Tours

Understand

With a city population of 137,000, and 360,000 in the agglomeration (2020), Tours is the largest city in Centre-Val de Loire, though the status of regional capital is held by Orléans. Tours sits on both the river Loire and on its large tributary the Cher, with the city centre located between the two. The city has a number of attractions, including two cathedrals, a number of interesting museums and great local cuisine. Furthermore, Tours is excellently placed to serve as a base from which to explore the countless châteaux of the Loire Valley. The administrative department of Indre-et-Loire, of which Tours is the prefecture, is known almost exclusively to residents by its much older name of the Touraine, and is renowned for its wines and for the supposed perfection of its local spoken French.

Do

Cycle, walk or jog along the Loire: Starting at Pont Wilson, on either bank of the river, you can walk or cycle for many miles up- or down-stream. Visit La Gloriette , a public park south-west of the centre with an experimental vegetable garden and an adventure park, high in the trees. For Free!

Eat

Place Plumereau and Rue Colbert are arguably the best two places to eat in Tours. Rue Colbert has cuisines from all over the world including Iranian, Turkish, Arab, Japanese, previous French colonies and Italian.

Drink

L'Academie de la Biere Bar at the end of Rue Colbert with about 200 types of beer, along with a tiny dance area. Place Plumereau There are lots of places to drink in the old town around Place Plumereau. Many people go to the square at night and people just sit on chairs placed there belonging to restaurants surrounding the square, sometimes maybe not even knowing whose chairs they are. ZooStation - huge out of town club on the north end of Tours, free parking with a car, however to avoid getting lost on the way it is advisable to jump into a taxi and say "Zoostation s'il vous plait", the driver will know where you mean and will cost about €10 each way. Drinks are pricy but the entrance fee is low, the music is mostly American and French R&B. Best enjoyed if there is a group of you as Saturday nights are busy and, like any large club, there may be some people who are out to pick a fight.

Sleep

AJ du Vieux Tours 5, Rue Bretonneau, is a cheap, safe and clean hostel with no curfew. Individual, long-stay rooms are ideal for international students in Tours as the staff speak English and is a great way to make friends quickly. Has communal bathroom facilities and meals are available to buy in the cafeteria area. Also has cooking facilities for making your own meals. Great location next to a couple of internet cafés and all the bars and pubs of Place Plumereau, and just across the road from the main campus of the Université Francois-Rabelais.

Stay safe

Tours is a very safe city in comparison to other French cities. But if you don't speak French, you might get intimidated by homeless people asking you something in French, most likely asking for spare change or a cigarette if they see you smoking.

Almost all areas in Tours are safe during the daytime. However, the quartiers to the southeast and east of the city are best avoided at night, and there are many high-rise low-rent apartment buildings. This goes double for the nearby suburb of Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, where the other major train station is located; avoid venturing too far from the station.

Go next

Angers Home of a chateau that houses the fantastic medieval Tapestries of the Apocalypse Orléans Famous through its historical association with Joan of Arc, Orleans is an interesting, cosmopolitan city Nantes A major city of the historic province of Brittany, sometimes called the Venice of the west Le Mans famous for 24 Heures du Mans, the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923. Also has a unique and impressive cathedral.