Saint-Michel Prison

If you venture all the way till the end of the Rallier du Baty impasse, you will see the Saint-Michel Prison, pretty much untouched since the 18th century. The inner courtyard is now listed as a historic monument. This is where the inmates came to be shackled, or chained to lead balls, before being split up, men to the left, women to the right. Women prisoners were held captive in a small 4 by 2.5 meters room. It’s pretty easy to imagine what hell felt like. By the way, that’s where “Marion de Faouet”, a feminist and shameless highway bandit, that stole from the rich to help the poor, was judged and sentenced. A true briton legend! Today, there are still 30 prisoners in Saint-Michel prison, all of whom are volunteers!That’s what you can read on the 1966 poster for the creation of the PSM club, when the prison was reinvented to make way for a unique venue for Rennes nightlife ! Come back the way you came from, and continue on Rallier du Baty street, then take a left in “rue de Toulouse”.