Parc des Gayeulles, Rennes

Parc des Gayeulles or Parc des Bois is the largest park in the city of Rennes, in the French department of Ille-et-Vilaine in the region of Brittany. Leisure center located northeast of the city, it is a mainly forest park of about 100 ha, which also includes 5 bodies of water.

The municipality led by Henri Fréville had it built in 1967 under the name Parc des Bois, but it was not opened to the public until 1978, in order to allow time for the young trees to grow.

A set of nearby land was purchased by the city under the municipality of Edmond Hervé , including a former racecourse (destroyed for security reasons) and a farm named les Basses-Gayeules. These grounds are then converted into a leisure base, the Gayeulles, which will eventually give its name to the entire park. The Basses-Gayeulles farm dates from the end of the 15th century and includes a dovecote, a stable for horses and a stable for cows, a well and a bakehouse . It was part of the properties of the bishop.

On its 100 ha, there is a campsite , a children's farm, opened the following year, as well as a swimming pool (complete aquatic complex), the "Le Blizz" ice rink, a mini golf course and numerous sports fields: football, tennis, squash, circuits for jogging, etc.

With the development of the north-eastern intra-ringroad sector, the Via Silva district , a forest corridor will be developed to create continuity between the Bois des Gayeulles and the Forest of Rennes.