Brittany – Drinking Rules and Nightlife

The age limit for drinking in France is only sixteen, but there is pretty much no real enforcement of this law. You probably won’t get rejected or “ID’d” in a caféteria, pub or off licence. You are able to buy whiskey and vodka along with everyday goods in shops, gas stations and of course supermarkets. Obviously children are more free and able to access alcohol than those in the UK or the USA. Wine is always served with every meal in lots of families, however it is no longer considered incomplete without it. This has meant that drunk youths being roudy is a lot less common. When people go out to a concert or club, they don’t normally get drunk as in the same way an English youth may do; they listen to the music or talk.

Drinking at a young age prepares them for the biggest drinking test of all, university. One of the best universities in terms of its nightlife is Rennes. The consequence of being a student city means Rennes has a vibrant nightlife on offer. The main area of the nightlife/bar culture is centered in the older area to the north of the cathedral on two roads, rue St Michel, and rue St Malo. This is not to say that this is the only area, it is just that these two roads and the area between them have the highest concentration of bars. For quieter areas and restaurants there’s the old quarter around the cathedral and also rue St Georges, near the parliament. Students meet in bars and Thursday evenings can be very popular at “rue de la soif” (thirsty street).

Success in the cider industry has also encouraged the development of pommeau de Bretagne, a subtle aperitif first developed in the 1970s through the expert blending of the fruitiest cider apples and apple brandy and which was awarded an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée in 1997.

These unique drinks attract cider lovers from all around Europe, but in particular from the UK. With such easy accessibility from Caen many visitors tend to come over to towns such as Rennes for the weekend and pleasure their tastebuds with the local drinks. Rennes council takes a strict view on binge drinking and has in recent years has tried to ensure that visitors can enjoy their lambig or pommeau de Bretange in the right atmosphere and safely head back to their accommodation.