History in France

For those interested in history or who just enjoy being around history, Rennes is the place to be. In just my first week in Rennes, just walking around the City you begin to feel the history of the place, as every building in the city center has a deep and ancient history of its own. In Rennes, you have the opportunity and the time to explore this history at your own pace whenever you feel.

Since high school i’ve had an obsession with both History and specifically French History. I was reading as much as I could about the French Revolution, as it became an obsession and something that I wanted to do for the rest of my life. When I went to college, this obsession continued, and I started studying French so that I could read the French literature on the topic and eventually get my Doctorate in History with my focus being on the French Revolution. I decided to study abroad in Rennes for a semester because I wanted to immerse myself in the French language to improve my French skills. I also knew that my travelling to Rennes would give me a chance to explore and experience French history in a new way. When talking about the French Revolution with locals, one of the main things I hear is that Rennes is the start of the Revolution that helped to bring down the monarchy. And they are right in the Estates-General of 1789, the deputies from Rennes were some of the most vocal against the king.

In my first week, I visited the Parliament of Bretagne, the place where these deputies meet before leaving for Paris, and the Estates-General. I saw where men debated the future of their country in person, something that I wouldn’t have the chance to do if I kept studying at college back home. In Rennes, I’ve visited old churches, medieval walls, and old homes. But with this program, I’ve had the chance to visit Paris as well.

In Paris, I visited all the big monuments, Notre-dame, the Eiffel Tower, and the Paris Opera. They were all very impressive, and for each visit, I thought of the history of each place, of the people who built it, and everything that it has seen. The history in Paris, as in Rennes, seem to be everywhere. We also took a cruise on the Seine, and we passed the famous bridges of Paris, the Hotel de Ville, and all the places that were so important during the revolution, where the king and queen of France were executed. While I didn’t get a chance to visit all of these places, with the ease of transportation, I can take a weekend to visit Paris by myself or with another member of my group on any week that I have off. With the program, we also have two other planned visits, one to Mont Saint Michel and one to Saint-Malo, two of the most famous locations in Brittany. We also have two vacations for ourselves, one week in February that I will be using to visit Germany, and two weeks in April that I will use to visit Italy. With this program i’ve had the chance to explore lots of different history and will have the opportunity to learn so much more.

Owen Ranus

Allegheny College

CIEE-Rennes Liberal Arts Spring 2026