Tours - city of France: attractions, recreation and tourism. City of Tours: attractions, hotels, restaurants Municipal buildings of the city of Tours France with signature

Possessing rich history and a wonderful collection of attractions. The city is also considered one of the greenest cities in France thanks to several wonderful parks.

History of the Tour

A permanent settlement on the site of modern Tours has existed since time immemorial. The Romans, who captured the Gallic village, gradually developed it and built a large amphitheater, the ruins of which have survived to this day.

In the vicinity of Tours in 732, a fateful battle for the whole of Europe took place, preventing the Islamic conquest of France. Soon, however, the city became a victim of aggression from the north - it was plundered by persistent and always greedy Vikings. This trouble, common in the Middle Ages, did not prevent the development of Tours, and gradually it became one of the centers of the kingdom. In the mid-16th century, Tours briefly became a royal residence, after which it fell into disrepair.

The city came to life again when, in the mid-19th century, a Railway. Located at a strategic crossing of the Loire, it became important transport hub, commerce and industry received a new lease of life.

The battles of the First World War bypassed Tours, but the city worked as a rear base - the Americans who arrived to help the allies settled here. It was named after US President Woodrow Wilson. a stone bridge through the Loire.

During World War II, Tours became a temporary refuge for the French government, which left Paris. This quickly attracted the attention of the Germans - soon the city was attacked with incendiary bombs and suffered greatly.

Sights of Tours

In the post-war years, Tours underwent major reconstruction and improvement, becoming an attractive destination for tourists.

The main attraction of the city is the magnificent Cathedral. Its construction took almost 5 centuries (1170 - 1547). The result, however, was worth it - Tours Cathedral is an outstanding architectural monument in which many styles merged - Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance elements. The height of the building, together with the towers, reaches 97 meters. The cathedral looks especially beautiful at night, thanks to the lighting system. Inside, an ancient organ and tombs of the royal family have been preserved.

In the center of the city lies the beautiful Place Jean-Jaurès, decorated with fountains and iron plantings. Here is one of the most beautiful buildings in the city - the strange city hall building, built back in the 18th century. The building not only looks great, but continues to serve its original purpose.

One of the symbols of the Tour is arch bridge across the river (after World War I - Wilson Bridge). The bridge was originally built in 1778, after which over the years it has experienced a series of tragic incidents, explosions, collapses (most recently in 1978) and reconstructions. However, its basic outlines have always remained unchanged. Opens from the bridge good view to the river and city.

A separate pride of the Tour is the city Botanical Garden. It was created in the mid-19th century and today is home to more than 2,000 different plants from all over the world (the mild climate of Tours allows them to feel comfortable). The territory is divided into several thematic zones.

Wilson's Bridge over the Loire (18th century; 15 arches) was destroyed several times, but was always restored in an identical form. This is the northern gate of Tours. From the bridge you immediately get to Place Anatole France, where the monument to Descartes and Rabelais is located, and then to Rue Nationale, the main street running perpendicular to the rivers. Of interest here are the Abbey of Saint-Julien of the 11th century with the Museum of Journeymen (3.5 €), which is dedicated to castle builders, carpenters and other working people and their art, and the Wine Museum (2.3 €), where there is an ancient press for pressing grapes , used by the Gauls. A little to the side is the Gouin mansion with the Archaeological Museum (3 €). The city's main sites, however, are located to the west and east of the Rue National. If you go west, you will come to Place Plumereau, the area around which and it itself is on the UNESCO list. Half-timbered buildings in France are like uncut dogs, but there are none like them anywhere else. Rouen, Colmar, Rennes - it's different there.

Here are suddenly grown and thinner huts on chicken legs, lined up in a row. Not far from Place Plumereau there are two towers from the 11th to 13th centuries, left over from the old Basilica of Saint-Martin. And a little further - the new Basilica of Saint-Martin (late 19th century, with a large dome, on top of which there is a statue of St. Martin). This saint lived in the 4th century and became famous for one good deed - he offered his cloak to a beggar who was lying on the street in the extreme cold.

Other details of the saint's life can be found in the nearby museum. The Zhemmay Museum offers stained glass windows by Picasso, Cocto and others for 4.5 €. To the east of rue Nationale is the most monumental and at the same time elegant building in the city, perfection itself. This is the late Gothic Cathedral of Saint-Gatien (XIH-XVI centuries, inside there are cool stained glass windows and tombs of the children of King Charles VIII). Opposite the cathedral is the Museum of Fine Arts (€4.5, a very presentable collection: Mantegna (“Christ in the Olive Grove”), portraits by Hals, “The Five Senses” by Bosse, Rembrandt (“Flight into Egypt”), as well as Monet and Rubens ). In the courtyard of the museum you can see the remains of Roman fortifications. Between the cathedral and the river is an old, gloomy royal castle. In the Giza Tower (Tour de Guise) - Wax Museum illustrating the history of Touraine (5.3 €). On the embankment in the 15th century “Logis des Gouverneurs” mansion there is a Museum of the History of the City and a tropical aquarium. The buildings of the central part, with the exception of medieval half-timbered buildings, are white with blue roofs. South East End Tura is emphatically modern.

There is a pompous railway station here, and opposite it is the Vinci Congress Center (another construction by Jean Nouvel in 1993). You can relax in Tours in the parks of Saint Radegund (on the northern bank of the Loire) and Balzac (on an island in the middle of the Cher River). Industry is concentrated on the northern bank of the Loire and in the southeastern region of Saint-Pierre-de-Cors (pharmaceuticals, furniture, clothing, printing). The university (1970) determines the presence of a youth society and the resulting vibrant nightlife: cafes, bars and nightclubs. Science is mainly concentrated in the medical-pharmaceutical direction.

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If you are lucky enough to find yourself in the Loire Valley with its famous royal castles, stop for a day or two in Tours. small town will help you take your mind off the excursion marathon in French historical mansions and at the same time will give unforgettable experience from staying in this place. Few people know that Tours, inconspicuous on the map, played the role of the first violin in France in the Middle Ages, and in the 15th century it even had the status of the capital of the state. In general, the history of Tours goes back to ancient times. At one time, the Romans settled here and ruled for a long time, as evidenced today by the parts of ancient buildings preserved in the city - an amphitheater, baths... We’ll tell you about what sights are worth visiting in Tours later, but now we’ll talk about the most essential: how how to get here and where to stay for tourists.

How to get there

The tour is located 240 kilometers from Paris, and the capital's French trains will kindly take you here. You can depart from both Austerlitz and Paris Montparnasse train stations. Travel time will take a little over an hour. One-way tickets in an economy class carriage will cost an average of 28 EUR. You can save on your trip if you travel from Orleans (it is located 120 kilometers from Tours). Travel time is also one hour. Train tickets from Orleans to Tours will cost from 23 EUR (a seat in economy class) and from 34 EUR (a seat in a comfortable carriage). Despite the fact that there is an airport in Tours, flights from Russia are not served here. So, if your goal is to visit only this city and the Loire Valley, you will still have to arrive in Paris first.

Search for air tickets to Paris (the nearest airport to Tours)

Airplanes from Moscow Vnukovo or Sheremetyevo to the French capital deliver tourists in four hours (if you are flying a direct flight).

You can save on air travel by choosing flights with transfers.

By the way, the advantage of long connections is that while waiting for the next flight you can ride with sightseeing tour in Oslo, Stockholm, Vienna and Copenhagen, since it is in these cities that transfers take place.

Prices on the page are as of November 2018.

Weather in Tours

Popular hotels in Tours

You will also love Tours because accommodation here is inexpensive (compared to, say, Paris). For example, three-star hotels in the city offer accommodation on average from 75 EUR (at peak tourist season). This is the cost of a comfortable double room, where, in addition to furniture, there is everything you need (air conditioning, plasma TV and satellite channels, free Wi-Fi and a private bathroom). Some hotels in Tours of this class offer tourists and free breakfasts buffet style.

Tourists visit Tours primarily because of its proximity to famous royal palaces. Not far from the city there are castles such as Villandry, Chenonceau, as well as Chenon, Amboise and others. But there is also something to see in the Tour itself.

Tour hotels of higher status (meaning four-star hotels) offer accommodation in summer season from 100-115 EUR. This is the average cost of rooms designed to accommodate two and three people. Among the amenities that are not available in “three rubles”, here we can mention swimming pools, hot tubs and gyms. It is unlikely that you will be able to save much, say, by staying in two-star hotels in Tours. Despite their low status, hotels maintain their reputation and offer tourists good rooms with all amenities, including free Internet and Swedish breakfasts. The average cost of a double room in summer in such hotels is about 60 EUR.

A few words about local cuisine. Tourists who have visited this city unanimously say that the food here is incredibly tasty. No matter what bar or restaurant you visit, you will be surprised by some gastronomic masterpiece. And one more thing: no matter how many meals you take, for your wallet or account bank card You don't have to worry too much. Prices in local establishments are not high, which cannot be said about the capital's French restaurants.

Guides in Tours

Entertainment and attractions of Tours

Tourists visit Tours primarily because of its proximity to the famous royal palaces. Not far from the city there are castles such as Villandry, Chenonceau, as well as Chenon, Amboise and others. But there is also something to see in the Tour itself. A must-see attraction is the majestic Saint-Gatien Cathedral, or Saint-Gatien Cathedral.

City Tour

Despite the restrained Gothic style, the monastery is decorated with numerous multi-colored stained glass windows, giving the building an extraordinary appearance. The cathedral was built over three centuries, starting in the 13th century. Most likely, this is due to the mixture of architectural styles. Saint-Gatien Cathedral is open to tourists every day, but tours of the monastery are conducted strictly at certain time: 10:00 - 12:30 and 14:00 - 17:30. Another equally visited attraction in Tours is St. Martin's Cathedral, which is considered one of the most revered saints in Europe. By the way, the relics of the saint rest in this medieval monastery.

What else to see

Along with historical monuments There are other equally interesting attractions in Tours. This is a botanical garden, where various, including rare, plant species are presented and several museums. For example, the Museum of Fine Arts in Tours houses several originals of Rembrandt himself. And in the wine museum that speaks for itself, visitors can not only get acquainted with the collection of rare wines, but also, if desired, taste the drinks offered.

Tourists rarely wander into the capital of the Indre-et-Loire department - the ancient and beautiful city of Tours. And completely in vain.

The only association that can arise in memory is “Aglaya Michon, a seamstress from Tours,” Aramis’ deeply secretive friend. Connoisseurs of history and literature will perhaps remember the great scoffer Francois Rabelais, who was born on this fertile land. But this city twice served as the capital of France. If Henry IV had not wished to return it to Paris, today we would see the Eiffel Tower not on the Champs de Mars, but on the Rue Nationale in Tours.

The history of Tour goes back to ancient times. More than two thousand years ago, a trading post of the Turonian tribe stood in its place. The Romans who conquered Gaul built a city on the site of the post and called it Caesarodunum. Convenience and strategic location quickly brought wealth to the city. In the 4th century AD, Martin of Tours became bishop of Caesarodunum, later proclaimed a saint. By the way, he is one of the few saints revered equally by Catholics and Orthodox Christians. His grave in the Cathedral of Saint-Martin will remain an object of pilgrimage for Christians around the world today.

Under the walls of the city, Charles Martel stopped the Arab expansion into Europe in 732. The Moors rolled back beyond the Pyrenees, and Tours also became the political center of the country. King Louis IX, who did not trust the Parisians, moved here along with his court and government, and Henry III moved the parliament. Just a little more - and France would have received new capital. But it didn’t work out. However, during its short tenure as a royal residence, the city was decorated with many beautiful buildings and acquired a certain metropolitan charm.

Today's Tours is one of the most elegant cities in France. Historical Center is a triangle at the confluence of the Loire and Cher rivers. Although it was bombed during both world wars, everything was restored in the 60s of the last century. Quite a lot of Roman buildings have been preserved - fragments of fortifications, baths, a forum, and a theater. Caesarodunum gradually grew into medieval tour, so many houses are built on the foundations of Roman buildings. For example, the House of Tours-Charlemagne, which served as the residence of a bishop since the 9th century, is a classic half-timbered building that uses the walls of Roman fortifications. Today this house houses the Museum of Fine Arts. The Abbey of Saint-Julien also has Roman walls.

The old quarters of Tours contain many unusual museums. For example, the Crafts Museum and the Stained Glass Museum. The city of Tours, France, has always been famous for its craftsmen. It is not for nothing that the Saint-Gatien Cathedral is considered a model of taste and style. Although experts may blame the builders for being too eclectic - the building is of Gothic architecture, and the towers are already from the Renaissance, but construction lasted three centuries, from the 13th to the 16th. During this time, tastes have changed somewhat. However, the cathedral is beautiful, especially its famous stained glass windows.

Surprisingly, there are practically no tourists in Tours. As a result, prices in hotels and restaurants are an order of magnitude lower than in Paris, the food is incredibly tasty, and the people are friendly. Residents of the city are proud of their Gallic origins; they consider the Irish and Scots to be their closest fellow tribesmen (every second bar in the city is decorated with a checkered or green sign).

The best way to get to Tours from Paris by train is from Paris Austerlitz Station. The ticket costs 32 Euros, travel time is 2.5 hours. The easiest way to get here by car is on the A10 motorway through Orleans.

The French city of Tours is the main locality The Loire Valley region and the capital of the region, Touraine, has long enjoyed the reputation of a place imbued with the bourgeois spirit.

An English travel writer noted in 1913 that: The very air of Tours seems to be filled with good manners... before your eyes appear boring entertainments in gilded salons full of arrogance, where the very splendor seems icy.

You will find a decorated and lively old quarter, several unusual museums (dedicated to wines, crafts, and the Museum fine arts, with an above average congregation) and a lot beautiful buildings, not the least of which is Saint-Gatien Cathedral .

And if you don't have your own means of transportation, you will obviously have to stop in Tours, from where to the most wonderful castles (Villandry, Langeais, Azay-le-Rideau and Amboise), as well as towards famous city winemakers - Vouvray, trains and buses depart regularly.

Arrival, city information and accommodation in Tours

The bus and train stations are located near the cathedral quarter, in southeast direction, opposite the futuristic Vinci Congress Centre. Most TGV trains stop at St-Pierre-des-Corps station, in an industrial area outside the city, but main station Regular (sometimes ordinary) buses arrive regularly.

The excellent travel agency is located on the corner of rue Bernard Palissy and the bustling Boulevard Heurteloup - you just need to cross the square from the car and railway stations. You can buy there single ticket Museums (carte multi-visits; €7), which takes you to five of the city's museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts and the Stained Glass Museum, and learns more about castle tours.

In Tours, the situation with hotels is not bad: several excellent cheap and two-star ones hotels is located to the west of the cathedral, although there is little choice when it comes to luxury establishments. Almost throughout the year you should book rooms in advance.

Hotels in Tours

1). Hotel Colbert– Pleasant, well-furnished hotel, well located near the cathedral. Rooms with windows overlooking a small garden cost a little more. Hotel address: 78 rue Colbert;

2). Hotel Du Manoir– Housed in a super-modernized 19th-century mansion, but very comfortable, welcoming and located in a quiet area between the cathedral and the station. Hotel address: 2 rue Traversiere;

3). Mon Hotel – Cheap hotel with small rooms, but clean and comfortable, located near the cathedral. Hotel address: 40 rue de la Prefecture;

4). Hotel Du Musee– An old hotel, where all the rooms are different, located in a once luxurious mansion, right next to the cathedral. Hotel address: 2 place Francois-Sicard;

5). Hotel Regina– Hospitable and well-organized, cheap place in the very center of the city. Popular with lovers of hiking tourism, with a wide range of rooms - and prices. Hotel address: 2 rue Pimbert;

6). Hotel St-Eloi– A very cheap and cozy hotel, run by a friendly young couple. Hotel address: 79 bd Beranger;

7). Hotel De l'Univers– The oldest and most luxurious hotel in the city, as well as the most luxurious and expensive in the city. The hotel is located opposite the town hall. Hotel address: 5 bd Heurteloup.

Hostels in Tura

1). Hostel Foyer des Jenues Travailleurs- Quite a nice worker hostel in the center with a cafeteria for those under 25. Closed: Saturdays after 12.00 and Sundays. Hostel address: 16 rue Bernard-Palissy.

Sights of Tours

The center of Tours is located between the Loire and its tributary, the Cher, but the city itself stretches along the banks of both rivers for many kilometers - with industrial areas located north of the Loire. Both rivers do not represent anything particularly interesting, although parks are laid out on their islands, and a beautiful new river is thrown across the Loire itself. pedestrian bridge(it leads to the embankment Orleans(quai d’Orleans), where the ancient castle is located).

Two ancient city blocks are located on both sides of Rue Nationale, the main street of the city. Quieter neighborhoods surround the cathedral, while more developed areas full of tourists - the picturesque Place Plumereau, 600 meters to the west - once attracted many pilgrims.

Cathedral Quarter

The magnificent western towers of the Saint-Gatien Cathedral (Cathedrale Saint-Gatien), located on the square of the same name, are visible from anywhere in the city. They are covered in masterly carvings in the Flamboyant Gothic style, and even the Renaissance bell towers that crown them are imbued with the same spirit of exquisite exuberance.

The interior decoration belongs to an earlier era: the eastern part with wonderful stained glass windows was built in the more austere High Gothic style, in the 13th century. At the southernmost transept you will see the tombstone of the sons of Charles VIII and Anne of Brittany. After their death and the absurd death of their father, the Valois family was interrupted, and Anne, in accordance with the laws in force at that time, had to marry Charles's cousin, Louis XII.

The door of the northern aisle leads to the Cloitre de la Psalette, where an atmosphere of incompleteness reigns - in the south-eastern corner there is the base of an unfinished flying buttress, and the southern gallery is also missing (in 1802 a road was built in its place by the same "progressive" prefect who demolished the Basilica of Saint-Martin).

On the north and east sides, late Gothic is mixed with Renaissance decoration - especially the small but superbly executed spiral staircase around the twisted central column. You can climb along it to the gallery level, which, through the library, will lead you to western part cloister

The Museum of Fine Arts (Musee des Beaux-Arts), just south of the cathedral, is located in former palace archbishop. Apart from Mantegna's intense canvas "Agony in the Garden" (1457-1459), which immediately attracts the eye, there are not many masterpieces in the large collection. Even Rembrandt’s work, “The Flight into Egypt,” which is so talked about, is just a small oil sketch, and not a full-scale canvas.

But the decorous suite of palace rooms of the 17th-18th centuries (each of them is furnished and decorated in accordance with the style of the era to which the paintings belong), arranged approximately in chronological order, is extremely attractive. The pearls of the collection: a portrait of Balzac by Boulanger and engravings from the “Five Senses” series created by Abraham Bosse, who was born here, on the basis of which large canvases were painted that decorate the room of Louis XIII.

On the other side of the cathedral, between rue Albert-Thomas and the river, two towers are visible - all that remains of the ancient royal castle in Tours. You can go inside and see the exhibition open here, but almost nothing remains of the former interior.

In the 15th-century Governor's Apartments (Logis des Gouverneurs) next door - you just need to walk past the remains of the city walls from Gallo-Roman times - there is an exhibition of historical rarities called "Life on Tour" (Vivre a Tours), which quite plausibly tells how the city developed. city ​​and the passage of centuries.

Old Quarter

The half-timbered houses and towers with protruding staircases around Place Plumereau, north of Rue Nationale, have been carefully restored and transformed into an urban sight– especially the School of Living Languages ​​(Ecoles des Langues Vivantes) on rue Briconnet, with wonderful sculptures of dogs, frogs and monsters.

To the west of Rue Bretonneau, near Place Robert-Picou, the workshops of today's artisans are crowded among medieval buildings. After the war, this area changed very quickly, turning from a rather run-down place into the most modern and expensive part of the city. So many restaurants have opened here today, bars , cafe and clubs that wealthy residents are eager to move to quieter neighborhoods.

The Stained Glass Museum (Musee du Gemmail), just off the Rue Briçonnet (7 rue du Muriet; €5.40), is dedicated to a slightly obscure art form invented here, which uses pieces of backlit stained glass. Although some works are attributed to such artistic luminaries as Dufy, Modigliani and Picasso (who was especially fond of this technique), in fact they were collected by professional technicians from the artists' drawings.

To the east is the city of pilgrims, once known as Martinopolis, in honor of St. Martin, former soldier, who became the Bishop of Tours in the 4th century, and was also a key figure in the spread of Christianity in France. In the Catholic world, he is most often remembered for giving half of his cloak to a beggar - a scene that can be seen on capitals and stained glass windows throughout the province.

The Romanesque basilica once occupied the entire space from Rue des Halles to Rue Trois-Pavees-Ronds, stretching almost all the way to Place Chateauneuf. However, only the northern tower (the Tower of Charlemagne) and the western clock tower (together with the cloister of Saint-Martin, behind the Rue Rapin, where you can admire its only Renaissance gallery) survived the Huguenot iconoclast uprising in 1562.

The new Basilique de St-Martin on Rue Descartes was built in late XIX century in neo-Byzantine style to pay tribute to the relics of St. Martin, rediscovered in 1860. They are now placed in a crypt, overlooked by hundreds of stone carved pilgrims on the walls who have taken their vows. St. Martin's Day is still celebrated here - November 11th.

Near Calle Nacional

At the beginning of Rue Nationale, the main street of Tours, statues of Descartes and Rabelais stare out at the unkempt sidewalks that line the banks of the Loire. At the end of it is the huge Place Jean-Jaures, crowded with rushing cars, overlooked by the grandiose Town Hall and the Palace of Justice.

Ten minutes walk from the river and you will find yourself at the Benedictine Church of Saint-Julien, where two museums are housed in the old monastery buildings. The boring Museum of Wine (Musee des Vins - 16 rue des Nationale) is worth a visit just to see the large 12th-century monastery cellars in which it is located, although if your French allows you, you can learn in detail about the history, production of wine and related them with myths.

Behind the museum, in the former monastery galleries, there is a Gallo-Roman wine press. The Museum of the Union of Apprentices (Musee de Compagnonnage – 8 rue Nationale) is housed in an 11th-century hotel and a 16th-century monastic hostel.

It pays tribute exclusively to the French cult of craftsmanship - the “masterpieces” that each apprentice had to create in order to gain the right to join the guild and become a master are exhibited here. The skill of the artisans is undeniable, but many of the exhibits are surprisingly vulgar, since they belong to such diverse industries as cake making, carpet weaving, shoe making and cooperage.

A few steps west along Rue Nationale you'll see the Gouin Mansion (25 rue du Commerce), whose Renaissance façade is sure to make you pause, but inside the museum you'll find only a dull collection of archaeological curiosities and the remains of a private scientific laboratory from Chenonceau - It contains toys for the rich rather than modern research tools.

Tours of the region's castles

Most of the most visited castles are easily accessible public transport, but if you're short on time, it's worth considering a minibus ride that takes a day or half a day. Several companies organize such excursions from Tours, and in their programs you will most likely find the following castles: Azay-le-Rideau, Amboise, Blois, Villandry, Clos Luce (in Amboise), Langeais, Fougères-sur-Bièvre, Chambord, Cheverny, Chenonceau and Usset.

Regular ticket price: 19 euros for a morning trip to one or two castles; 23-30 euros – afternoon tour (often this includes another castle or wine tasting); and 40-50 euros if excursion takes all day. As a rule, the price does not include entrance fees to castles or lunch. Try Acco Dispo, Saint-Eloi Excursions or Quart de Tours. Most buses from these companies will pick you up from the travel agency or your hotel.

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