park, the Saint-Martin prairies retain large areas reserved for wild fauna and flora, which also serve as a buffer zone in case of flooding in the Ille.

The place was built in the 17th century with the mill of Trublet, transformed in the 19th century into tanneries. After the closure of these in the 1940s, the place remained little frequented, with some artisans, workers' gardens and houses. Declared a flood zone in addition to being polluted by these historic activities, the meadows were redeveloped by the Rennes metropolis between 2014 and 2021 to build a natural park accessible from the city centre.