Tours, the city in the heart of the Renaissance Chateaux valley

Royal Chateaux, elegant French gardens, vignards and relaxing biking rides along the Loire River are some of the attractions the Loire valley offers to the visitors. The main city of the area is Tours and capital of Touraine region, home of many French royal families since the 10th century. Centrally located, Tours is a few steps from the mains most famous Renaissance Castles that participated to the splendor of this exceptional French Culture landscape that is since 2000 declared World Heritage by UNESCO.

This post focuses on the city itself and its cultural value. Indeed, tours was a major site of medieval and renaissance history and has kept in very good shape traces of its glorious past that you can discover visiting the old town.

Take the narrow streets and enjoy the enchanting 15th and 16th centuriy private houses that accompany you to the splendid Plumereau square where terraces of cafés and restaurants pop up on sunny days. On the side of the square Plumereau, there is a passageway to another charming square: Place Saint-Pierre-le-Puellier. The street Briconnet is particularly interesting in term of old architecture. Five minutes’ walk north from the square Plumereau, there are two interesting monuments: The Basilica Saint-Martin and the Tower Charlemagne.

Don’t miss the remarkable Cathedral Saint-Gatien. The cathedral sits on the east side of the city center. The edification of the cathedral sarted in 1170 and finishes with the eriction of the towers in 1547. It is an exemple of roman, gothic and renaissance architecture. The building is famous for its fantastic glass windows.


A walk around the building is very nice with the square Grégoire-de-Tours and the garden of the museum of art.





Most of the restaurants of the city are located around the square Plumereau and on the street Colbert.

My suggestions are:
Charles Barrier (one Star on the Michelin Red Guide, 101, av. Tranchée),
L’Atelier Gourmand (37, rue Etienne Marcel),
La Deuvalière (18, rue de la Monnaie),
le Rococo restaurant (14, Rue de la Grosse Tour),
Les linottes gourmandes (22, rue Georges Courteline),
L’escabeau (crepes only, 23, Rue de la Monnaie),
Le Timbre Poste (crepes only, 12, Rue Châteauneuf).

The city is very pleasant to walk but the bus system is also very well developed. The city tourism office in collaboration with private tour companies organizes very interesting day or half-day tours to visit the surrounding Chateaux, gardens, and vinyards (Prices are per person for minibus transportation, lunch and entrance fees for monuments not included).

• Vinyards visit and wine tasting: half-day tours for 35 and 45 euros per person.
  
• Visits of castles: Half-day tours start from 18 euro per person, full day tours start from 43 euro per person.


• In addition, air balloon rides over the castles start from 200 euro per person.