Located in Central France, it is the capital of the Indre et Loire Department.
Standing on the lower reaches of the river Loire, this region is known for its wines and delicacies. It has been renowned and is world famous for the battle of tours as well.
What started off as in important crossing point in the Loire region, it was also named the Hill of the Caesar.
This is when the famous amphitheater was also built. It gradually progressed to become one of the most important settlements in that area.
The recent history of the city has been designed by Jean Royer, who has been a mayor for 36 years. It was his presence that was detrimental in establishing the old city the way it is today.
The modern conveyances and arrangements make it very easy for the traveler to move about in the area. The city has a lot to offer to the tourist.
An amalgam of the modern culture with the old heritage sites makes this city very comforting to the people. T
hough it has been a seat of education and learning for ages, it carries the tradition even today with its brilliant educational institutions and universities.
This is one place where you can spend weeks together and still not be able to taste each of the culinary delights being offered to you.
A long stroll through the city will tell you that this is one city filled with gardens and greenery. This is not the kind of a place where you would not be able to enjoy with your children.
This city has a lot to offer, be it in terms of enjoyment for the adults or for the younger ones. Tours is actually a city of many tours.
The tours within the wineries and grasslands make this city is a traveler’s delight. It also has various accommodations and different types of hotels, to accommodate your stay in the area.
Completely catering to the tourism, all the facilities which make your experience wonderful are present in the area.
The city will keep you busy with many tours and outdoor tracks which will energize all your senses. Apart from this there is a lovely wine tasting which will brighten your days.
If you have had enough of the wine tasting for a couple of days, you may also want to explore the villages and towns surrounding the area.
The landscapes offer rich rivulets and vibrant cities.
The area has also been a scintillating influence on the lives of legends like Leonardo da Vinci and Richard Lion heart.
Best time to visit Tours?
April and May would give you misty starts in the morning. The mornings transform into bright and clear days to enhance your experience of tourism in the days.
August is comparatively the hottest month and November the wettest. The best time to visit the place is from January till October every year.
June to September is the best time, considering the days are predictable and dry and give a lot of window to engage in the various outdoor activities in the area.
People here are reputed to speak the purest form of French in the country. If you have to learn authentic French, this is where you should be.
Best things to do in Tours
To know what more this place has to offer to tourists, read on my list of the top things to do in Tours, France:
Cathedrale St-Gatien
Begin your visit with a scintillating view of this majestic cathedral. Ancient and preserved this is the best architectural heritage site in the area.
Not just one part of the church but the entire church is a beauty to behold. The glass work inside the church is stunning.
All the nooks and corners of this cozy little thing have been decorated with divine scenes. The nave soars high and the stained glass windows are respectable.
The best part about the church is the notes that have been put against the paintings and the pieces of art.
Rare and respectable, the art in this church belongs to a golden era when art and architecture was at its peak.
A small walk around the Cathedrale St- Gatien will be able to acclimatize you with the lives of the locals and the daily routines of the area.
This is what is nice about Tours. It welcomes you in to itself, making you wonder how it is so possible to be so modern yet be so old within.
My favorite stuff to do in Tours
Escape Yourself
If having fun is your agenda of the day then this is the place to be in.
This is a must.
A strong recommendation for all those who want to be surprised and have shriek fun! The games, the puzzles and the mazes are just awesome.
Captivating enough, you would not want to leave this place at all. The first room which is shown is the one attributed to Leonardo Da Vinci, and is the best.
The other rooms are equally interesting. Enjoy your day here playing games, cracking scores and having tons of fun.
Nothing here is better than the thrill of winning and losing while you are playing against your opponents.
A place to be duly enjoyed, the best part is that it is amazing when it comes to the variety of games which can be enjoyed.
The arcades, puzzles and everything which is playable has been added to the collection.
Include in it almost all the genres of games which can be played indoors and you would be able to understand the kind of fun you can have.
A place alike for youngsters and adults, Escape yourself is where you should be every evening while you are in Tours.
Popular Tours tourist attractions
Musée du Compagnonnage
France has always been a historic civilization with many things and inventions to its credit.
Some of the things which really are attributed to their credit are the works of arts and crafts and craftsmanship.
France does take global pride in being able to present many compagnonnage which are basically guilds and organizations of skilled workers.
These skilled workers could have been remotely trained or may be the best in their fields as well.
The best part to note is that these guilds include everything from chefs making delicate pastries to hardcore locksmiths.
The displays of the museum are mind blowing.
Right from impressive displays of handiwork which could span from booby traps, vintage locks, carved chests etc, the exhibits of the craftsman are amazing.
The handmade tools displayed are just too polished to be hand crafted.
Such precise working can be achieved only through a machine made object. However, to understand that the tools displayed are handmade surely leaves the onlooker stunned.
The vintage barrels are a treasure.
Not only are they beautiful, but the fact that they have been able to be preserved for such a long time is what makes them special.
This museum celebrates the handiwork of the craftsman and respects their talent.
To preserve the culture of handmade tools and objects, this museum has been granted special permissions and rights to function in order to retain tourism without any damage to the exhibits.
A tour of this museum must.
Though you may have loved the hustle bustle while you were busy playing games, this place will amaze you with its beauty and simplicity. Totally worth the visit!
What else to do in Tours?
Jardin Botanique de Tours
This is not a park. It is nature. One thing that one would find here is enough beauty of nature and some animals to surround you and make you forget the city life for some time.
Completely in sync with the surroundings, this place is a lovely park which has a geometric layout. This park can be enjoyed even on a lovely rainy day.
Bright and sunny days will make you interact with kangaroos and you can have a lovely day spent. Feed the kangaroos and play with them or you may also just want to laze around.
Some of the spots in this area are very good for photography and would give you some nice clicks to carry back home.
So pull out your camera at this location and go about clicking the wonderful nature and its life. You may also be lucky enough to spot many birds resident in the area despite the urbanization.
No wonder Tours proved to be one of the best locations of the mixing of nature and urbanization. This park is a well set example when it comes to this.
Jardin Botanique de Toursis a lovely botan ical garden which will make you feel fresh for a long time.
Is Tours worth visiting?
The answer is Yes. Tours is worth visiting. This is because it is such a magical place
full of beauty and adventours.
Make sure you visit the following stunning place:
Rue Nationale
Highly recommended for people who love shopping! This place is wonderful. A long walk through this area will make you witness the grandeur of the city.
You may also like to tour the mini train which runs through the area. This little miniature of a train is a surprise in itself.
Commonly used for local conveyance throughout the city, this train is superb. The street is lined by shops on both the sides and the shops in between, are excellent to shop from.
So if there is absolutely anything that you need to pamper yourself with while you are here in Tours, this is the street where you should be shopping.
All the shops seem to have been planned much earlier than the modern city and they carry a linear ancient look as well.
Yet treated as a delight for the locals and the tourists alike, Tours and the Rue Nationale is just fantastic! Though talking a walkthrough the street is the best way to explore it completely, you may also enjoy the train ride if you are not game for walking.
What else to see in Tours?
St Martin Museum
This is a museum that narrates the life of Saint Martin.
The most important historical figure for the people of tours, Saint Martin is highly revered throughout the city. Testifying the elegance of human craftsmanship, this basilica is a living proof that love of God can make things very beautiful.
Saint Martin was the saint behind belief in God in Europe. Saint Martin is the man who put Tours on the world map.
This basilica is simple yet intricately carved and has known to be the most loved place of all the people in Tours.
This basilica houses the remnants of ancient history and has been able to preserve them well.
The best part about St. Martin Museum is that it is not very huge when you look at it from outside, but once you step inside it kind of magnifies in size.
The glass works are amazing and so are the French wooden windows. The furniture has been retained on the ancient architectural lines and is the most peaceful spot in the city.
A visit to the Church is hugely important for understanding the basics of this city and to understand how and why Tours became what it is today. A must see for the lovers of God!
Popular places to visit in Tours
Lulu Parc
So while you may have been enjoying every bit of your trip and tour to the place, the children are the ones who get neglected and completely bored.
This is one place where the children would have a time of their lives.
The Lulu parc is a place just meant for children. Spanning a huge area of over three hectares of lush green lands, the park is meant just for children.
Be it the swings or the games that have been around, this park is what makes a child screech with joy.
Open for children of all age groups, one fun filled day of activities will have your children asking for more.
There is free parking in case you have chosen the option of renting out your car and moving through the place.
Then the snacks bar at this place offers food which is friendly and suited to children. The children totally fall in love with the rides and the swings.
Right from the toboggans, the water scooters, go karts and the Foam park for children, you would not be able to gift your child anything better than a day here.
If you are visiting this place in the summers make sure you are carrying your swim suits. There is water which is sprayed everywhere throughout the day.
Things to do in Tours with kids
Grand Aquarium de Tours
This place had been designed for the children initially. But is location attracts tourists more than any other place.
Ten themed exhibition rooms, 60 varieties of fish and two million gallons of water, this place is a majestic.
You cannot see anything better than this.
A 30 meter tunnel makes you see the lives of some sharks, pikes, trapdoor spiders and sturgeons which are the local creatures of this area.
An underwater tunnel extending into the Indo Pacific gives you the glimpse of the life inside by up to 15 meters.
If you want to feel what it feels like when the koi carps come close to you, then this is the place you should be in.
A small reptile nursery will not fail to amaze you.
With such meticulous planning and wonderful locations that have been captured, this lovely aquarium is what makes this city a breathable picturesque scene.
You have to go there once to see just how amazing it can be to be underwater and actually feel the underwater life for some time.
A must see while you are here in Tours. There is no other place like the Grand Aquarium de Tours.
Things to do around Tours
Prieure de Saint-Cosme
One of the best sites that may be treated as an archeological wonder, this place is amazing.
One of the best Gardens in the whole of France, this place has the best roses you could ever get.
A major archeological site in this area, the Prieure de Saint Cosme is not a part of the major tours and travel packages, but then is considered to be an additional spot on the tour listing.
Yet people fondly visit this place and have been able to figure out many priories in the dining hall and the library.
This place has been excavated many times to find objects which would make it a national treasure. While the major portion of the site is in ruins, the first building is intact.
You would be able to reach this site only after a short refreshing trek. Though it may exhaust you but it is well worth the effort.
The first building which is much intact has all the rooms and ancient furniture in place along with the wrestling rooms in proper condition.
You may be lucky enough to see the couples getting beautiful photo sessions done. This is one place like that.
Tours has everything that a traveler needs. Right from a good shopping street to a lovely archeological find, the theatres and the buildings, the churches and the basilicas, this place is wonderful.
A good trip planned with the family at the right time can make it a memory of a lifetime. The eating joints and the pubs and lounges have their own charms and entice you with their menus and beauty.
Perfectly suited for children and adults alike, Tours is a must visit if you are visiting France. Your tour may be rendered incomplete if you do not spend a couple of days in Tours!