Ecomusee de la Bintinais (Bintinais Ecomuseum), Rennes

Set on the historic Bintinais farm, the Bintinais Ecomuseum explores five centuries of everyday rural life in the region. The restored farmhouse complex and galleries trace how the city and its countryside grew together-through architecture, agriculture, furniture, and tools-using immersive displays and reconstructed interiors. The site’s story reaches back to the late Middle Ages, when “The Bintinais” first appears in records, and continues through the heyday of cider and dairy production that supplied Rennes.

Beyond the museum, a 19-hectare bocage park functions as a living classroom. Visitors can follow an agro-pastoral trail past orchards and crop plots, with conserved heritage breeds-sheep, cattle, poultry, and more-managed in traditional barns and pens. The apple orchards double as a conservatory for local cider varieties, underscoring how plants and animals shaped the area’s food culture.

If you’re planning a short visit, pair the indoor galleries with a walk through the orchards; with more time, look for seasonal demonstrations such as shearing, beekeeping, or cider-making, which bring the collections to life.