Vieux Tours (Tours Old Town)
Vieux Tours (Tours Old Town) features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Loire Valley. Give it roughly ~45 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type historic
- Suggested visit ~45 min
- Loire Valley Loire Valley guide
About Vieux Tours (Tours Old Town)
The old town of Tours, between the Loire and the Cher, with half-timbered houses around Place Plumereau and the Gothic Cathédrale Saint-Gatien nearby, a change of pace from the châteaux.
The historic centre of Tours lies on the Loire in the Indre-et-Loire, of which the city is the capital, and forms part of the UNESCO Loire Valley. Vieux Tours, the old town, keeps its medieval and Renaissance half-timbered houses, gathered around the lively Place Plumereau with its cafés and restaurants. The city sits between two rivers, the Loire to the north and the Cher to the south, and grew from the Roman town of Caesarodunum. It is traditionally called the Garden of France.
Saint Martin, the fourth-century bishop, made Tours a major medieval pilgrimage centre, and his tomb lies in the Basilica of Saint-Martin. The Gothic Cathédrale Saint-Gatien, built over roughly 1170 to 1547, spans early Gothic to Flamboyant and keeps fifteen thirteenth-century windows in its choir, along with the marble tomb of the two children of Charles VIII and Anne of Brittany. Beside it stands the Cloître de la Psalette, built 1442 to 1524.
Did you know? The heart of Vieux Tours is the Place Plumereau, a square lined with medieval and Renaissance half-timbered houses and open-air cafés. The old town sits between the Loire and the Cher rivers.
How long is a visit to Vieux Tours (Tours Old Town)?
Set aside roughly ~45 min for Vieux Tours (Tours Old Town). That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Vieux Tours (Tours Old Town) worth your time?
Vieux Tours (Tours Old Town) is among the 13 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Loire Valley, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Loire Valley
Day 1 of the Loire Valley in 2 days itinerary →
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Hear the story of Vieux Tours (Tours Old Town)
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